Santa Clara Schools Chief Was Fired in Illegal Closed-Door Meeting, Attorneys Allege

Santa Clara County’s former superintendent of schools is accusing the county Board of Education of violating California’s open meetings law with the closed-door vote that led to her firing this week.

Mary Ann Dewan, who’s been with the county for more than a decade, was fired following a 4–2 vote on Wednesday night during the second closed-door meeting this year to review her performance. In a notice sent to the county school board on Friday, lawyers representing Dewan said the board “met in closed session with Attorney Ash Pirayou reputedly to discuss anticipated litigation” on five separate occasions, but no litigation was anticipated or followed.

Instead, Steven Ellenberg and Richard M. Noack of the Lathrop GPM firm alleged the closed-session meetings resulted in Dewan’s firing.

“When the [board] met on October 2, 2024, in an improper and unlawful closed session, it was a foregone conclusion that the [board] would, in fact, take action to terminate Dr. Dewan,” they wrote in a notice sent to school board members on Friday.

The state’s open meetings law, known as the Brown Act, prevents a majority of a legislative body from using any form of communication to discuss matters that are within its jurisdiction outside of an authorized meeting. The meetings at which the lawyers allege Dewan’s employment status was discussed were not authorized for that purpose, they say.

The attorneys also allege that the closed session meeting when board members voted on Dewan’s employment was illegal because the agenda called for discussion of a public employee’s employment status. Ellenber and Noack say that Dewan was “an appointed constitutional officer of the State of California and not a public employee.”

Dewan’s firing has proved divisive.

At a press conference on Friday morning, a school board representative who voted against Dewan’s termination gathered with employees from various districts around the county to support Dewan and demand transparency about her termination. Nearby, another group cheered the firing, saying “justice” had been served.

Board member Tara Sreekrishnan called for a public hearing next week to address concerns about the circumstances of Dewan’s firing and ensure transparency in the future.

“It is deeply harmful to our children’s education that this decision was made behind closed doors,” said Sreekrishnan, who is also a candidate for state Assembly. “The public deserves to be part of these discussions, and it’s wrong to exclude them from such an important process.”

She said the decision led some staff members to walk out, and she demanded transparency and accountability from the board.

Jessica Speiser, a current candidate for the school board, called the decision politically motivated.

“Instead of focusing on ensuring that all kids, no matter their background or personal experience, get the best education possible, for just over a year, the majority of a divided board decided to put political differences at the center of the narrative and ultimately fire … an award-winning, collaborative, high-performing, beloved superintendent,” Speiser said.

Chants of “justice was served” rang out multiple times throughout the rally’s speaker lineup from a group seeming to suggest that Dewan’s firing was justified.

That came after a handful of speakers raised concerns about Dewan’s leadership during the public portion of Wednesday night’s meeting. One parent said that Dewan’s support only seemed so strong because employees feared retaliation if they spoke out against her.

Sreekrishnan said that there were some concerns members of the board have voiced, but could not elaborate since they were discussed in the closed meeting, which is private.

“The lack of transparency around this process shows that the public isn’t aware about the criticisms of our superintendent,” she told KQED.

In November 2022, the union representing Santa Clara public schools’ special education workers filed a workplace violence complaint against the county’s Board of Education, alleging incidents of preventable injuries to both students and workers, asking federal officials to launch an investigation.

Multiple students and their family members also spoke about the lack of attention to and resources for special education students, especially those with hearing impairments.

The reason for Dewan’s termination is unclear.

“During her 6 years of service, Superintendent Dewan has placed a high value on cultivating systems for communication and collaboration, championing a culture that was focused on teaching and learning, as well as promoting social-emotional well-being, and health and wellness both in and out the classroom,” the Board of Education said in a statement on Friday.

It said four board members — President Maimona Afzal Berta and trustees Don Rocha, Joseph Di Salvo and Grace Mah — voted for Dewan’s firing, while trustees Victoria Chon and Sreekrishnan voted against it. One member, trustee Raeena Lari, abstained.

The county’s associate superintendent, Jessica Bonduris, will take on the role of acting superintendent until an interim or permanent superintendent is assigned, which the board plans to do in a special session as soon as possible, according to a statement.