The Alum Rock Union School District board voted to fire longtime Superintendent Hilaria Bauer after returning from closed session. The board voted 3-2 to end her contact on Thursday night, with Trustees Linda Chavez, Minh Pham and Andres Quintero voting in favor and Corina Herrera-Loera and Andrea Flores Shelton opposing it. Bauer’s last day is...
Sunnyvale voters approve multimillion-dollar bond for school upgrades
A multimillion-dollar bond measure to support Sunnyvale elementary schools is poised to pass. Measure C would give the Sunnyvale School District a $214 million bond over the next 34 years for facilities improvements, and early election results show voters approving the measure by 69.9%. It has met the 55% threshold for passage. Sunnyvale School District...
UPDATE: Santa Clara County school superintendent still on the job
It was an emotional night for Santa Clara County’s top educator, as she wondered whether her time as superintendent might end. Residents waited for more than two hours at Wednesday’s Santa Clara County Board of Education meeting as trustees weighed Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan’s performance behind closed doors — which could have led to discipline...
East San Jose district plans to close a middle school
One group of educators and parents is fighting to stop the closure of a neighborhood middle school in East San Jose. At last week’s Alum Rock Union School District board meeting, teachers, parents and students showed up to save Aptitud Community Academy at Goss, a TK-8 public school, after the district’s decision to shut down...
San Jose parents strengthen school safety
One San Jose high school is stepping up its safety measures following threats to students last year. Parents, teachers and officials hope the improvements will be adopted by other schools in the district. Willow Glen High School’s school site council updated its safety plan after a series of incidents, including an arrest of a Willow...
East San Jose school district seeks partner to save former youth center
A blighted East San Jose youth center has received a brief reprieve from the wrecking ball as community leaders work to save it. The Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees last week voted unanimously to postpone the demolition of the former Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA) building for six months. This is...
Silicon Valley charter school disputes education board’s discrimination claims
A public charter school targeted by the Santa Clara County Office of Education is fighting to retain its charter. Bullis Charter School in the Los Altos School District is facing accusations of discrimination by the county Board of Education that it’s under-enrolling Hispanic English-language learners, students with disabilities and socio-economically disadvantaged students. Maureen Israel, superintendent...
Silicon Valley school district changes how its officials are chosen
The Fremont Union High School District will change the way future trustees are elected come November. The district, which enrolls students from Cupertino, San Jose, Sunnyvale, Saratoga and Santa Clara, is switching from at-large elections — where residents can vote for any candidate — to electing area-based board members. This means the school district will split...
UPDATE: San Jose one step closer to banning homeless RVs near schools
Policymakers in the Bay Area’s largest city on Tuesday agreed to ban homeless people from camping near schools, despite pleas from advocates and concerns from City Hall about how to carry it out. City councilmembers voted unanimously to draft a policy allowing police to tow vehicles parked within 150 feet of K-12 campuses, despite city...
San Jose State faculty back to work as agreement ends statewide walkout
Striking San Jose State University faculty stood in the rain in front of the Martin Luther King, Jr. Library on Monday demanding fair wages, and by late last night a tentative deal was reached. After one day, the California State University strike across 23 campuses was over. The California Faculty Association and CSU management agreed...