Santa Clara County education board appoints new leader amid turmoil

The Santa Clara County Office of Education has found a new interim superintendent, and he lives in Southern California.

The county Board of Education voted 6-1 to appoint Charles Hinman Wednesday to temporarily replace ousted superintendent Mary Ann Dewan. Hinman has a 35-year career in public education, which includes multiple stints as a superintendent in school districts across California. He said he was notified more than one week ago by the search firm Leadership Associates that the superintendent position “was going to be open.”

“My primary role is, speaking for the board, to ensure the community and stakeholders that we are moving forward,” Hinman said Wednesday. “The train continues on the track. We are serving kids. We’re making sure that no gaps occur during this time of pause, waiting for the new superintendent.”

The office of education paid Leadership Associates a headhunters fee of $36,500.

“Dr. Hinman’s experiences as a superintendent of a 50,000 student school district and as an interim superintendent in distinctly varied districts since his retirement from PK-12 district leadership shows he understands the complexity of the work,” Trustee Joseph DiSalvo told San José Spotlight.

Interim Superintendent Jessica Bondorius handed the baton to Hinman on Thursday. Trustee Tara Sreekrishnan was the sole no vote to his appointment.

Sreekrishnan was among numerous Dewan supporters who hosted a news conference Tuesday to call for her reinstatement. The county superior court on Wednesday ruled against a lawsuit filed by Dewan in an attempt to get her job back.

The court said Dewan, who filed suit against the board of education last week, did “not adequately establish ‘some possibility’ she will ultimately prevail on the merits.” Dewan alleged the board had no authority to fire her because she was appointed, and claimed she wasn’t technically employed by the office of education, but rather she was a constitutional officer. The court didn’t agree.

“California Courts have frequently held that appointed officials without fixed terms of office can be removed by the authority which appointed them,” the ruling said.

Board President Maimona Afzal Berta​ said Hinman will be paid a salary of more than $74,000 for the 2024-25 school year and up to $21,000 for travel expenses. Hinman said he does not plan to relocate from Orange County for the new job.

“How would I be spending my first couple of days? The fire hose would be turned on, and if you ask me that question two weeks from now, I’ll have a much clearer answer,” he said.

Sreekrishnan said she has concerns about the timeline set for the temporary superintendent, along with Hinman’s unwillingness to relocate for the position.

“This decision to appoint an interim superintendent who will be commuting in from Orange County, one who has never worked at a county office of education and was chosen without presenting other options, raises serious questions about the transparency and thoroughness of this process,” she told San José Spotlight.

Kathleen King, FIRST 5 commissioner and a former board of education trustee, said she was disappointed over the decision to hire Hinman rather than reinstate Dewan.

“Please think about what you’re doing and think it over again without cause. It’s hard to tell our children that you’re doing something like this without cause,” King said Wednesday.

Association of County Educators President Riju Krishna said she’s been working with the office of education for more than 22 years and stands behind the trustees. Krishna is a teacher of students with severe disabilities and was once the president of special education at the county, according to her LinkedIn.

“The Association of County Educators respects the board’s right to decide to let go of a superintendent when necessary and in the interest of what is best for our students,” she said Wednesday. “We must keep the county office running while keeping our students at the forefront of all our decisions, our students need to be at the center.”

Contact Vicente Vera at [email protected] or follow @VicenteJVera on X, formerly known as Twitter.