An Aug. 25 Facebook post from Xiao said he intends to resign, stating that he felt he had "helped some people with their campaign and paved the road for what happened after."
"I cannot dismiss the fact that I am largely responsible for the whole thing," Xiao stated in the post. "I tolerated bullying and intimidation as I lack the knowledge or interest in many of the discussion subjects. I ignored all the warning signs, betted on the transition to endemic happening by the end of the summer and didn’t bother to work on a plan B."
Xiao wrote that he felt the meeting the previous night came two weeks later than it should have and that misinformation had sown a divide in the community.
"Last night’s meeting should have happened [two] weeks ago," Xiao wrote in the post. "The meeting discussion should have been based on reasoning and science. It should have been a unanimous 7-0 decision. Instead, our community is deeply divided on this simple public health measure fueled by misinformation and distrust, and exacerbated by tribal politics."
According to the district, when a trustee resigns, the board has two options: a replacement could be selected by the board to carry out the remainder of their term, or a special election could be called.
Xiao has not responded to attempts to contact him for comment, but Community Impact Newspaper will update this story if that changes.
