Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the County Fair topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Parents and FFA Warn Santa Clara County Fair Date Change Would Bar Many Livestock Exhibitors
Summary
Parents, FFA officers and students told the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors that a late‑August shift in the 2026 fair schedule conflicts with school start dates and will prevent many FFA and 4‑H exhibitors from participating, urging the board to press the Fairgrounds Management Corporation to preserve livestock dates.
Parents and student leaders told the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors on Jan. 13 that a recently announced change to the 2026 County Fair schedule will exclude livestock exhibitors and undermine agricultural education programs.
"The proposed date change will make it impossible for my twelfth grader to show an animal as she will be headed to college during the the dates that are proposed," said James Cooper, a Gilroy FFA parent, during the public‑comment period. Several other parents and FFA officers described similar conflicts between the newly proposed August dates and local school calendars.
McKenna Cooper, vice president of the Gilroy FFA chapter, said the fair director changed the dates "unbeknownst to us exhibitors and our FFA advisors," and warned that districts have already signaled they will not allow students to miss school to attend. Megan Davies, another Gilroy parent, told the board the late‑August dates "were communicated" only in December, after students had already bought and begun feeding animals for the previously scheduled summer fair.
Speakers told the board those changes would jeopardize students’ ability to exhibit, sell animals and earn honors that depend on completing multi‑year projects. One parent estimated the livestock portion at risk represented tens of thousands of dollars and dozens of exhibitors from Gilroy alone.
President Lee and staff directed commenters to the Fairgrounds Management Corporation, a separate Brown Act body that the board does not directly supervise, and said the board would forward an inquiry. "FMC has the authority regarding the scheduling of events, including the county fair," staff said, urging concerned residents to address the FMC public meetings.
Several speakers requested the board ask the fair director to hold the livestock portion of the fair on the traditional summer dates or, at minimum, to require advance stakeholder consultation before making calendar changes.
The board did not take formal action on the fair date during the Jan. 13 meeting; supervisors and staff said they would relay the concerns to the Fairgrounds Management Corporation and offered to connect families with appropriate staff.
