SAN JOSE, CA – The Santa Clara County Board of Education (“Board”) initiated several policy reforms developed over the past year by the Board’s Governance Ad Hoc Committee (“Committee”) to ensure transparency, good governance, and critical Board oversight of the Santa Clara County Office of Education (“SCCOE”) and its administration. The Committee was comprised of President Maimona Afzal Berta, Vice President Victoria Chon, Trustee Jessica Speiser, and Dr. David M. Toston, Sr., the County Superintendent of Schools.
The reforms, which are based on best practices of other public agencies, will ensure greater accountability relating to the SCCOE’s governance and will implement transparency measures with enhanced Board oversight. The policy recommendations involved an extensive evaluation of the findings of independent investigations into prior actions deemed detrimental to SCCOE. These independent reports were produced by investigators following whistleblower complaints related to, but not limited to, the following conduct:
- The handling of federal Head Start funding;
- Directing subordinate employees to publicly support their superiors; and
- Circumvention of procurement policies.
The investigations also detailed the significant expenditure of government resources without the knowledge and authorization of the Board, along with other conduct not aligned with SCCOE’s policies and procedures. The independent review of past practices revealed a troubling use of SCCOE’s law firms, employee favoritism, failure to comply with federal and state grants requirements, and the undermining of SCCOE policies and the Board’s oversight responsibilities.
“Independent investigators identified evidence that public resources intended to serve the county’s most vulnerable students were misused. As a public education agency, the SCCOE will now have common-sense oversight measures in place to ensure that no individual can ever undermine the Board’s sacred responsibility to safeguard every public dollar, every decision, and the trust of the communities we proudly represent,” said Board President Maimona Afzal Berta. “It has been a challenging two years for the Board, and I want to personally thank everyone who helped bring these issues to light and who stood with us in developing these much-needed reforms.”
“The goal of the Committee is to protect valuable public resources, increase transparency, and oversight. The students of Santa Clara County need better protection,” said Board Vice President Victoria Chon. “This review was the necessary last step to fully move forward and close the book on the very troubling conduct identified by the independent investigations and whistleblower allegations.”
The Ad Hoc Committee’s report and reforms are set to be codified and enacted per Board policy with first and second readings.
The Governance Committee memorandum outlining the reforms can be found
here.
