As reported by the San Jose Spotlight, Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School in California's third-largest city recently received a generous grant of $862,000. The private religious school, helmed by Silvia Scandar Mahan, who also happens to be the wife of San Jose Mayor Matt Mahan, is now in the limelight as the recipient of a five-year grant for a work-study student program.
Mrs. Mahan, an impressive figure herself, is a Harvard alumna and a 40 Under 40 honoree recognized by the Silicon Valley Business Journal, according to her LinkedIn profile. With strengths in partnership development, cross-functional collaboration, political and organizational strategy, she took on the role of President and CEO of Cristo Rey San José Jesuit High School in March 2021.
However, despite Mrs. Mahan's qualifications, prominent San Jose city figureheads like Councilmembers Sergio Jimenez and Peter Ortiz have voiced distress concerning the selection process for the grant allocated to Mahan's school. Intriguingly, Cristo Rey seems to be the only school that applied for the grant, leading some to question the objectivity of the process and others to wonder about undue favoritism.
Councilman Ortiz argued that the timing and language of the grant application process didn't create an equitable opportunity for all schools, particularly underfunded public schools, to compete for the grant. In Ortiz's words, the application prerequisites appeared to favor Cristo Rey overwhelmingly. Nonetheless, Deputy City Manager Lee Wilcox maintains that the city contacted 72 different high schools for the grant process, putting in the necessary effort for outreach.
Amid a context where the San Jose City Council approved the grant with a decisive 7-3 vote, it inevitably stokes debate about the precedent this sets for the relationship between private institutions and public funding. In particular, past incidents further stir the pot; for instance, Cristo Rey had previously benefitted from major taxpayer-funded grants during the tenure of former Mayor Liccardo. Hence, the questions of transparency, fairness, and alignment with constitutional tenets are again under the microscope.
Interestingly, Mahan himself stepped away from the discussion and voting process, which adheres to standard practice to avoid possible conflicts of interest. Yet, it's indisputable that the controversy highlights crucial questions on the utilization of public funds, the primacy of public vs. private education, and the inevitability of political dynamics impacting processes ostensibly neutral and solely merit-based.
