Schools chief secures veto
County’s top educator wins approval from state to halt decisions from troubled district
SAN JOSE >> Santa Clara County’s top educator scored a key victory in her battle with the Alum Rock Union School board majority by winning state approval of the veto power she seized last month over the district.
Mary Ann Dewan, superintendent of Santa Clara County schools, now will dispatch an adviser empowered to halt and roll back any action taken by the Alum Rock board, administrators or employees.
Ironically, Dewan’s win appears to implicate the legal advice offered by the board’s controversial attorney, Maribel Medina, and the law firm that employs her, Leal & Trejo of Long Beach. In turning down the appeal of Dewan’s decision, the California Department of Education noted that the district missed a critical deadline and that the Alum Rock school board had not approved the appeal.
Instead, documents obtained by this newspaper show, Leal & Trejo submitted the appeal after a discussion with Alum Rock school board President Esau Ruiz Herrera.
Neither responded to requests for comment on the rejection of the appeal.
The state’s decision, outlined in a letter sent Thursday by Caryn Moore, a division director with the state, elated members of the Alum Rock community.
“It’s good news. It’s a big win for us,” said Olivia Ortiz, a parent leader with the community group Somos Mayfair. After more than a year of organizing, protesting and sticking out late-night board meetings, she said, “It shows us right now that we’re being heard.”
Dissident board member Andres Quintero — who alerted the state that the board had not authorized the appeal — also was pleased. “I appreciated that the state superintendent took my letter into account,” he wrote in an email. “I feel as if the taxpayers and our students finally have some protection from the irrational behavior of the board majority.”
But Alum Rock trustee Khanh Tran was disappointed with the state’s move. He said he would support resubmitting the appeal, if the board agrees, and also filing suit to seek an injunction against the county office of education.
Dewan did not comment, except to write, “the window for appeal has expired.”
The Alum Rock district, which serves just over 10,000 students in elementary and middle school, has been engulfed in turmoil since a scathing state audit warned of possible fraud and misspending — with many problems
traced to board behavior, high staff turnover and the district’s construction-management contracts with Del Terra Real Estate and its chief, Luis Rojas.
Despite his objections to secondguessing of district decisions, Tran welcomed a fiscal adviser to help put Alum Rock’s financial records in order. He accused Superintendent Hilaria Bauer of stashing up to $12 million in secret accounts.
“Unfortunately, laws were broken
and one who committed a crime cannot come back and say I am sorry,” Tran wrote. “I will vote to let her go.”
Bauer did not respond to requests for comment.
Dewan’s fiscal adviser, William Gillaspie, will begin his job April 23. In the meantime, Dewan’s current consultant, Donald Zimring, will have adviser powers from April 11 to 13.
“The main point of that,” she wrote in an email, “is to ensure that I have someone always on deck.”