Two candidates are vying to become superintendent of the Contra Costa County Office of Education, marking the first time in nearly a decade that longtime incumbent Lynn Mackey isn’t running.
Dana Eaton, the superintendent of Brentwood Union School District, and Jag Lathan, school board president at Antioch Unified, have both thrown their hats into the race. While both bring extensive experience in public education, they differ in how they would address the county’s most pressing school challenges.
The primary election is June 2. If a candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, they win. If that doesn’t happen, they advance to a runoff in the general election on Nov. 3. Mackey, who has held the seat since 2018, is retiring.
The county superintendent is essentially the county schools’ CEO. The Contra Costa Office of Education oversees all of the county’s school districts. Unlike a local district superintendent (who runs one school district), the county superintendent works at the county level to support, oversee, and sometimes intervene in school districts, for example, if there budget problems or charter school disputes. The county superintendent also oversees county-run schools and programs including alternative education for expelled or at-risk students as well as court and community schools for youths in the justice system.
Contra Costa County has 18 school districts, differing vastly in size, diversity and socioeconomic status. Its largest school districts include West Contra Costa Unified, Mt. Diablo Unified in east county and San Ramon Valley Unified.
Key 2026 election dates
Superintendent of schools forum: Sat., May 9, 1 p.m.-2:30 p.m., Concord Senior Center. Facilitated by the Diablo Valley League of Women Voters and AKA Sorority. (Must preregister by May 1 here)
Other forums: Richmondside is hosting candidate forums for the Richmond City Council races on April 22, May 7 and May 13
Mail-in voting begins: May 4
Deadline to register to vote in the primary: May 18
Primary election: June 2
For more info.: Visit Richmondside’s 2026 primary election voters guide
Superintendent candidates at a glance
Eaton has 30 years of experience as a teacher, principal and superintendent in East Bay school districts. He has served 17 years as the Brentwood Unified superintendent and before that was the superintendent of Jefferson School District in Tracy, which is in San Joaquin County. He also sits on the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), a governing board that is responsible for school finance and oversight, and is the president of the state’s Superintendency Council.
Lathan brings more than 25 years of experience. The Oakland native started her career as a special education teacher in southern California, working her way up from principal to chief academic officer at the Alameda County Office of Education. She also started an education consultancy and leadership development firm, New Generation Equity, that helps train educators and leaders across the country with a goal of making schools more fair, effective, and supportive. Before being elected to the Antioch Unified School Board in 2022, Lathan was an instructor at UC Davis and a fellow at School Board Partners.
Lathan describes herself as a change maker and innovator, not shying away from revamping programs that are proving to be ineffective and trying something new. She has experience making structural changes and was the founding executive director of San Diego County Office of Education’s Equity Department in 2018. If elected, she would be the first Black county superintendent. She is endorsed by the Alameda County Superintendent of Schools, Alysee Castro, a number of school board trustees and superintendents, including three of her colleagues in Antioch, and the California Democratic Party.
“Every place I’ve gone, there’s been a positive impact, literally. I’ve built, I’ve designed, I’ve changed,” Lathan said. “I take places from needing to change to something better to excellence, and that’s what I promise to do as a county superintendent. There is no doubt in my mind that that won’t happen.”
Eaton says he is a person who understands the financial and bureaucratic systems of public education, emphasizing that he knows deeply how to work within systems to provide better outcomes for students and staff. He sits on a number of well-connected boards and committees, such as the Superintendent Advisory Panel for the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence, which is the state’s support provider for districts in need of academic assistance. He has Mackey’s endorsement as well endorsements from 28 other school district superintendents, dozens of teachers and even more community members.
“I don’t think I’ve ever seen school districts facing more challenges than they do right now,” Eaton said. “I’m in a really good place to be able to support all of the superintendents and school districts through these challenges because of the experience and the relationships and connections that I have. But also to hold them accountable because that’s part of the role — to make sure that every child gets the education that they deserve.”
Issues they’re in agreement on
Eaton and Lathan both said one of their top priorities is improving early literacy education to help increase literacy rates countywide.
California has one of the lowest literacy rates in the country. In Contra Costa County more than 50% of third graders are not reading at grade level, according to county librarian Alison McKee. West Contra Costa Unified is ranked as the seventh worst in reading rankings, with only 19% of students meeting or exceeding grade level standards, according to the California Reading Coalition. In Antioch Unified, 24% met or exceeded state reading standards and in Brentwood Unified it was 36%.
Lathan and Eaton both emphasized that early intervention programs are critical to ensure that by third grade, students know how to read. Doing so requires providing training for teachers on research-based reading strategies.
“I really want to teach what is the science of reading, what does culturally and linguistically responsive instruction look and sound like?” Lathan said, “Having professional learning around that, having experts at the county office that can actually lead that work effectively, that can go into schools and districts and model what this looks like.”
Eaton said that teacher training should be offered countywide, and county education office should support districts that don’t have the means to provide such training.
“In school districts that are having to make dramatic cuts, one of the first things that go are people that are providing professional development and training out in the school sites,” Eaton said. “But the student who’s going to be in first grade is only going to be in first grade once, so they can’t wait for us to get our financial world sorted out right before they get the right reading instruction.”
The candidates also want to expand mental health resources and access, provide more proactive support to school districts to limit budget cuts and create programs that attract more teachers.
Eaton and Lathan view the superintendent of schools as the advocate for districts at the state level. They both said districts, for the most part, are not mismanaging their dollars but rather, are simply underfunded by the state and federal government.
Both also said the state should move away from an attendance-based funding model and instead fund by the number of students enrolled — though that won’t be a panacea to districts’ budget woes.
Where the candidates’ approaches differ
While the candidates share similar priorities, they differ in how they would implement change at the county level — with Lathan emphasizing innovation and structural reform, and Eaton focusing on experience, stability and system-level support.
Lathan said one of her top priorities is creating countywide innovation and STEM programs so students can keep up with the ever-evolving tech industry. For example, while being a teacher and principal in Emeryville, her students partnered with Pixar to learn how to write, edit and make movies.
That also means teachers learn how to teach technology, “so that they’re prepared to work with students who will be doing work in jobs that don’t even exist yet,” Lathan said.
Other examples include partnerships with industry, hands-on learning opportunities, and early career awareness so students understand the job market they are entering.
Lathan said she would want to make some changes to the office of education internally. For example, she wants staff to help study the impact of programs at local schools.
“When you have a district that has students who are not performing the way they should, there’s something happening instructionally, there’s something happening systemically and in policy that’s preventing that … because all of our kids are brilliant,” Lathan said. “So as a county superintendent, I can help address those things through conferences and (trainings).”
Eaton said he is a firm believer in coming in and getting to know a place before suggesting changes, but there are several areas he would focus on, such as creating more seamless pathways from kindergarten to high school to prepare students to enter the workforce. He also wants to ensure that schools remain safe spaces and prioritize social-emotional learning and civil discourse “as the foundation for effective teaching and learning.”
Eaton also emphasized that equity is at the heart of his work. He currently works with UC Berkeley to coach administrators in local school districts about equity and supporting diverse learners and trying to build schools that are more equitable.
“It’s important to not to sort of predetermine (specific programs needed) before I come in,” Eaton told Richmondside, noting that some of the work he hopes to do may already be happening behind the scenes. “That first 30 to 60 days is really getting out, getting to know the county office better, getting to know the districts better … and letting the goals drive the work.”
One area he identified for improvement is expanding opportunities for districts to strengthen their marketing and community outreach, especially for districts that do not have the resources to do so. He believes if schools properly highlighted their strengths, then districts could not only increase enrollment but also recruit more teachers.
Editor’s note: This story was updated to include more information about candidate forums and to correct the location of the Pixar program.
