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...
Education
Education
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...
Santa Clara County’s top educator loses legal bid to get job back
Recently fired Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan’s request to be reinstated has been denied by the Santa Clara County Superior Court. The court said Dewan, who filed suit against the Board of Education last week, did “not adequately establish ‘some possibility’ she will ultimately prevail on the merits.” Dewan alleged the board had no...
Top Santa Clara County education leader sues
Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan has filed a lawsuit against the county Board of Education after trustees voted to fire her in closed session. Trustees last week voted 4-2 behind closed doors to terminate Dewan’s contract “without cause upon 30 days written notice.” But Dewan has come back swinging as she seeks to...
Silicon Valley school board candidates divided on LGBTQ+ issues
Candidates running for a Silicon Valley school board shared starkly different viewpoints on LGBTQ+ issues at a forum this week, disagreeing on whether teachers should notify parents about children’s preferred pronouns and gender identity. There are two seats up for grabs in November on the five-member Franklin-McKinley School District board. Trustees Milan Balinton and George...
Silicon Valley students say their teachers need better pay
Hundreds of Prospect High School students marched out of class this week chanting, “What do we want? Teacher’s pay!” The walkout took place Tuesday across the Campbell Union High School District, a sea of students wearing red in support of their teachers’ demands for better pay and lower class sizes. The day of the walkout, teachers began “working...
Santa Clara County’s top education leader fired
After surviving multiple attempts to get rid of her, Santa Clara County Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan was fired during a late-night meeting this week. The county’s Board of Education Trustees voted 4-2 behind closed doors Wednesday to oust Dewan. The action terminates Dewan’s contract “without cause upon 30 days written notice.” Board President Maimona Afzal...