Santa Clara County’s Top School Official Is Fired With Little Explanation

Santa Clara County’s superintendent of schools was fired overnight after more than six years in the role.

School board members voted to terminate Mary Ann Dewan from her role without cause during a closed session meeting on Wednesday night. It was the second board discussion this year evaluating her employment.

“It has been a complete honor and privilege to serve Santa Clara County, its schools, community, staff and students,” Dewan said in a statement. “I have dedicated my life to service of our community and hold the work of the County Office of Education in high esteem. I am incredibly proud of all we have done together to advance equity, inclusion, diversity and partnership.”

Dewan has worked for the Santa Clara County Office of Education since 2013, acting as the superintendent since February 2018.

In February of this year, the county board of education held a closed session meeting to discuss Dewan’s performance, spurring questions about why her performance review had taken months and whether she would keep her job, the San José Spotlight reported.

On Wednesday night, many people praised Dewan during public comment.

Brittney O’Brien, literacy coordinator for learning acceleration at the county Office of Education, said Dewan’s “leadership has had a huge profound impact not on me, but on our entire community.”

However, Anna Mendoza, a parent, questioned how much the words of support reflect feelings among county education staffers.

“We have a lot of good sayings about Dr. Dewan,” Mendoza said. “But if you had all staff who would come here and state how they feel or present, they get retaliated against. Their position gets removed, so that’s the reason you see that. It’s all people in higher positions that come and speak highly of you because of the political power you hold.”

In November 2022, the union representing special education workers in Santa Clara schools filed a workplace safety complaint against the county’s Office of Education. In February, the Spotlight reported that Sarah Gianocaro, the president of SEIU’s Santa Clara County Office of Education chapter, said there had been multiple preventable injuries to both staff and students.

On Wednesday, multiple students and their family members also spoke about a lack of resources for special education students, specifically those with hearing impairments.

“I am stressed about my future and depressed. I cannot begin to stress how important this situation is,” said Ebraheem Berry, who is in an adult transition program. Berry said there has been mixed information about whether he can go through the program, which is integral to his success.

It is unclear what the reason for Dewan’s termination is. Neither she nor the Office of Education responded immediately to a request for comment.