Business as Usual; Once More with Feeling...
- Jessica Speiser
- 6 days ago
- 6 min read
The Wednesday, April 30, 2025 meeting was cancelled because of lack of quorum of SCCBOE governing board at Ridder Park (the Brown Act requires that a majority of a board (in our case 4 people) must be present in the board room for a board meeting to proceed). Through a confluence of events, only three SCCBOE governing board members could participate at Ridder Park on 4/30, which required the board meeting to be cancelled/postponed. As explained in my last blog post, I had planned to be a remote participant in the 4/30 meeting, and was legally noticed to that end.
That all being said, this blog post will look familiar as I have revised my 4/30/25 one to include additions to the agenda for the 5/21/25 meeting.
The May 21, 2025, Santa Clara County Board of Education (SCCBOE) meeting will start at 5:00pm. Contemporaneous public comments may only be made in person in the San Jose Room of the Santa Clara County Office of Education (SCCOE). Community members can follow SCCBOE meetings at home by clinking on this link and scrolling down to the Watch Live heading. If you cannot attend in person, and have a comment that you would like the SCCBOE to consider in its decision making, please email all of us prior to the board meeting at SCCBOEMembers@sccoe.org. The entire agenda and supporting documentation for this coming week's meeting can be found here.
First up on the agenda, the SCCBOE will recognize the SCCOE's Employee of the Month, Students of the Year, and Volunteer of the Year. The SCCBOE recognizes 10 SCCOE employee each year for their outstanding service to the county office of education and greater community. May's recipient is Barbara Biafore, a School Nurse in the Special Education Department within the Educational Services Division of the SCCOE.
The SCCBOE honors students for academic improvements and achievements, leadership skills, good attendance, good citizenship, and character, community service accomplishments, and perseverance in pursuing their studies and goals. SCCBOE's 2025 Students of the Year are Erick De La Rosa Aguilera and Hibraim Hernandez. Erick is the most recent past SCCBOE Student Board Representative, and 2025 graduate of Osborne School who is working on finishing his State Seal of Civic Engagement project by setting up a Leadership Club at the school. Hibraim, a graduating senior of Live Oak High School, is being recognized by the Migrant Education Department as an active member of his community and engaged volunteer at Walden West.
The SCCBOE also honors volunteers who have outstanding performance in carrying out duties, work efficiently with staff and students, show desire and ability to make a difference, exhibit a positive attitude, demonstrate care and support for others, create and foster a positive school environment, and motivate others. SCCOE's 2025 Volunteer of the Year is Lisa Kanda, a volunteer at Walden West Outdoor School. Lisa is a senior at Branham High School and is known to be a reliable cabin leader who prioritizes campers' experiences over her own.
Next, the SCCBOE will receive the Student Board Member Report, and then hear Public Comments of Persons Desiring to Address the Board (for non-Agendized items). Participants are given 2 minutes at most to address the Board, and the Board is not permitted to engage on the subject matter because it is not agendized. Next, the Board will hear Reports from SCCOE Bargaining Units (which include its teaching, staff, and psychologists unions).
Then, the Board will consider approving its Consent Action Items. The consent part of an agenda generally includes non-controversial subject matters that can be approved all together if the Board all deems the items non-controversial and chooses not to pull any for discussion. For the SCCBOE, this part of the agenda typically includes minutes from the prior meeting, resolutions recognizing ethnic groups the county serves, specific educational initiatives, and outside donations the county has received. This meeting's agenda includes resolutions recognizing Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, Jewish American Heritage Month, Anniversary of the Fall of Saigon, Classified School Employee Week, National School Nurse Day and National Nurses Week, National Teacher Appreciation Week and California Day of the Teacher, Caribbean American Heritage Month, National Immigrant Heritage Month, Lesbianm Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning, (LGBTQ+) Pride Month and Harvey Milk Day, Need for Action to Protect Youth from Gun Violence, Lyme Disease Awareness Month, and a resolution in support of Senate Bill 743 - The Education Equalization Endowment Act. These are all action items and their supporting documentation can be found using the link above under agenda item 6.
Stephanie Gomez will next Request Approval of the Budget Revisions for April 2025.
This is an action item and the request and budget revisions can be found under agenda item 7A. Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, Stephanie Gomez, and Director of Internal Business Services, Lauren Nguyen, will present the revisions and be there to address any questions or concerns the Board may or may not have on the budget revisions. This is a regular request when either Income or Expenditures in actuality are different from the SCCBOE/SCCOE's approved budget.
Dr. Kristen Lee will then ask the Board to approve a Head Start/Early Head Start Carryover Funds for 24/25, Head Start/Early Head Start Budget Revision for Program Year 5, and the Head Start Student Recruitment Plan. These are action items and her presentations can be found under agenda items 7B, C, and D. The SCCOE is allowed to expend funds (not already expended and available to the program) for the Head Start program after the school year ending 6/30 if they submit a Carryover request to the regional federal Office of Head Start before that time and there is a plan to expend it in place before 6/30. The expenditures can only be for one time costs (not recurring). The SCCOE has plans to expend from their already budgeted for supplies and equipment Head Start budget line items. The Head Start department is also asking to make Budget Revisions which require approval by the Head Start Policy Council, the SCCBOE and the federal regional office of the Office of Head Start when such revisions, because they are over $250,000 (no such approval is needed for those requests under $250,000). If the Policy Council and the SCCBOE approve these budget revisions that transfer funds within in budget categories, it will allow Head Start to cover charges related to the potential charges in fringe benefits, as well as meet program needs such as repairs and contractual obligations. Furthermore, a requirement to be eligible for and receive Head Start funding from the federal government, is the development and approval of a Student Recruitment Plan. The includes all the facets for the recruitment of Head Start eligible students.
Next, the Board will go into Closed Session to hear three interdistrict attendance appeals. This will be my first time hearing one of these appeals. It is important to note, the SCCBOE is an appellate body for local school district interdistrict transfer requests, charter school applications, and expulsion decisions. The process and criteria the Board must use is outlined in Board Policy 5117 found here. There are 12 factors the Board must consider in making their interdistrict transfer decision:
The student's psychological or physical well-being.
A substantial danger to the student's health or safety.
A specialized and specific academic program or service, unavailable in the district of residence, but necessary to the student's career or academic objectives.
Hardship resulting from lack of available or appropriate after school care options for the pupil in the district of residence.
A severe and demonstrated hardship to parents/guardians which could affect the student's success in school.
The student's desire to remain in their school of current attendance for the balance of the semester or school year.
The student's plan to move in the near future and desire to begin the semester or school year in their new school district.
The financial impact of educating the student (district of desired attendance) or of losing the student (district of residence).
The student's demonstrated failure to meet reasonable standards relating to behavior, attendance, or diligence to studies.
Lack of space for the student in the receiving district.
The negative impact of the student's transfer on a court ordered or voluntary desegregation plan of either district.
Other exceptional or extraordinary circumstances which would weigh heavily in favor of the appellate student or the affected school district.
Please note, these are just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 4/30/25 meeting. You can inform yourself about the rest of the agenda at the link provided above. As always, feel free to email me with any questions.
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