"At a contentious meeting Wednesday night, the Santa Clara County Office of Education's board delivered the results of a lengthy investigation into an alleged misuse of public funds by the county's former superintendent of schools - but conflicting claims by county office of education leaders made it clear that many questions still swirl around the findings. They come more than a year after former Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan was unexpectedly removed from her position in a 4-2 vote; the action was classified as "without cause.""
"The report did not cite specific examples of wrongdoing, or include the names of the two law firms that conducted the independent review. But it contained 14 findings, including that under Dewan's leadership, the Santa Clara County Office of Education misused public funds and violated several board policies, that the county superintendent's segregated account was used to redirect grant funding for unrelated purposes and that public dollars were used for legal expenses and investigations of the board of education."
"A federal audit released earlier this year said the county office of education misused more than $135,370 in federal Head Start funds under Dewan, an error the board called a failed cover-up and an intentional effort to undermine the board's authority - but which Dewan said was a communication error. The county office of education said Wednesday that the board and staff were not aware of any charges being filed by law enforcement or the district attorney's office."
Santa Clara County Office of Education's board released the results of a lengthy investigation into alleged misuse of public funds by former Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan. Dewan was removed more than a year earlier in a 4-2 vote classified as "without cause." The board attributed the removal to Dewan's handling of complaints regarding the county's Head Start program. The report contained 14 findings, including misuse of public funds, violations of board policies, redirection of grant funding from a segregated superintendent account, and use of public dollars for legal expenses and board investigations. A federal audit found more than $135,370 in misused Head Start funds. The board said no charges were known to be filed by law enforcement or the district attorney's office.
#misuse-of-public-funds #head-start-program #superintendent-removal #santa-clara-county-office-of-education
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