What a shock! A government agency misused tax dollars. Musk has shown us this problem on a Federal level. It is expected that government schools would do the same. They abused COVID money, refused to educate the students and the system is run by radicals and unions (or am I being redundant?)
“A federal investigation has found more than $135,370 earmarked for preschool education program Head Start was misappropriated to pay for non-Head Start staff and credit card purchases, according to the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Charles Hinman said the failure has been remedied in a Wednesday statement. But he said a recently published report by federal auditors shows a pattern by previous administrators of “scoffing grant rules” and “rejecting calls for oversight” by the Board of Education.
If one of the Musk Team were to audit this system, I bet they would find millions in misspent money. What do you think?
Report: Santa Clara County education office misused funds
by Brandon Pho, San Jose Spotlight, 2/19/25 https://sanjosespotlight.com/report-santa-clara-county-education-office-misused-funds/
A federal investigation has found more than $135,370 earmarked for preschool education program Head Start was misappropriated to pay for non-Head Start staff and credit card purchases, according to the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
Interim Superintendent of Schools Charles Hinman said the failure has been remedied in a Wednesday statement. But he said a recently published report by federal auditors shows a pattern by previous administrators of “scoffing grant rules” and “rejecting calls for oversight” by the Board of Education.
His office is referring to his predecessor, former Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan, who was fired in October by a board majority. After backlash from educators and state lawmakers, the board majority and Hinman accused Dewan of misspending funds. Hinman, appointed shortly after Dewan’s firing, launched separate investigations into Dewan’s spending in November.
The report found the office of education charged the Head Start federal grant for wages and credit card expenses of a non-Head Start manager in the amount of $135,372.97 between January and June of last year.
Hinman and board members said Dewan’s firing has been vindicated, as the report confirms suspicions that funds weren’t being legally appropriated — and that previous administrators refused to comply with calls for public review and neglected to engage the community members being served by the grant per federal mandates.
“Since stepping into this role, myself and the rest of SCCOE leadership have taken these issues seriously and have been proactive in addressing concerns to ensure compliance with all federal regulations,” Hinman said in the statement. “We remain committed to completing our own investigations so we can fully understand how these things happened and ensure they never happen again. It is our duty to ensure that all possible resources are used in the best interest of our students.”
Dewan said when it was brought to her attention that the funds were unintentionally charged to wrong accounts, she ensured it was corrected immediately.
“I have dedicated the last 11 years of my life to serving the children and families of Santa Clara County,” Dewan told San José Spotlight. “My focus and attention have been on what is in the best interest of the students, families and staff. These attacks on me are unnecessary. I urge the Santa Clara County Board of Education to focus on the needs of the community and use the limited public resources for the children and families who need their support now more than ever before.”
One of Dewan’s few allies on the board, Tara Sreekrishnan, called the office of education’s announcement “yet another politically motivated attack” meant to deflect from the serious governance issues facing the board.
“When this accounting error was identified, it was immediately corrected — no funds were lost, no services were impacted and an independent audit recently gave SCCOE an A+ rating,” Sreekrishnan told San José Spotlight.
The Administration for Children and Families found Dewan’s office did not immediately comply with the federal review into its use of Head Start funds in 2024. Additionally, the report found Dewan “did not meet the standard” in implementing Head Start, including not having “a process for engaging the parents, including the policy council and parent committees” or providing appropriate training and technical assistance on Head Start to the policy council and board of education.
The office of education eventually confirmed the misallocation of funds and reversed the charges out of Head Start on June 11, but it only came after months of a “failed cover-up,” Board of Education President Maimona Afzal Berta said in the statement. Berta was part of the board majority that fired Dewan.
“The results from this federal review validate the rightful concerns and actions of the Board of Education despite the now proven intentional and illegitimate effort to undermine the Board’s oversight and governance authority, as publicly elected officials,” Berta said. “The public has a right to know exactly what occurred. These are precious public dollars meant to help the most vulnerable in our community and no administrator should ever be allowed to act in this manner ever again. As stewards of the public’s trust, we must ensure that we have the unfettered ability to fulfill our duty to oversee this program and put appropriate measures in place.”
Yadira Orozco, chair of the Head Start Policy Council for the office of education, said the prior administration did not keep her panel in the loop or properly prioritize program participants based on community needs.
“It is unfortunate that Head Start has experienced challenges stemming from the actions of previous leadership,” Orozco said in the statement. “Our focus now is on addressing these issues and working collaboratively to strengthen and enhance the program for the children and families we serve.”
