Will the Santa Ana voters boot the incumbent SAUSD Trustees in the Nov. 5 election?

Is there a bigger failure in California than the Santa Ana Unified School District? You can check their state ratings for yourself here. Among the lowlights:

• Over 85% of SAUSD students are below standard in math
• Over 53% of SAUSD students are below standard in English and only 47% are making progress
• Only 40% of SAUSD students are prepared for college
• Over 20% of SAUSD students are chronically absent
• Under 90% of the SAUSD high school seniors graduated last year and that was an almost 3% decline
• Almost 5% of SAUSD students have been suspended at least one day

You would think that the voters would hold the SAUSD’s Trustees accountable for this mountain of failure but you would be wrong. The SAUSD Trustees always get reelected. Perhaps we can change that this year!

Three SAUSD Trustee Areas are up in the Nov. 5 general election, including:

• Area 1 – The Area 1 incumbent Trustee is Rigo Rodriguez.
• Area 2 – The Area 2 incumbent Trustee, Carolyn Torres, opted to not run for reelection.
• Area 3 – The Area 3 incumbent Trustee is Alfonso Alvarez.

The voters need to give the boot to Rodriguez and Alvarez! In particular it is an embarrassment that Alvarez is even on the ballot given that he was arrested for DUI in August of 2023. Here is his booking photo:

Are you kidding me? Alvarez endangered the public with his drunk driving. By all rights the rest of the SAUD School Board should have expelled him. That they did not is telling.

Fortunately we have a few challengers who are taking on Rodriguez and Alvarez and are running in Area 2 as well, as follows:

• Area 1: Brenda Lebsack
• Area 2: Lloyd Boucher-Reyes and Valerie Magdaleno
• Area 3: Tamiko Anderson and Dana Suarez

Brenda is a Special Education Teacher. She told the O.C. Register that “The top need is to address and correct our dismal reading and math scores. Illiteracy is not equity. We need to prioritize literacy and math competency over non-essentials. The district budget should reflect academic priorities with measurable goals and benchmarks. The second priority is honesty to parents.”

Brenda also told the Register that “As a board member, I would educate parents about the definition of nonbinary that is on our student data forms. It does not mean transgender. It means unlimited gender choices. This definition is being taught to young impressionable kindergartners. We have books teaching children that their gender can change from day to day and year to year and that their pronouns can change like the weather based on their feelings. The role of parents is to protect and nurture their children so they can grow up and become independent responsible adults. Their right as parents is to raise them according to their cherished values. When those endeared values contradict with unreasonable state mandates, there could be a revolt.”

Lloyd is a Tax Forensics Expert. He told the O.C. Register that “The top two needs of my school district are higher graduation rates and children’s safety.”

Lloyd also told the Register that “I believe that schoolchildren must not be counseled by any school staff or outsourced service provider that pertains to the children’s lifetime choices without written authorization from parents. The role and authority of parents in their children’s education, wherever the educational environment is located, is absolute and without limits.”

Valerie told the O.C. Register that “The top two needs of SAUSD are addressing declining enrollment and modernizing our school facilities.” Wow. Those sound like talking points from the teachers’ union! Valerie is not concerned about the students failing in math and English. Her concern is that the parents are pulling the kids out of our failing schools and so enrollment is declining.

With regards to the transgender issue Valerie told the Register that “While parental involvement is valuable, it is equally important to protect students’ privacy and safety, particularly when they are navigating their gender identity.”

Tamiko says she is a Community Volunteer. She told the O.C. Register that “Students need to be fluent at English, math and writing. Hire more teachers and pay them each wages where they are not living in property. If the teacher’s students aren’t learning, that “teacher” can find a job in a field that is better suited for them. Theories are lies and have no place in our schools.”

Tamiko also told the Register that “There is no such thing as “changing one’s gender;” there have been no proven studies.”

Tamiko also wrote an argument against the SAUSD’s bond measure I, which you can read here.

Dana apparently did not respond to the O.C. Register. She also did not respond to Ballotpedia. She has a Facebook page and an Instagram page. She says she is a Mental Health Counselor. We cannot determine what exactly she believes or why she is running for the Santa Ana School Board.

Brenda, Lloyd and Dana appear to be campaigning together as a slate.

We recommend voting for Brenda in Area 1 and Lloyd in Area 2. In Area 3, Dana is running a grassroots campaign but is picking up support. Her husband has made some folks nervous as he is supporting the anti-police Santa Ana City Council candidates. She is a parent of three kids and grew up in Heninger Park. We are told that Tamiko is a nice lady but her residency has been questioned. She allegedly is a school teacher.

As parents and voters we have a responsibility to get rid of the failed SAUSD Board Members, Rigo and Alfonso. Let’s vote them out on Nov. 5!