![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/SCCOE-e1730824679786.jpg\")
The Santa Clara County Office of Education. San Jose Spotlight file photo.<\/p>\nThe Santa Clara County Office of Education. San Jose Spotlight file photo.<\/p>\n
The Santa Clara County Board of Education has tried to turn a page after the dramatic firing of its former superintendent<\/a> set off uproar and internal spending probes. Trouble could be brewing with its newest superintendent.<\/p>\n On Monday, board trustees met behind closed doors for a special meeting that flagged an emerging, but unspecified issue with\u00a0Superintendent David Toston<\/a>. The agenda item was labeled \u201cPublic Employee\/Charges\/Complaint.\u201d Toston \u2014 who oversees 1,400 employees and myriad special education programs for the county\u2019s 33 school districts \u2014 is the only public employee of the board, which selects the superintendent and votes on district policies.<\/p>\n The issue appears unresolved, as the board took no reportable action out of closed session. Board President Maimona Afzal Berta declined to comment. A spokesperson for Toston\u2019s office did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n The nature of the issue with the superintendent is unclear, but follows more than a year of\u00a0contention and fallout<\/a>\u00a0over the October 2024\u00a0firing of former Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan<\/a>.<\/p>\n The decision by a majority of the board roused opposition from local lawmakers and support among special education parents and teachers. The board majority later defended Dewan\u2019s firing by accusing her of misspending funds for education programs, rejecting calls for oversight and maintaining a top-heavy administration. The board launched\u00a0multiple investigations<\/a>, which have\u00a0purportedly<\/a>\u00a0found contract favoritism and improper use of funds \u2014 though the full reports have not been made public.<\/p>\n A federal 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.<\/p>\n Dewan previously said the Santa Clara County Office of Education\u2019s probes were meritless and aimed at smearing her character. Regarding the federal Head Start funds, she said the misspending was unintentional and immediately corrected when brought to her attention.<\/p>\n The probes into Dewan were overseen by an interim superintendent the board hired in 2024,\u00a0Charles Hinman<\/a>, who faced criticism for making\u00a0cuts to the special education program<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 including layoffs. State lawmakers at the time\u00a0said the layoffs were unfounded<\/a>. In April, the board announced the hiring of Toston as permanent superintendent. He has more recently helped the board hammer out reforms in response to Dewan\u2019s firing.<\/p>\n There\u2019s been longstanding tension between the board and its superintendents. The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury\u00a0in 2018<\/a>\u00a0found the board \u201coften exceeded its authority\u201d by entering into the \u201cday-to-day management\u201d of the office of education.\u00a0A governance audit in 2024<\/a>\u00a0found this was still the case six years later. Prior to the 2018 civil grand jury report, the office of education cycled through five superintendents in 11 years.<\/p>\n \u201cThis board has repeatedly destabilized the Santa Clara County Office of Education through micromanagement, serious governance issues, wasteful spending and manufactured crises,\u201d Claudia Rossi, a former board of education trustee, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe result has been predictable and devastating: program cuts, layoffs, leadership churn and the erosion of trust among educators, students and community members.\u201d<\/p>\n Kathleen King, another former board trustee, said the seemingly cyclical issue is wasting taxpayer money.<\/p>\n \u201cThere is a reason all but five counties elect their superintendent of education,\u201d King told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Rossi said the community is still reeling from the instability over the board\u2019s firing of Dewan last year.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is alarming to see the board heading down the same path again,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n