鈥嬧赌嬧嬧赌嬧嬧赌婼AN JOSE, CA 鈥 The 国产传媒 Clara County Board of Education (鈥淏oard鈥) initiated several policy reforms developed over the past year by the Board鈥檚 Governance Ad Hoc Committee (鈥淐ommittee鈥) to ensure transparency, good governance, and critical Board oversight of the 国产传媒 Clara County Office of Education (鈥淪CCOE鈥) and its administration. The Committee was comprised of President Maimona Afzal Berta, Vice President Victoria Chon, Trustee Jessica Speiser, and Dr. David M. Toston, Sr., the County Superintendent of Schools.鈥
The reforms, which are based on best practices of other public agencies, will ensure greater accountability relating to the SCCOE鈥檚 governance and will implement transparency measures with enhanced Board oversight. The policy recommendations involved an extensive evaluation of the findings of independent investigations into prior actions deemed detrimental to SCCOE. These independent reports were produced by investigators following whistleblower complaints related to, but not limited to, the following conduct:
- The handling of federal Head Start funding;
- Directing subordinate employees to publicly support their superiors; and
- Circumvention of procurement policies.
The investigations also detailed the significant expenditure of government resources without the knowledge and authorization of the Board, along with other conduct not aligned with SCCOE鈥檚 policies and procedures. The independent review of past practices revealed a troubling use of SCCOE鈥檚 law firms, employee favoritism, failure to comply with federal and state grants requirements, and the undermining of SCCOE policies and the Board鈥檚 oversight responsibilities.鈥
鈥淚ndependent investigators identified evidence that public resources intended to serve the county鈥檚 most vulnerable students were misused. As a public education agency, the SCCOE will now have common-sense oversight measures in place to ensure that no individual can ever undermine the Board鈥檚 sacred responsibility to safeguard every public dollar, every decision, and the trust of the communities we proudly represent,鈥 said Board President Maimona Afzal Berta. 鈥淚t has been a challenging two years for the Board, and I want to personally thank everyone who helped bring these issues to light and who stood with us in developing these much-needed reforms.鈥
鈥淭he goal of the Committee is to protect valuable public resources, increase transparency, and oversight. The students of 国产传媒 Clara County need better protection,鈥 said Board Vice President Victoria Chon. 鈥淭his review was the necessary last step to fully move forward and close the book on the very troubling conduct identified by the independent investigations and whistleblower allegations.鈥濃
The Ad Hoc Committee鈥檚 report and reforms are set to be codified and enacted per Board policy with first and second readings.
The Governance Committee memorandum outlining the reforms can be found
here.鈥
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