The Wednesday, February 5, 2024, Santa Clara County Board of Education (SCCBOE) meeting will start at 4:50pm. with its Finance Corporation annual meeting. 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. The SCCBOE recognizes 10 SCCOE employee each year for their outstanding service to the county office of education and greater community. February's recipient is Dr. Sorn Kham, a School Psychologist in the Special Education Department within the Educational Services Division.
Next, the SCCBOE will receive 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.
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 the Lunar New Year, Black History Month, Career and Technical Education Month, National PTA Founder's Day, National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, Importance of Addressing Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs), Affirming Support of Students and Families Regarding LGBTQ+ Protections at School, and one establishing Institutional membership in the Association of California County Boards of Education. These are all action items and their supporting documentation can be found using the link above under agenda item 5.
Stephanie Gomez, the Assistant Superintendent in charge of Business Services, will next present the Board with Santa Clara County Office of Education 2023-24 Annual Financial Audit Report. This is a discussion item and the Audit Report can be found under agenda item 6. The auditors, Christy White, found that the SCCOE's financial statements were "presented fairly, in all material respects, the respective financial position of the governmental activities, each major fund, and the aggregate remaining fund information of the Santa Clara County Office as of June 30, 2024, and the respective changes in financial position and, where applicable, cash flows thereof for the year then ended in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States of America." They found no audit exceptions, recommendations or findings or any description of correction or plans to correct any exceptions identified in the audit.
Then, the SCCBOE will have its Annual Conflict of Interest Training. This is a discussion item and will be conducted by legal counsel. The SCCBOE strives to maintain the highest ethical standards and help ensure that decisions are made in the best interest of the SCCOE, the students, and the community it serves. In recognition of this responsibility, the County Board gets training every year to ensure its members conduct themselves lawfully, with integrity and high ethical standards that uphold the duty of elected office, build trust, public confidence, and credibility, as well as model the behaviors expected of staff and students.
Next, the SCCOE Government Relations Department will discuss the planning of a SCCOE Advocacy Day at the State Capitol. This allows SCCOE cabinet members and SCCBOE members to discuss legislative priorities with state legislators, highlight the SCCOE's programs, and promote specific legislation that will improve the education for students served by SCCOE. Board members are asked to share their availability for the trip to Sacramento.
After closed session, the Board will then get an update on the 2025/26 Budget. This is an information item and the presentation can be found under agenda item 10.A. Of note, for this coming budget and for many budgets prior, the SCCOE does not get to keep all the property taxes that should otherwise be entitled. State law requires the SCCOE to disburse 22% of it to the state to be used by local courts. For the 25/26 budget, that disbursement is expected to be over $52 million (as shown in the graphic above).
SCCOE's Charter Schools Department, led by Mefula Fairley, will next give her Charter Schools Update. This is typically on every agenda and allows Ms. Fairley to give various updates on the 21 charter schools approved and overseen by the SCCOE.
Please note, these are just the highlights of what is on the agenda for the 2/5/25 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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