A growing number of Silicon Valley residents – joined by state and federal lawmakers – are questioning the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s motives for decimating scores of programs and hundreds of teaching jobs serving the region’s most vulnerable children. Teachers, labor leaders and county officials gathered outside the Office of Education Tuesday calling...
Santa Clara County education layoffs unfounded, state lawmakers say
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...
Santa Clara County Office of Education appoints new superintendent
The Santa Clara County Office of Education’s embattled elected board has found a new superintendent. Board of Education Trustees appointed David M. Toston on Wednesday after five months of political instability and division following the controversial firing of former superintendent Mary Ann Dewan in October. He will begin his new role May 1. Toston was...
California lawmaker condemns dismantling of Head Start program
Congress is calling for the reinstatement of federal employees that oversee critical early childhood programs serving families in poverty as regional Head Start offices are slashed — including one that serves Santa Clara County. U.S. Sen. Alex Padilla is leading dozens of senators in condemning U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy for...
Ex-Silicon Valley education leader dismisses lawsuit
Former Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan has dropped her lawsuit against the Board of Education after trustees fired her last year. The lawsuit, dropped Thursday, claimed trustees had no authority to fire her because she was a constitutional officer and therefore could only be removed by the voters, Steven Ellenberg, Dewan’s...
Santa Clara County cuts early education program
Santa Clara County teachers and local leaders are warning of chaos after mass layoffs have decimated a critical preschool program for families living in poverty, known as Head Start. Head Start staff received pink slips around March 15 amid uncertainty as to whether the federal program under the Trump administration will reimburse the Santa Clara...
Santa Clara County special education workers face layoffs
Special educators serving Silicon Valley’s disabled and most vulnerable children are about to be laid off. Charles Hinman, interim superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education, sent a Feb. 25 letter to staff, obtained by San José Spotlight, which said this is a result of school districts throughout the county closing schools due...
Report: Santa Clara County education office misused funds
A federal investigation has 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, according to the Santa Clara County Office of Education. Interim Superintendent of Schools Charles Hinman said the failure has been remedied in a Wednesday statement. But he said...
Santa Clara County education office plans layoffs
Santa Clara County’s top education office is planning for a wave of firings amid questions over top-heavy management and executive assistants with six-figure salaries. Workers will be notified about their dismissal by March 15, according to a Thursday statement by the Santa Clara County Office of Education. It’s unclear how many jobs could be cut....
Ex-Silicon Valley education leader splurged on staffing
A top Silicon Valley education leader had five highly-paid admins and assistants working for her — with some making nearly $200,000 each a year in public dollars meant to serve the county’s most vulnerable students. An analysis by San José Spotlight revealed an office studded with six-figure salaried assistants, strategy managers and a “senior administrator...
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