More details emerge about shock firing of Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools

More details have emerged surrounding the shocking firing of Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Mary Dewan.

The decision to terminate Dewan in a closed-session meeting by the Santa Clara County Office of Education’s board of trustees came just hours after an investigation into a board member’s complaints against her found the allegations were not substantiated, documents obtained by this news organization show.

Dewan – who was appointed by the board to serve through June 2026 – was removed from her position “without cause” in a 4-2 vote in the early morning hours on Oct. 3. Board president Maimona Afzal Berta and members Joseph Di Salvo, Grace Mah and Don Rocha voted in favor of terminating Dewan, while members Victoria Chon and Tara Sreekrishnan voted against termination. Board member Raeena Lari abstained.

The board has declined to expand on the reasoning for Dewan’s removal, but Dewan said in a lawsuit filed last week that she was fired without cause or explanation.

Now, two recent investigative reports have surfaced with additional details that point to a battle between board members and the superintendent, several allegations of wrongdoing by board member Grace Mah and widespread fears over retaliation – including retaliation against Dewan.

Mah did not immediately respond to this news organization’s request for comment. Dewan and her lawyer, Steven Ellenberg, declined to comment on the investigations.

One recent investigation into workplace concerns at the county Office of Education began after Dewan received several complaints regarding the conduct of the board, according to the investigation report, a copy of which this news organization obtained. The investigation was conducted by Oppenheimer Investigations Group, which provides impartial workplace and school investigations, in May and wrapped up Oct. 11.

The investigation reported county staff members felt “demoralized and exhausted by the constant harassment” of Dewan.

“The staff is afraid that the board might terminate the superintendent’s employment and afraid of the ripple effects that would have on the lives and jobs of many staff working at the Santa Clara County Office of Education,” the investigation said. “Their fear was realized this past week when the board did indeed vote to terminate the superintendent’s contract without stating any cause.”

That investigation also reported an “excessive scrutiny” of county staff by the board, which led to “anxiety, burnout and an unhealthy work environment.”

Board member Mah was mentioned several times in the investigation, specifically her “willful violation” of policies and open meeting laws under the Brown Act.

The investigative report found that Mah said in a May 2023 email that “lawyers said that they have never heard of anyone going to jail for violating the Brown Act” and later said at a board retreat, “If I’m not going to jail for violating the Brown Act, I don’t care if I break the law.”

Mah was also found to have violated board policies by using a personal email address for official business instead of her board email account, despite a cease and desist issued by the former board president.

A separate investigative report, with findings dated Oct. 2 – right before Dewan was fired – was conducted by Steve Hummel, an investigator with the consulting firm Paradox Technology.

Hummel said in an interview with this news organization that his investigation was primarily focused on Mah’s complaints about the allegations against her, which she said were “an attempt to discredit” her in the upcoming election.

But Hummel said his findings revealed that Mah herself violated regulations and bylaws, used a private email address for board business and inappropriately interfered with personnel complaints.

“I don’t know all of the politics about what was going on before or after. I’ve been doing this for 40 years, I just kind of look into things and call them how I see them,” Hummel said. “I can tell you that Grace Mah seems to be coloring outside of the lines as if she wanted to be the superintendent. She seems to be interested in fixing things that she feels are wrong with the operations, which is not typically the job of a trustee.”

A source close to both investigations, who asked for anonymity because they are not authorized to speak to the media, said the drama began after the former county Head Start director, Antonio Fuentes, was placed on leave in the spring. The source said Mah, who was close to Fuentes, was upset by his removal and participated in a public petition to get him reinstated. Hummel’s investigation also found that Mah posted a public petition on social media demanding the reversal of an “operational decision.”

Hummel said he is currently aware of other investigations involving the county office of education but declined to comment further.

“If you’re looking from the outside and you think to yourself, ‘gosh there is other stuff going on,’ you would be right,” Hummel said. “This wasn’t the start and the stop of the whole thing. This looks like it’s been going on for quite awhile.”

Dewan’s termination has outraged community members, some board members and state legislators.

Board member Sreekrishnan has called for a civil grand jury investigation into the board’s “governance and mismanagement.”

A group of six state assemblymembers and senators sent a letter to board members Monday opposing the decision to terminate Dewan.