Hacienda La Puente Unified trustee censured over repeated use of racial slur

The Hacienda La Puente Unified School District Board of Education Thursday, Sept. 12, voted 4-1 to censure Trustee Stephanie Serrano for the third time in the last year.

Serrano was the lone no vote. The latest censure resolution alleged that Serrano repeatedly used the phrase “Kwok Mafia” to refer to supporters of Board Clerk Gino Kwok.

“Stephanie Serrano has pejoratively used the term ‘Kwok Mafia’ numerous times in board meetings throughout 2024 to denigrate Board Member Gino Kwok and community members that she perceives are exclusively associated with him when in reality they are parents of HLPUSD children and community residents that care about public education and are not tied to any board member or controlled by Board Member Kwok,” the resolution read.

According to the resolution, Serrano used the phrase nine times during an April meeting and said it during a closed session meeting in June.

The board previously censured Serrano in October 2023 and last month.

Several members of the public defended Serrano as being a voice for the community and that the censure was politically motivated. Supporters of the censure said Serrano’s behavior would not be tolerated if it were done by a student and that Serrano should be ashamed of herself for her conduct.

Trustee Nancy Loera would not repeat the phrase but said the use of slurs like Kwok Mafia have justified discriminatory policies and cited the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882.

“The racial slur as used by Stephanie Serrano repeatedly in jokes or casual conversation by individuals outside the API community might seem harmless to the speaker but to those targeted it reinforces a history of exclusion and racism,” Loera said.

Serrano said the censure was another example of bullying against her. She claimed she has been the target of Mexican American hate by Kwok’s supporters and rejected the notion that Kwok Mafia was a racial slur.

“Did I want it to be a racial slur? Of course not. Because there’s a large dictionary full of racial slurs I wanted to use if I wanted to use one but I didn’t,” Serrano said. “That was not my intention. The intention is to use the word that they identified themselves and reaffirm that this group is harassing me and our community.”

Kwok refuted Serrano’s claim that his supporters identified themselves by that phrase.

“We wouldn’t tolerate that with our elementary school kids because it’s improper behavior,” Kwok said of Serrano.

Board President Christine Salazar read out the resolution during the meeting. Serrano laughed and shook her head at different points of the reading, in one section waving a finger in the air in disapproval.

“You can continue laughing because again you find this laughable,” Salazar said. “I think that’s one of the most saddening things that you can’t even take this seriously, the fact that your words hurt. Your words have offended people. Your words are doing harm.”

Associate Superintendent Manoj Roychowdhury said the censure does not remove Serrano from the board or impact her rights as a board member. It is a reprimand that can only be followed by additional censures.

“If I said it publicly I stand by it. Guess what, publicly I’m a lot nicer than I am by myself,” Serrano said. “Because when I’m by myself I’ll cuss up a storm and I’ll say whatever I want. Because that’s who I am.”

Serrano and Salazar’s trustee seats are up for election this November.