Charter Renewals, Unaudited Financials, and the Silicon Valley Pain Index

The Wednesday, October 7, 2026, Santa Clara County Board of Education (SCCBOE) meeting will start at 5:00pm. The Board will immediately adjourn to closed session to conduct three intradistrict hearings and discuss active and anticipated litigation; public session will reconvene after closed session.  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.

When open session commences, first up on the agenda, the SCCBOE will recognize SCCOE's Employee of the Month, Antonia Romo-Serna and the SCCOE and SCCBOE-Authorized Charter Schools Teachers of the Year, Adriana Oviedo from Early Learning Services and Myong Chang from Rocketship Si Se Puede (respectively). Antonia is a an a Navigator for the Opportunity Youth Academy in the Educational Services Division Department and has worked for the SCCOE for 16 years. Antonia connects OYA students to resources that address their basic needs so they can concentrate on their academic goals. Adriana teaches preschool students at Gilroy Head Start. She has been in the teaching profession for more than 20 years, including 7 years at the SCCOE. Myong teaches Kindergarten and First Grade STEM at Rocketship Sí Se Puede Academy. She has been in the teaching profession for 19 years, including 17 years at Rocketship Sí Se Puede Academy.

Then, the Board will hear the Student Board Member Report, followed by Public Comments of Persons Desiring to Address the Board (for non-Agendized items) and Reports from SCCOE Bargaining Units (which include its teaching and staff unions, among others). For public comments, 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 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, outside donations the county has received, disposition of surplus items, Head Start program reports, approval of board policy updates, and employee compensation increases over a certain threshold. This meeting's agenda includes resolutions Recognizing Indigenous Peoples' Day and National Native American Heritage Month, Sikh Awareness and Appreciation Month. Supporting Responsible, Age Appropriate, and Human Centered Use of Artificial Intelligence In Education, Opposing ProposedFederal Changes to the Head Start Program Performance Standards and Affirming Support for Comprehensive Services for Children and Families, a and to Identify the Gann Appropriations Limit, and an Acceptance of a Student Trauma Notification Grant and a Donation from the Charmaine Warmenhoven. You can read more about all of them under agenda item 9.

Dr. Toston and the Director of the Charter Schools Department, Dr. Michelle Johnson, will then help the SCCBOE conduct a Public Hearing on the Rocketship Fuerza (RF) Community Prep Charter School Renewal Petition. This is a discussion item and RF's presentation and petition can be fund under agenda item 10A. RF was approved on appeal from Alum Rock Union School District (ARUSD) as a K-5 charter school in 2014, renewed and materially revised to add grade TK in 2019. They were supposed to renew in 2024, but because of COVID, renewal deadlines were changed per state law. The public hearing will go as follows: 10 minute SCCOE staff presentation, 10 minute RF presentation, 10 minute ARUSD opportunity to comment, public comment of one minute each, followed by the ability of Board members to ask clarifying questions.

Dr. Toston and Dr. Michelle Johnson, will next help the SCCBOE conduct a Public Hearing on the Rocketship Rising Stars (RRS) Academy Charter School Renewal Petition. This is a discussion item and RRS's presentation and petition can be fund under agenda item 10B. RRS was approved on appeal from Franklin McKinley School District (FMSD) as a K-6 charter school in June 2015 for a 5 year term and renewed and materially revised in 2021 to add TK. They were scheduled to renew by June 2026, but because of COVID, renewal deadlines were changed per state law. As explained above, the public hearing will go as follows: 10 minute SCCOE staff presentation, 10 minute RRS presentation, 10 minute FMSD opportunity to comment, public comment of one minute each, followed by the ability of Board members to ask clarifying questions.

Then, Dr. Toston will present the 2026 Silicon Valley Pain Index (SVPI). This is a discussion item and the presentation can be found under agenda Item 11A. The SVPI was a study conducted by San Jose State University (SJSU) and follows the pain (personal and community distress or suffering, resulting in decreased quality life for individuals and the community overall) levels of the Silicon Valley area community. The report shows lots of pain, income inequality, bias, inaffordability, and the effects of pain on the community. The report was designed to be used to inspire action to decrease the pain through systems wide changes.

Next Dr. Candi Clark, Interim Deputy Superintendent, Business and Operations, and Lauren Nguyen, Director of Internal Business Services will present the 2025-26 County School Service Fund Unaudited Actuals Financial Report. This is an information item and the presentation, SACS, and booklet can be found under agenda item 11B. These unauditied actuals show the differences between what was budgeted and what was actually received and spent. It details SCCOE's various funding sources, the levels of restrictions on the funds, and how those funds were actually spent in the 2025-26 school year.

Dr. Candi Clark will then present Budget Revisions for the Month of September. This is an action item and her supporting documentation can be found under agenda item 12A. The short of it is that during the month of September 2026, the expenditure budget was increased by $9,622,032; revenue was increased by $4,422,443; use of carryover was $5,136,889, and the use of fund balance was $62,700.

Please note, these are just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 10/7/26 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.