An East San Jose school district superintendent has recommended closing seven schools and consolidating others. On the heels of Alum Rock Union School District’s consolidation committee selection of 13 schools to close or consolidate, Superintendent Germán Cerda has narrowed his choices. He proposes closing Aptitud Community Academy at Goss, Donald J. Meyer Elementary School, Horace...
Education
Education
Silicon Valley education office audits misuse of funds
As the Santa Clara County Office of Education board faces backlash for firing Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan, it’s responding with an “extraordinary” request for third-party audits into misuse of school district funds during Dewan’s tenure. The audits will focus on unspecified contract awards and expenditures of public funds, as well as allegations of email surveillance...
East San Jose district could close nearly half its schools
An East San Jose school district plans to close numerous campuses due to an enormous budget deficit. An Alum Rock Union School District committee is recommending closing 13 of its 21 schools due to declining student enrollment with families moving out of the area, lower birth rates and a steady loss of students to charter...
Former San Jose mayor pulls endorsement of education official
A dispute is deepening over Santa Clara County’s top education leaders — one of whom just lost her reelection endorsement from former San Jose Mayor Sam Liccardo amid the firing of county Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan. Liccardo — who’s vying for Congressional District 16 — on Thursday confirmed he withdrew his endorsement for...
Controversial West Valley school superintendent leaves district
An embattled education official has made a hasty exit from a West Valley school district, following months of community strife that left parents and students feeling unheard. Los Gatos-Saratoga Union High School District Superintendent Bill W. Sanderson will resign June 30 for “personal reasons,” following lengthy community unrest over his leadership style, according to a...
East San Jose voters to weigh school parcel tax
East Side Union High School District has placed a parcel tax on the Nov. 5 General Election ballot in an effort to generate a much-needed revenue stream. If approved by voters, Measure N will generate $6.4 million annually for five years to help fund the financially-strapped school district. The $49 per parcel tax needs a...
Santa Clara County leaders could expand control over education board
Santa Clara County leaders may exert more power over the Office of Education, whose elected board voted to fire its controversial superintendent, Mary Ann Dewan. The Board Supervisors on Tuesday voted 4-0 to look into whether it should decide who sits on the countywide school district’s Board of Education. Supervisor Susan Ellenberg recused herself, with...
San Jose school board candidate threatened ‘revenge’ on trustees
Threatening emails from an individual seeking a trustee seat in San Jose’s largest school district has the community on edge. Rami Gideoni, a parent of a child in the San Jose Unified School District, started sending menacing emails last year to the board of trustees after its decision to end the Middle College program. The...
Santa Clara County education board appoints new leader amid turmoil
The Santa Clara County Office of Education has found a new interim superintendent, and he lives in Southern California. The county Board of Education voted 6-1 to appoint Charles Hinman Wednesday to temporarily replace ousted superintendent Mary Ann Dewan. Hinman has a 35-year career in public education, which includes multiple stints as a superintendent in school...
Silicon Valley school fight over LGBTQ+ curriculum has ‘big implications’
About 20 teachers and parents walked into a Cupertino Union School District board meeting Oct. 10, armed with signs that read, “Keep LGBTQ students and teachers safe at CUSD.” Another group of about eight people clutched signs that read, “Advanced gender topics don’t belong in TK.” Both groups were there for one reason — to...