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After its newly-elected trustee ditched the job before taking office, the Alum Rock Union School District selected a replacement — Minh Pham. The district’s four sitting trustees voted unanimously to accept Pham as their fifth member late Thursday night. “While we had two good candidates, Mr. Pham’s depth and breadth of experience made him the better...
San Jose teachers could be next in line for COVID-19 vaccine
Some San Jose educators, anxious to return to in-classroom teaching, are eager to get the COVID-19 vaccine after Gov. Gavin Newsom proposed teachers be next in line. Vaccinations are one part of the Newsom’s $2 billion “Safe Schools for All Plan” that takes effect this month. The plan aims to open California elementary schools as soon as...
Grand jury accuses San Jose Unified of misleading public and its own board about lobbying efforts
San Jose’s biggest school district left the public and its own governing board in the dark about lobbying activities that were carried out on its behalf — and possibly violated government ethics laws in the process, according to a new grand jury report. San Jose Unified School District hired a consulting firm to help it with a...
South Bay nursing students create COVID-19 book for kids
After COVID-19 scrapped their clinical rotations in 2020, five South Bay nursing students turned their focus to educating children about the virus. Elaine Pham, Liz Nguyen, Elaine Fu, Vivian Doan and Tina Tran created the 15-page book “Let’s Learn About COVID-19” containing coloring diagrams, crossword puzzles and other activities that explain the virus. Nguyen, Fu,...
Women of color denied promotion accuse SJSU president of discrimination
Seven women of color were passed over for promotions at San Jose State University in 2019, and they’re blaming university President Mary Papazian’s leadership for it. The women accused Papazian of discrimination against faculty of color after all of them were either denied tenure or promotion after passing through all the university’s required steps without incident during...
Alum Rock school district begins search for new trustee, again
More than 150 people tuned in to the Alum Rock Union Elementary School district’s special meeting this week expecting to see more candidates emerge for the district’s latest empty board seat. The board had decided the week before to finalize interview questions and take pitches from prospective applicants. However, the Dec. 16 meeting was not...
South Bay schools delay reopening, weigh requiring teachers to take vaccine
San Jose’s biggest school district has put its reopening plans on pause over the resurgent coronavirus pandemic. San Jose Unified School District (SJUSD), which intended to return thousands of students to campus on Jan. 5, informed parents last week via email it will delay that effort indefinitely. “The pandemic continues to rage around us, dimming...
San Jose school board approves agreement for police on campus
The San Jose Unified School District reaffirmed its relationship with police this week despite protests from community organizers. The Board of Education on Dec. 10 unanimously approved updated terms and conditions for on-campus police “for the purpose of maintaining a safe and secure environment for students, staff and community members,” according to a Memorandum of...
New Alum Rock school trustee resigns, leaving seat empty
Newly-elected Alum Rock School District Trustee Scott Hung Pham has declined to take his oath of office, leaving the district scrambling to fill the seat just weeks after he was elected. According to district documents, Pham submitted an email about his decision to district Superintendent Hilaria Bauer on Dec. 4. But many people, including those...
Santa Clara Unified, San Jose in nearly $5 million dispute over development fees
A project to build a massive school complex in San Jose is at the center of an almost $5 million dispute between the Santa Clara Unified School District and the city. At issue is $4.87 million that the school district paid the city for “traffic impact mitigation fees” related to construction at the Agnews School...