A handful of state lawmakers and Silicon Valley leaders are calling on the Santa Clara County Office of Education to reverse the layoffs of hundreds of teachers serving low-income preschoolers, migrants and special education students.
The Monday letter — signed by state Sen. Dave Cortese and Assemblymembers Ash Kalra and Patrick Ahrens — questions the layoffs of as many as 300 full-time positions while accusing the county Board of Education of overspending on insurance, consulting and attorney fees. The board’s majority approved paying millions of dollars to three outside law firms as they tried to defend their controversial decision last year to fire former Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan.
The letter from the state lawmakers — also signed by labor leaders and San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz — questions why layoffs happened under former interim Superintendent Charles Hinman, who temporarily replaced Dewan until the permanent hiring of Superintendent David Toston last month. Toston’s first day on the job is today.
“(The Santa Clara County Office of Education) currently holds a positive multi-year budget certification, as confirmed by third-party audits released earlier this year, and has historically closed each year with a significant budget rollover,” the letter reads. “This reality calls into question any claim that such widespread layoffs are financially justified.”
State lawmakers said formal information requests have gone unanswered, including inquiries about projected deficits, vacant versus eliminated positions, impact assessments on students and the criteria used to select positions for layoff.
“In the absence of clear justification and in the presence of alternative paths forward, these cuts appear to be premature and avoidable,” the letter reads.
Board of Education President Maimona Afzal Berta, who supported Dewan’s firing and Hinman’s hiring, said her office is trying to find ways of keeping impacted programs alive.
“The Santa Clara County Office of Education is actively gathering information and evaluating options to ensure program continuity amid the fiscal uncertainty caused by the federal government, ending grants and declining enrollment,” she told San José Spotlight. “The board of education and (office of education) leadership are committed to keeping stakeholders informed as the situation evolves. We invite our labor partners and broader community to advocate to stabilize funding for vital community programs.”
Trustee Tara Sreekrishnan, who opposed Dewan’s firing, said she agrees with the state lawmakers’ letter.
“(The layoffs are) unjustified and deeply harmful to students, educators and families,” she told San José Spotlight. “With a positive budget certification and a new Superintendent starting today, we have every reason to pause and reassess. Stability, planning and innovation are possible even in times of federal flux.”
The layoffs have impacted 25% of the office of education’s workforce, according to the letter, and have diminished numerous essential programs, including Head Start, special education, migrant education, mental health and wellness, environmental education, charter school accountability and numerous other departments funded through the general fund.
Dewan was fired in October 2024. The board majority defended its decision by accusing Dewan of inappropriate expenditure of public funds, approving suspect contracts and conducting unauthorized surveillance of employees and board members. In December, officials sent their investigative findings to authorities, including the district attorney and law enforcement.
An investigation found more than $135,370 earmarked for preschool education program Head Start was misallocated to pay for non-Head Start staff and credit card purchases under Dewan. Hinman’s office and board members at the time said the findings vindicated the decision to fire Dewan.
Now state lawmakers are calling for an audit of the new leadership, calling out a $32 million increase to the office’s budget for consulting, a $4.9 million increase to school district materials and supplies, insurance overspending “by 324%” and millions spent on legal services for the board majority “in just a few months.”
Contact Brandon Pho at [email protected] or @brandonphooo on X.
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