The Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees on Thursday voted unanimously 4-0, with Trustee Minh Nguyen absent, to extend the deadline for deciding the youth center’s fate. This will allow time for forging a partnership with the Si Se Puede Collective to help manage the facility.

Board Vice President Andres Quintero said liability for the Mexican American Community Services Agency (MACSA) center is a serious concern for the district, especially as the building is in bad shape.

“We’ve held off … providing an extension to allow this proposal to move forward,” Quintero said. “I see a path forward and the ability for Alum Rock to be able to shed the liability. I’m excited.”

The room was filled with community members as the board heard a presentation by Victor Vasquez, co-executive director of SOMOS Mayfair, and Jessica Paz-Cedillos, co-executive director of the School of Arts and Culture and San José Spotlight columnist. The nonprofits would be responsible for raising funds to renovate the youth center and ongoing operations. The group requested a 60-day extension to continue conversations with the board and create an operating agreement as they await a land and site appraisal.

“This effort is about more than restoring a building,” Vasquez told San Jose Spotlight. “It is about addressing the holistic needs of East Side youth, cultivating collective power and modeling racial solidarity at a time when our communities need it the most.”

San Jose Deputy City Manager Angel Rios, Jr. said between the city and county, they’ve identified $2 million in funding. On Tuesday, the City Council unanimously approved a $500,000 Community Development Block Grant for the facility contingent on the release of federal funds. He said the city is committed to the project and if the grant doesn’t come through, it will find alternative funding.

“What we got today is a downpayment in hope,” Rios, Jr. told San José Spotlight. “Now we gotta dial in on what it’s actually going to cost to revitalize it and raise that money. The best response to poverty is access to opportunity and that’s all this is about.”

District 5 San Jose Councilmember Peter Ortiz said MACSA empowered youth and uplifted families and was a space rooted in community, culture and care. He said his office is proud to have secured the grant to support its revitalization.

“We are working together to bring MACSA back to life,” Ortiz told San José Spotlight. “We envision a future where MACSA is once again a vibrant, community-led hub, a safe, welcoming space where youth thrive, families connect to resources and our culture is celebrated.” 

Vasquez envisions creating a place rooted in community where young people can thrive and families feel supported. He is grateful to those who stand with them, including Ha Trieu, president of the United Vietnamese American Community of Northern California, Van Le, vice president of East Side Union High School District, and District 2 County Supervisor Betty Duong.

“The county’s recent Latino Health Assessment has revealed devastating outcomes,” Duong said at the meeting. “So, when we have an opportunity to preserve something that means so much to people … this is an opportunity that I urge you to pursue. I commit to being with you all every step of the way, with this board, with this district and with our residents here to find a solution for a sustainable operations fund.”

Paz-Cedillos said MACSA will focus on cultural, educational and wrap around services. In recognition of the collective’s capital investment and providing long-term community benefit, she requested it not pay rent to the district.

“The district came to the table,” Paz-Cedillos told San José Spotlight. “They are open to a partnership that can be transformative.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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While overall enrollment continues to fall, a number of local school districts have found a way to attract new students through transitional kindergarten and dual language immersion during the 2024-25 school year. Alum Rock Union School District in East San Jose and Franklin-McKinley School District in South San Jose have gone all in on attracting students through their robust special programs.

Sergio Diaz Luna, spokesperson for Alum Rock Union School District, said the district’s dual language immersion programs help attract families looking for schools with a bilingual model. He said the district’s transitional kindergarten and dual language programs are among the most popular.

Every elementary school in the district offers a preschool program, starting at age 3. In addition, the district offers specialized Spanish and Vietnamese language immersion programs, an environmental magnet and a K-8 music program.

Trustee Minh Pham said the district strives to provide parents and students with opportunities they wouldn’t find elsewhere, including programs and amenities charter schools don’t offer. He said the full-day kindergarten and language programs have been successful.

“They both have some of the healthiest enrollments in the district,” Pham told San José Spotlight. “It’s a promising avenue. They are in many ways slowing down the decline.”

In April 2022, the Alum Rock Union School District board of trustees voted unanimously to turn Cesar Chavez Elementary School into an early learning center for children in preschool through kindergarten, providing the district with an infant and toddler care program. Relocating kindergarten and first graders to San Antonio Elementary School expanded the available number of spaces for ages 0 to 5. The free preschool and child care program provides parents with affordable options in a space traditionally dominated by private providers, Pham said.

“It helps provide our parents with a safe, accessible, licensed, quality child care program while our parents are at work,” Pham said. “It also gives the school district an opportunity to start the bridge to kindergarten.”

The district’s effort is the result of multiple factors, including a $20 million budget deficit. Enrollment has dropped from more than 10,000 students in 2015-16 to 7,270 students in 2024-25. In December, Alum Rock trustees voted to close six schools for the 2025-26 school year due to the deficit and loss of students. The district plans to reopen one of them, while closing two others for the 2026-27 school year.

Franklin-McKinley School District has had success with similar programs. Superintendent Juan Cruz said the district has added additional transitional kindergarten classes, providing at least one at each of its elementary schools. The district’s Vietnamese and Spanish dual language programs are a draw, bringing in families from outside the school district.

“The investment in specialized programs is an attempt at helping attract and retain our students that is directly tied to the revenue we receive,” Cruz told San José Spotlight. “Attracting and retaining our students and ensuring they attend school helps our financial outlook. In addition, these programs are also just good for kids and ensuring we are meeting the needs of our students.”

In February, the Franklin-McKinley School District board of trustees voted to close three elementary schools to ensure the district remained financially solvent. The struggling school district faced declining enrollment and an almost $23 million budget shortfall. Enrollment has decreased since the 2011-12 school year from 9,673 to 5,766 students, according to the district.

Parent Henry Bui said the dual language program provides his children with opportunity, making it easier to find a job when they graduate and helping them communicate with others.

The school district’s dual language program led parent Amy Vu to change districts. She appreciates her children connecting with their culture and learning to read, write and speak Vietnamese. All three of her children will be attending Windmill Springs School next year.

“We were going to put them in a charter or Rocket Ship,” she told San José Spotlight, “but we heard about this program. Hopefully, it will continue all the way to eighth grade.”

Franklin-McKinley School Board President George Sanchez said the district is “definitely seeing” an increase in its transitional kindergarten and kindergarten students for the next school year. In addition to dual language immersion, the district offers specialized programs such as Community Organizing Resources to Advance Learning, which provides students with literacy instruction, homework support, enrichment activities, STEAM and sports.

“These specialized programs definitely help our students stay in the district,” Sanchez told San José Spotlight. “Otherwise, we would end up losing even more students to charter schools or other school districts. Losing any more students or closing more schools would be disastrous in the long run.” 

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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Genesis Smith is spread thin. There aren’t enough social workers in Silicon Valley, leaving her to juggle tense encounters with parents whose children have been placed in protective custody with hour-long drives as far as Merced to check on foster placements.

“If you love your job, you will never work a day in your life. I love my job. I look forward to work. But I’m not going to pretend it’s not emotionally draining,” Smith, a 25-year-old child welfare worker for Santa Clara County’s Department of Child and Family Services, told San José Spotlight. “We are definitely hiring.”

It’s been a year since Smith earned her master’s degree in social work from San Jose State University, long known for supplying talent to the world’s biggest tech firms. Recent graduate survey data suggests the majority are becoming software engineers. But as local tech growth slows and companies expand more rapidly elsewhere, California’s oldest public university is approaching a turning point.

Instead, it’s trying to better serve growing demand for health care and social services jobs, which have seen the largest growth in Silicon Valley compared to other fields over the past three years. By steering more graduates into roles directly serving their community — not tech giants — the university seeks to better cater to a region facing deep wealth divides, soaring housing costs and a fast-approaching elder population boom.

“We are the largest producer of engineers in Silicon Valley. But we are having high-level discussions about jobs like teaching and social work that are crucial for society, but don’t tend to be highly paid,” Melinda Jackson, dean of undergraduate education, told San José Spotlight. “Those are the kinds of jobs that can’t be outsourced to AI.”

A specific area of emphasis is the university’s School of Social Work, which sends future child welfare and adult protective services workers into a county where substance abuse has been declared a public health crisis and homelessness policies have made national headlines.

Many faculty members are active social workers in child welfare, adult and aging services and mental health. That’s been the case since the school’s inception, according to Peter Lee, a professor and director of San Jose State’s School of Social Work.

“The experts in the profession are often current social workers, and we regularly hire them to teach classes in specialized areas,” Lee told San José Spotlight.

Dozens of vacancies

But there’s a severe shortage of social workers throughout the state.

Santa Clara County has been hit hard.

In recent years, county social workers have spoken publicly about distressing working conditions due in part to understaffing. It comes as they’re grappling with the fallout of child welfare policies in light of the 2021 fentanyl overdose of an infant known as “Baby Phoenix.” The agency — under policies pushed by county lawyers — made headlines for refusing to separate the baby from a father struggling with substance abuse.

County leaders are looking for all the social workers they can get. The Board of Supervisors last November called for a comprehensive hiring campaign, as well as efforts to lobby state leaders to fund it.

Out of the 361 case-carrying social worker positions in the department of family and children’s services, 65 were vacant as of the end of last year, according to a county report in February. Meanwhile, the county has urgent needs for additional staffing in the department’s Emergency Response and Dependency Investigations unit, which assigns social workers to investigate allegations suggesting a child is at risk or in imminent danger.

There were 27 vacancies after recent hiring efforts moved the department closer to its goal of reaching no more than a 15% vacancy rate among its 130 total positions. Those recent hires needed to complete state and county-required training and will begin working with families this summer.

San Jose State has about 175 undergraduate majors and more than 450 graduate students in social work, and internship partnerships with about 500 agencies across California. Lee said San Jose State’s School of Social Work has the largest enrollment of any such program in the area.

Overcoming financial barriers

Jackson said San Jose State has taken other steps to steer students toward community-focused professions. She said the university is pursuing grant programs focused on attracting more men of color into teaching — a profession where this demographic is vastly underrepresented.

“Financial barriers are a big consideration,” Jackson said.

But grant and scholarship funding could prove more difficult in the coming years as the federal government under President Donald Trump eliminates programs that center on diversity, equity and inclusion.

“These are the kinds of programs that are coming under more scrutiny,” Jackson said, adding the university doesn’t have a large endowment and is being pushed to raise more money.

Smith said students already face major financial roadblocks in the social worker program, which requires students to work internships that are mostly unpaid. That creates a challenge in an area of the country where the cost of living outpaces wages. Students often need to take on additional paid work to get by, but don’t have enough time to do so.

“That was painful for everyone,” Smith told San José Spotlight. “The internship hours demanded so much from us and we were all broke all the time. That would be the one thing I’d say would stop people from doing it. That’s where it becomes an economic gap.”

Smith said she was lucky enough to live with her mother with low car payments and no rent.

“It really is not financially sustainable. I live on my own now so if I were to try and pay rent and go to school, I wouldn’t have done it,” she said.

Lee said his department is well aware of the issue — and has recently expanded some workforce training grants to make more progress. Those total more than $28 million.

However, the federal government recently cut funding for a Santa Clara County program aimed at filling a social worker shortage in high-need school districts, Lee said.

Jackson, the undergraduate dean, said internships can be a challenge for students across the board.

“Many of our students are first generation college students and may be working,” Jackson said. “They may have responsibilities at home. Caring for younger siblings. Family obligations.”

‘Hard conversations to have’

The roadblocks to a career in community service aren’t just financial. While in college, Smith felt tech jobs were more sought after among students than community jobs. It’s evident in the campus itself, she said.

“At San Jose State they built a whole science building. It’s amazing. There’s A/C in there. They’ve got windows. Their floors are shiny,” Smith said. “But you go into the social sciences building and they’re some of the oldest buildings on campus. The A/C is louder than the teacher. It’s 90 degrees there. Some of them don’t even have windows. There’s definitely a big disparity.”
But looks aren’t everything. She praised the hands-on experience the college gave her. Smith looks back fondly on the college’s social work simulation labs, where she would walk into full-set recreations of her future environment: A house with a couch, bed and bathroom. A hospital room with a bed, doctor and police officer.

“You do it in your last year — your last semester — about once a week for five or six weeks,” Smith said. “Social workers for the county will come and act out scenarios for us. They’ll pretend to be a parent and we have to learn how to talk to parents and how to get into the front door. Or when you have to visit someone at a hospital. Or when you have to attend a court hearing.”

Today, Smith finds her work profoundly impacted by these issues. Part of her job is to ask parents questions involving their economic status — whether they can provide their child enough food or housing stability.

“These are hard conversations to have when people can’t even afford a safe place to live,” she said.

San Jose State University finds itself a vessel for Silicon Valley’s state of flux. A Joint Venture Silicon Valley report on the 2024 local economy showed health care and social services jobs grew by 48,600 over the last two years — the largest of any other job sector. It’s a striking find in a region where, in recent decades, tech companies saw unimaginable growth. But the pandemic’s enabling of remote work opened people’s options on where to live — bypassing the region’s stratospheric housing costs.

“People are now saying, ‘huh – maybe it’s not worth it to be here,’” Russell Hancock, president and CEO of the research group, told San José Spotlight. “We’re living in a strange new world.”

San Jose State is undoubtedly populating a major share of the valley’s community service workers, Hancock said.

“Of course Stanford gets all the press,” Hancock said. “But their degree numbers are smaller than San Jose State, which has the critical mass. And the region doesn’t appreciate it nearly enough.”

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

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The East Side Union High School District has started redistricting its trustee voting areas as it switches from at-large elections. The district received a legal claim earlier this year saying existing trustee areas violate the California Voting Rights Act by denying marginalized residents equal representation. To better understand its distinct neighborhoods, the board of trustees will host meetings to gather community input on draft maps. Trustees will vote on a final map in August ahead of upcoming elections for three board seats in November. Changing the trustee areas won’t affect school boundaries or services.

Superintendent Glenn Vander Zee said although the current board makeup reflects district demographics, redistricting will ensure this continues historically. He added it’s essential to ensure the process is transparent and engages residents.

“It is a time for our public … to define areas of representation that maintain community voices to the highest level in choosing board trustees in the future,” Vander Zee told San José Spotlight. “We encourage people to come to the meetings so they can understand what this process is and make sure they and their community voices are heard.”

The next meetings will be held at 6:30 p.m. on May 20 at Yerba Buena High School, June 26 at Andrew P. Hill High School and July 15 at William C. Overfelt High School. The meetings will be available online.

Trustees approved changing the election system in April. Once the board approves the final map, it will go before the County Committee on School District Organization under the Santa Clara County Office of Education for final approval. Additional information and a questionnaire about communities of interest — people who share common social and economic interests — is available on the district’s website.

The district has hired consulting firm Redistricting Partners— which strives to ensure the process is fair and protects communities — to handle the election system switch. During the first special board meeting on May 12 at William C. Overfelt High School, Redistricting Partners demographer Liz Stitt said U.S. Census data will be used in creating the maps.

“The most important aspect of redistricting is making sure the public is participating and engaged,” Stitt said at the meeting.

Chuck Cantrell, a local economist and vice chair of the San Jose Planning Commission, asked how the board will ensure marginalized communities are contacted and reflected in the mapping process.

“There is a significantly marginalized community … that represents maybe 2% of the student population here. It’s still important,” Cantrell said at the meeting. “I understand your district reflects your community … but there’s a specific group in the community that is not represented. I would implore you to do a much more active engagement processing that includes going to Black churches. I want to know there is a process to engage the most marginalized communities.”

Vander Zee said he will follow up to ensure communities are able to express their voices and provide input.
Jack Hammer, president of East Side Teachers Association, expressed concern with board members influencing new district boundaries. Stitt said where trustees live isn’t a consideration in drawing the maps, but can be in the board choosing the final map. She said she prefers to use maps submitted by the community.

“We want this to be focused on communities and not incumbents,” Stitt said.

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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Teachers, labor leaders and county officials gathered outside the Office of Education Tuesday calling for the reversal of more than 250 educator layoffs affecting low-income preschoolers, migrants and special education students.

“Despite starting this fiscal year with $99 million in reserves, SCCOE announced arbitrary and capricious layoffs that will destroy essential and mandated services,” Sarah Gianocaro, the SEIU 521 Chapter President for SCCOE who represents special education teachers, said at the news conference.

The cuts were set into motion by a majority faction of the board of education – the same one that controversially voted to fire former superintendent Mary Ann Dewan last October. District executives under the board majority argued it was uncertain whether these programs, which relied on federal funding, would continue to receive it. Education officials pointed to proposals under the Trump Administration as the source of concern.

Yet state lawmakers have since slammed those same trustees for overspending on consultants, outside lawyers and insurance.

“SCCOE engaged in suspiciously high funding allocations – over $55 million more than what is typically spent in a year,” Gianocaro said at the news conference. “These DOGE-like cuts are arbitrary and capricious and will decimate our … public education system that ensures all students, especially the most vulnerable, can access critical services that impact their educational trajectory and ability to break the cycle of poverty.”

Joining her at the podium was Board of Education Trustee Tara Sreekrishnan — one of the few trustees to speak against the layoffs and criticize the board majority — as well as County Supervisor Betty Duong.

“What we need is even keeled leadership, thoughtful leadership that works with our workers — especially our frontline workers, to prioritize what’s important and have a shared plan moving forward,” Duong said at the news conference.

Superintendent David Toston said his office will walk the cuts back if it makes sense.

“We remain committed to working with our federal and state partners to secure sustainable funding and will rescind layoff notices where possible if resources materialize,” Toston said in a statement released to the public after the protest.

A bulk of the layoffs have hit the county’s federal Head Start program, after 169 educators – who prepare pre-school age children and toddlers in poverty for the K-12 system and connect families with social safety net resources – started receiving pink slips in March.

A letter from Congressman Ro Khanna last month called the 169 layoffs at the county’s federal Head Start program premature. He points out the federal budget hasn’t been finalized.

“I am told that local school districts have proposed to lay off Head Start staff due to the threat of these budget cuts. I also understand that the budget process has not reached its conclusion, and these funds may yet be saved,” Khanna wrote in an April 25 letter.

Office of Education leaders say they didn’t have sufficient assurances about the continuation of federal funding during the budget planning process.

“Given the federal threats and uncertainty for Head Start funding, we are actively exploring solutions to provide stability and continuity for our most vulnerable children,” Board of Education President Maimona Afzal Berta told San Jose Spotlight.

Office of Education leaders say federal funding for the program ends June 2025 pending renewal, with funding renewed on five-year cycles. Officials said they submitted a Head Start application for continued funding.

SCCOE officials say they face several converging financial pressures, including the expiration and reduction of multiple state and federal grants, declining student enrollment in Santa Clara County, rising operational costs and a flat general fund allocation from the state, unchanged since 2014.

Khanna said hope remains for Head Start. He pointed to the ongoing effort to secure state funding for the program in Sacramento. Assembly Bill 1428, introduced in February, would provide roughly $2 billion in funding per year for licensed childcare facilities including Head Start.
More than 1,000 families — who would not be able to afford preschool in excess of $30,000 a year — benefit from Head Start programs, he wrote.

“Adults who went through Head Start live healthier lives than those in their age cohort who did not have a Head Start education. These students are 7% less likely to be in poor health than their own siblings who did not participate in Head Start,” Khanna wrote.

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

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Congressmember Sam Liccardo, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark and Campbell Union School District Superintendent Shelly Viramontez spoke out at Rosemary Elementary School April 23 against proposed funding cuts to special education and Title I funding to school districts with high percentages of low-income students. Liccardo and congressional Democrats are challenging the executive order to eliminate the U.S. Department of Education and a proposed $330 billion in cuts to key educational programs over the next 10 years. 

“Rosemary Elementary has a very effective program for special needs students,” Liccardo told San José Spotlight. “Pulling the rug out on this kind of opportunity for children is just criminal.”

Viramontez said the loss of federal funds would affect the district’s general budget as about 9% comes from the federal government, including $830,000 from Title I. At Rosemary Elementary School, about 34% of the budget comes from federal dollars, aiding English language learner students and students with disabilities. Students with disabilities make up 9% of the student population and 81% are socioeconomically disadvantaged.

“It’s impacting our most marginalized students the most,” Viramontez told San José Spotlight. “Our special education budget is $26 million right now, so that would have a pretty significant impact on us.”

Viramontez said the district provides a preventative, supportive, whole child approach.

“We don’t have enough funding as it is,” she said. The idea of losing what we currently have … we can’t tolerate that. We can either invest wisely in developing the students so they have skills to be productive, contributing citizens or we can deprive that system and then … we’re going to have to pay in a big way on the back end.”

Clark said in addition to funding cuts to Head Start, Title I and school nutrition programs are threatened due to their sizable budgets.

“This is a school that is heavily reliant on Title 1 funding,” Clark said. “These dollars work. At Rosemary Elementary School, they serve 15,000 meals a month. The difference that can make in a child’s life … in a family’s budget. We should be adding more funding … not taking it away.”

Alyssa Sigala, a kindergarten teacher at Rosemary Elementary School, said the loss of federal funding could mean losing reading specialists, instructional aides and special education staff who support children with learning disabilities and provide behavioral support and speech services.

David Goldberg, president of the California Teachers Association, said cuts to Department of Education programs affect 800,000 special education students statewide, hundreds of thousands of students who rely on free lunch programs and $2.1 billion in Title I grants. California receives about $16.3 billion in federal funding, including $1.33 billion for students with disabilities, according to the teachers association.

“It is a tidal wave. It’s a whole ecosystem of programs,” he told San José Spotlight. “Kids are going to come to school hungry. Special ed students are not going to get the services they need.”

Goldberg said the threatened loss of $600 million in federal teaching training grants and other financial help for teacher candidates could cause a shortage. 

“It’s going to be harder and harder to fill positions if you cut these programs that are targeted to bring people into a profession that is already underpaid,” he said. “We’re going to continue to push on the federal government to stop creating … this constant threat of cuts that is just devastating public education. It leads to people leaving this profession.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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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 brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X.

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State Sen. Dave Cortese’s Senate Bill 550 proposes establishing a law school at San Jose State University by integrating it with state-accredited, nonprofit Lincoln Law School of San Jose. If approved, it would be San Jose’s first public law school. The CSU board of trustees would also need to approve the plan. The bill has passed the Senate Education Committee and is headed to the Senate Judiciary Committee on Tuesday.

Cortese said creating the public law school would lower barriers to entry, as cost and location can turn people away from entering careers in public service — including first generation students and other underrepresented demographics. The expense and lack of public law schools make law careers out of reach, especially for people of color. Asians and Latinos are underrepresented among licensed attorneys statewide, he said. As the average law school debt exceeds $130,000, creating an affordable law school would help diversify Silicon Valley’s legal pipeline.

“We had all sides saying they’re willing to come to the table and try to negotiate a deal,” Cortese told San José Spotlight. “You need a bill to do something like this. It should be doable. It’s the right thing to do.” 

Cortese discussed creating a law school at SJSU with Lincoln Law School Dean J. Jason Amezcua and SJSU President Cynthia Teniente-Matson. Amezcua said merging Lincoln Law School with SJSU addresses a significant need in San Jose. Lincoln Law School offers evening classes so judges and attorneys can teach and students can work during the day. It’s serving about 30 students and can host up to 70. Merging with SJSU would provide increased services for students, Amezcua said.

“The more we can help contribute to legal representation, legal services and legal opportunities being available to more folks in this community … the better,” Amezcua told San José Spotlight. “It’s critical because the traditional law school path is expensive. What we see is people that would not even consider attending a law school … that’s one of the barriers it breaks down.” 

San Jose State University representatives declined to comment. 

Cortese said the bill has a good chance of going to the governor’s desk, as the Senate Judiciary Committee is poised to approve it with some technical changes.

But SB 550 is not without funding concerns, as Gov. Gavin Newsom is proposing cutting $375 million from the CSU system. Cortese said tuition and fundraising could help support a new law school — and the financial situation could change in the years it may take to close the deal. 

“It didn’t scare away the chancellor and the president yet,” Cortese said. “Let’s see if there’s a marriage here first. Then we can figure out how to handle the cost of the administration.”

Magnus Herrlin, president of the San Jose State University Pre-Law Society, said the university gaining an affordable and accessible law school would encourage more people of color to pursue a law degree. 

“SJSU having a law school … will inspire people and tell them their dream can be achieved,” Herrlin told San José Spotlight.” It’s not unrealistic to think that you can attain a quality and affordable legal education.”

Contact Lorraine Gabbert at lorrainegabbertsjspotlight@gmail.com.

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Students like Huerta-Hernandez will soon be able to cross this one worry off their list. West Valley-Mission Community College District is rolling out a free universal meal program slated to start in the fall. The program will serve in-person students one meal per school day. Students who need more support can receive more than one meal.

The program, which officials said is the first of its kind in a community college nationwide, is part of a districtwide initiative to lower barriers to higher education for its more than 17,000 students. About 21% of the thousands of students attending West Valley College face food insecurity, according to the 2023 Real College California Survey.

Huerta-Hernandez, a sociology student, is no longer facing food insecurity after finding work and support. She plans to transfer to a four-year university next fall, missing the launch of the free meal program. Still, she pointed out having access to such a program when she struggled would’ve been invaluable.

“It would have meant security and knowing that I was gonna be OK, knowing that even if it’s that one meal that I’m getting, I’m getting it,” Huerta-Hernandez told San José Spotlight.

The community college district will pay $2.5 million annually to run the program for the foreseeable future. Funds will come from discretionary property tax revenue. Thomas Cuisine will provide the meals and teach cooking classes. The district is still working out logistics, like what meals will be provided and when they’ll be available.

Chancellor Bradley Davis said battling food insecurity became his focus when two student soccer players asked if he could spot them money for food at the cafeteria because they couldn’t afford it. He noticed a gap in the education system because students receive free meals from elementary through high school, but support ends in college.

“We felt that just because our community college students had finished high school, they shouldn’t be cut off from the very important component of their holistic development: good nutrition,” Davis told San José Spotlight.

The community college district has launched other equitable initiatives over the past couple of years, including free tuition for all students in its service area beginning this spring semester. It also offers a food pantry where students can get fresh produce.

Kelly Neary, a biology professor at Mission College for 19 years, said she’s glad the district is tackling hunger. She’s witnessed the problem firsthand and keeps free food in the classroom for her students. She wants the program to go from Monday through Saturday because students attending Friday and Saturday classes are often forgotten. She also wants food offered to be inclusive of all cultures, including halal and kosher options.

“Providing an opportunity for everyone to get a free meal, it just sort of levels the playing field,” Neary told San José Spotlight. “Anything we can do to help reduce our students’ stress and create a more welcoming learning environment will only improve their success in the classroom.”

Huerta-Hernandez said even though she’s moving on from West Valley College, the program will change the lives of her friends who skip eating for days because they have to choose between essentials such as housing and a meal.

“This is why it needs to happen,” she said. “Even if it wasn’t in my time, the amount of impact it’s going to have… for my friends that are not gonna go hungry, (it’s amazing).”

Contact Annalise Freimarck at annalise@sanjosespotlight.com or follow @annalise_ellen on X.

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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 previously senior advisor at the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, which focuses on statewide education initiatives around community engagement and school equity. His other roles  include Associate Superintendent at the El Dorado County Office of Education and Assistant Superintendent at the Sutter County Superintendent of Schools. He was elected chair to the California Advisory Commission on Special Education.

“I am deeply honored to serve as Superintendent of the Santa Clara County Office of Education,” Toston said in an Office of Education statement announcing his appointment. “This role is both a privilege and a responsibility, and I look forward to partnering with our trustees, SCCOE teammates, districts, students, educators, families and community partners. Together, we will demonstrate what is possible through the strength of our diversity—ensuring every educator is supported in preparing students to achieve the hopes and dreams of their families and communities.”

Board of Education President Maimona Afzal Berta said Toston has demonstrated exceptional leadership on education in California.

“We are confident that he will guide the Santa Clara County Office of Education forward with vision and purpose,” Berta said in a statement.

It comes in a moment of upheaval for the district. Staff are being laid off in waves, which Office of Education leaders blame on declining enrollment and uncertainty over federal spending cuts. Meanwhile, the Board of Education’s majority faced backlash for Dewan’s firing from community leaders and state lawmakers. In response, the majority accused Dewan of misspending public funds – and announced a set of investigations into spending under her office.

A federal investigation also 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 while Dewan was superintendent.

School district leaders didn’t immediately respond to requests for comment.

Contact Brandon Pho at brandon@sanjosespotlight.com or @brandonphooo on X, formerly known as Twitter.

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