Susan has made good on her promise to improve equity and quality of life for children and families during her first term in office. She created the County’s first ever Children’s budget to highlight the county’s services for youth. She also directed the creation of the County childcare facilities fund while partnering with numerous local organizations to secure additional funding for programs benefiting children and families.
The pandemic exacerbated inequities already plaguing our community, including a lack of consistent access to food for our students when they are away from the classroom. Susan worked with schools and community providers to ensure uninterrupted access to regular, nutritious meals to the tens of thousands of kids in Santa Clara County. Every student deserves the opportunity to succeed and that includes having a full belly while you are trying to learn. She worked with partners to set up emergency childcare services for our County essential employees at no cost to them so they could continue to work despite school and other childcare services being shut down because of COVID-19. She championed initiatives to close the digital divide, providing laptops and hotspots as short term solutions for students and worked with the County Office of Education and Joint Venture Silicon Valley to expand broadband access to neighborhoods in her district. Additionally, she has led work to expand access to mental and behavioral health services to all K-12 schools in the County.
As the former Board President of the San Jose Unified School District, Susan knows firsthand how important providing high-quality public education is to every student. Students and families will succeed more when they have access to affordable childcare and educational opportunities, along with regular healthcare, long before the first day of kindergarten. Susan has continued the fight for expanded early childcare and education opportunities, along with digital connectivity, for families that otherwise could not access them.
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