Santa Clara County voters head into November with just one of three Board of Education seats actually up for grabs, but the stakes around it are hard to overstate: the office is still working through the fallout of investigations that found public dollars misused, contracts steered toward favorites, and grant money redirected for purposes it was never meant to serve. Incumbent Raeena Lari is defending her seat representing Morgan Hill, Gilroy and part of the East Side Union High School District against challenger Karla Dominguez Vega, while two other trustee races go uncontested.
The contest unfolds against the backdrop of an internal review that, according to The Mercury News, produced 14 findings, including that the Santa Clara County Office of Education misused public funds and violated several board policies under former Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan’s leadership. That review reportedly found that a segregated county superintendent account was used to redirect grant funding for unrelated purposes, and that public dollars covered legal expenses tied to investigations of the board itself.
The same review reported that several office of education contracts were awarded in a manner suggesting personal favoritism, with ethical safeguards ignored along the way. Separately, a federal audit examined the county’s Head Start program — which helps low-income children under age five access critical resources — and found funds designated for that program had been diverted. The Mercury News reported the audit found more than $135,370 misused, though an earlier Mercury News account of the same audit put the figure at $135,372 in wages and credit-card expenses for a non-Head Start manager between January and June 2024.
A Superintendent’s Ouster and Its Long Shadow
Dewan was removed as superintendent in October 2024, after the board’s majority voted to fire her without cause, according to San José Spotlight. She later filed a lawsuit against the board over her removal before dropping it. The county office said investigations found contract favoritism and improper use of funds, though the outlet reported the full reports had not been made public.
In response to the findings, the board of education presented several suggested policy changes aimed at preventing the misuse of funds from recurring, the Mercury News reported. The turmoil is not new to the office — a 2018 civil grand jury report had already examined unusually high superintendent turnover there, estimating taxpayer costs above $1 million for the previous five superintendents over 11 years.
Lari, elected to the board in 2022 after work as a research economist and service as a Santa Clara County health advisory commissioner, says fiscal oversight means setting expectations with the superintendent, reviewing financial reports and independent audits, safeguarding public contracts, and asking tough questions. She says the board prioritized investigating and identifying issues and acting promptly, and acknowledges that county office turnover hindered the progress she hoped to make during her term. If reelected, she says she’ll prioritize strong fiscal oversight and transparency to prevent misuse of public funds from happening again.
Dominguez Vega Presses Accountability Case
Dominguez Vega, a student support specialist in Morgan Hill Unified School District, argues fiscal accountability and transparency around board spending and decisions remain major challenges, saying serious questions about board governance persist eight years after that 2018 grand jury report. She has expressed concern about administrative salary increases occurring alongside cuts to special education, foster youth programs and migrant student services, and says every child deserves to feel seen, supported and valued while every family deserves an advocate who listens.
If elected, Dominguez Vega says she would work to protect essential student programs and ensure taxpayer dollars strengthen education and improve family services. Her platform also includes support for families experiencing homelessness or navigating foster care, safe schools free from fear of immigration enforcement, and access to educational support, healthcare, food and housing. She advocates for less classroom screen time, AI guardrails, expanded mental health services, and stronger special education and teacher support, and attributes achievement gaps partly to teacher turnover and a lack of experienced teachers requiring more competitive pay.
Lari has drawn endorsements from the California Teachers Association, state Sen. Dave Cortese, Assemblymembers Ash Kalra and Alex Lee, several teachers’ unions and all but one fellow trustee. Dominguez Vega counts former trustees Claudia Rossi and Kathleen King among her backers, along with several current and former Morgan Hill city council and school board members and an endorsement from Don Rocha.
Lari also backs guardrails on students’ use of artificial intelligence and devices, and competitive pay, supportive working conditions and affordable teacher housing to help recruit and retain educators. She has condemned ICE facilities, saying they harm student, family and community safety and well-being and increase student absences, and says she’s running for reelection to continue work on students’ physical and mental health and improve attendance.
Two Seats Go Unchallenged
While the Morgan Hill-area seat draws a real contest, two other trustee races on the Santa Clara County Office of Education ballot have no opponent at all. Yan Zhao, a Saratoga councilmember and former Saratoga mayor, runs unopposed for the Area 2 seat covering Los Gatos, Cupertino and Saratoga, where she will replace outgoing trustee Tara Sreekrishnan. Zhao says she’s running because she believes in public education, wants greater transparency on the board, supports policies to recruit, retain and support teachers and staff, and believes academic achievement is tied to student mental health. She has been endorsed by every sitting Santa Clara County Board of Education trustee, along with Jeff Rosen, Patrick Ahrens and the California state treasurer.
Maimona Afzal Berta likewise runs unopposed for the Area 4 seat, representing most of San José Unified and parts of Oak Grove and East Side Union school districts. The Santa Clara County Office of Education Board appoints the county superintendent, reviews and approves the county education office budget, and oversees county-run educational programs and charter schools — authority that has taken on heightened weight given the governance questions still trailing the office.
Budget Pressures Compound the Governance Fight
Whoever sits on the board inherits a tightening financial picture. The proposed 2026-27 County School Service Fund budget projects $371.61 million in revenues against $400.1 million in expenditures, according to a budget document posted to BoardDocs — a projected $28.49 million decrease in the combined fund balance. The same document shows the office’s combined reserve percentage is projected to decline from 4.63% in 2026-27 to 4.08% by 2028-29, even as roughly three-quarters of the budget remains restricted for specific purposes.
The county office has already laid off several hundred employees, including special-education and early-education staff, amid declining student enrollment and rising operational costs. That decline reflects a broader regional trend: Bay Area school enrollment fell 10% between 2015 and 2025 and is projected to drop another 10% over the next decade, according to KQED’s voter guide. Lari says she wants to continue strengthening academic excellence and student wellness as interconnected priorities, while Dominguez Vega frames her campaign around ensuring strong oversight and accountability so every student can succeed.
