Several hundred Santa Clara County Office of Education employees — including workers in special education, Head Start and the Migrant Education programs — will be laid off later this year, a move one local union is comparing to federal cuts being implemented by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.
Expiring state and federal grants, declining student enrollment and rising operational costs have created budgetary challenges, according to the Office of Education. In early March, the office issued layoff notices to more than 300 employees that will take effect at the beginning of the upcoming school year, which starts July 1.
But Office of Education employees represented by SEIU Local 521 argue that the mass staffing reduction will threaten critical services for students with disabilities and impact early childhood development. On Tuesday morning, they held a press conference in front of the office’s North San Jose headquarters demanding newly appointed Superintendent of Schools David Toston reverse the layoffs.
Mercedes Hill, an office specialist with the Head Start program, said her entire department received layoff notices on March 15.
Head Start is a federally funded early education program that serves roughly half a million low-income children in the country. The Trump administration asked Congress earlier this year to end funding for the program, but has since reversed course.
Hill said at the press conference that “potential disruptions of services to our Head Start families would be disastrous.” Families might have to scramble to find preschools, gains made by kids in school readiness and social and emotional development could be lost and children might lose access to nutritious meals and other resources like dental care, according to Hill. The office’s Head Start program currently serves 1,207 children.
“Let us be clear, these layoffs are not just administrative,” Hill said. “They are moral — decisions that seem to currently be informed by DOGE-like political philosophies rather than the real substantive needs of our community whose lives will be upended on July 1 if services are disrupted.”
The office’s Head Start program has been under a microscope in recents months, after a federal audit revealed that more than $135,370 in Head Start funds were used to pay for non-Head Start staff and credit card expenses.
Head Start runs on a five-year grant cycle, and the office said that its current funding, which affects more than 169 positions, ends June 2025. The office will not be able to operate a Head Start program until its awarded a new grant, according to a 15-page memo about staffing reductions.
A spokesperson for the office did not respond to a request for comment about the layoffs, but on Monday the office sent out a news release that said “significant shifts in funding” has led them to “implement strategic staffing reductions.”
“While these decisions are never easy, they were made with careful consideration and a deep sense of responsibility to the students, families, and districts we serve,” the news release said. “This action reflects SCCOE’s commitment to preserving core services amid ongoing fiscal challenges at the state and federal levels.”
In the memo, the office said that it is “heavily reliant on uncertain or declining grant funding” to the tune of $74.6 million. If the grants are eliminated, it would impact Head Start, the California State Preschool Program, the Migrant Education Program, the Tobacco-Use Prevention Education program and Youth Health & Wellness and Mental Health programs.
Tara Sreekrishnan, who serves on the Santa Clara County Board of Education, said at the press conference that the layoffs are “unnecessary and out of step with our financial reality and our mission to support students and families at the County Office of Education.”
“The county office should be looking at tightening spending on contracting out consultants and legal fees instead of targeting frontline educators and staff,” she said. “These cuts would dismantle services families rely on — mental health, early education and special education — at a time when students need more support not less.”
On April 30, several local lawmakers — including California Sen. Dave Cortese, Assemblymember Ash Kalra, Assemblymember Patrick Ahrens and San Jose City Councilmember Peter Ortiz — sent a letter to the board and superintendent of schools asking them to reverse the layoffs. In the letter, they questioned several budget line items in a report that was released in March including a $32 million increase in consulting services and insurance overspending by 324%.
“We strongly believe that these layoffs are unnecessary, destabilizing and inconsistent with the county office’s mission,” the letter said. “They would also severely weaken SCCOE’s partnerships with school districts, community-based organizations, and public agencies that rely on its coordination and partnership to deliver critical services to students and families countywide.”