Oust Tran, Herrera before they do further damage to the East San Jose district
Blog note: this editorial references a June 2018 grand jury report recommending board member resignations.
If Alum Rock Union School District board trustees Khanh Tran and Esau Herrera had an ounce of integrity they would have resigned from the board months ago. It’s imperative that voters oust them before they do further damage to the East San Jose district that serves some 10,000 students.
Eight people, including Tran and Herrera, are running for three board seats. We recommend incumbent Andres Quintero and challengers Ernesto Bejarano and Ray Mueller.
The incumbents have got to go. Tran, Herrera and board member Dolores Marquez, who is unfortunately not up for re-election this year, make up the “Alum Rock Three,” creating a majority on the board that has been dysfunctional to a level rarely seen in California.
The Santa Clara County Civil Grand Jury in June recommended that the trio resign from the board for “failing to meet its governance standards and fiduciary responsibility.” In March, Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan took the extraordinary step of exercising veto power over the district. It’s a rarely used step that is reserved for school districts at risk of insolvency or collapse. The district is also facing a state audit to dive into the district’s ledgers and contracts, and determine the extent of its financial problems.
Tran has been the worst. He can’t even attend board meetings. A judge in August granted respected Alum Rock district Superintendent Hilaria Bauer a restraining order against him for verbal harassment. This newspaper reported that people familiar with the situation said Tran allegedly berated Bauer during a closed session board meeting, threatening to “kick your ass,” and at one point mentioning a firing squad.
At the heart of the board majority’s problems is the district’s financial dealings with Del Terra Real Estate, the Southern California firm that has managed Alum Rock’s building projects. Bauer questioned Del Terra’s performance, leading to a scathing audit that found Del Terra had lined its own pockets at the expense of the district.
So now to the candidates best qualified to serve: Quintero, who teaches political science at Evergreen Valley College, has been a voice of reason amid the chaos. A native of East San Jose, he is president of the Latino Leadership Alliance, which works to make sure the Latino community has a voice on issues. He would bring credibility to the district for his efforts to increase transparency and follow accepted best practices that should be standard procedure for board members.
Bejarano is a Santa Clara County social work supervisor with a wealth of experience in building positive relationships between families and government agencies. He is a past commissioner of the Santa Clara County Human Relations Commission and served on the San Jose Parks and Recreation Commission from 2015-17. His chief focus would be on getting the district’s finances in order and upgrading students’ educational experience.
Mueller has been an outspoken critic of the district’s financial dealings during the five years he has served as chair of the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee. He points to fixing the district’s “toxic board culture” as his primary goal and embraces the rich diversity of Alum Rock’s neighborhoods.
Any of the other three contenders — Bruce Huynh, Linda Chavez and Brenda Zendejas — would be an improvement over Tran and Herrera. But Quintero, Bejarano and Mueller stand the best chance of restoring the Alum Rock Union District to a more stable footing. We recommend them to voters on Nov. 6.
September 28, 2018
The Mercury News
By Mercury News Editorial Board
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