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Parents, students and staff urge San Marcos Unified to reconsider transfer of Twin Oaks psychologist
Summary
Dozens of Twin Oaks High School students, parents and staff made emotional public comments asking the San Marcos Unified School District Board of Education to reverse or reconsider the transfer of school psychologist Anne Amu, who speakers said is central to the ICs program and to vulnerable students' academic and mental‑health success.
Dozens of students, parents and staff urged the San Marcos Unified School District Board of Education on June 12 to reverse or reconsider the transfer of school psychologist Anne Amu from Twin Oaks High School, saying the move could harm students served by the campus' intensive ICs program.
Speakers described Amu as a student advocate and a stabilizing presence for foster youth, students returning from hospitalization or residential placement, and others with acute social‑emotional needs. “She is the heart of this program,” said Michael Mueller, ICs teacher at Twin Oaks High School. “Her removal from our program and school would sever the trust and connection that many students have made for the time in their lives.”
The public comments followed the board’s opening procedures and were subject to the board’s public‑comment time limits. Student speakers, former students, faculty and community partners recounted individual examples in brief remarks: a Twin Oaks student said Amu wrote a court letter to help her remain at Twin Oaks so she could graduate; another speaker said a child with autism would not have succeeded without Amu’s support. Several former and current Twin Oaks students said they would not have graduated or made the same progress without her involvement.
Tim Moynihan, who identified himself as a 10‑year San Marcos resident and the former president of Students on Stage’s board, told trustees he appreciated the district’s invitation to stakeholder meetings on facility‑use policy but added that, “you are all in the enrichment business,” urging the board to consider student programs and continuity of services when making staffing decisions. Multiple speakers, including members of local nonprofits such as the Sally A. Hunt Foundation and Casa de Amparo, described Amu’s work with foster youth and homeless students and pleaded for the district to keep her at Twin Oaks.
Amu addressed the board during the public comment period as well. “I'm here today, not just for me, but for them,” she said. “I've dreamed for them, and I have held their hands through their worst nightmares. As a school psychologist ... I'm asking you to reconsider, not just for me, but for them.”
Board members did not take formal action during the meeting to change staffing assignments. Several speakers said they had not been notified of the transfer in advance; one speaker said they only learned of the change during graduation. Members of the public requested clearer communication from the district and said they expect the board to be transparent and to involve stakeholders in decisions that affect school staffing and vulnerable students.
District staff and trustees acknowledged receipt of the comments during the meeting. No vote or directive to reverse the transfer was recorded on June 12; several speakers asked the board to enter the issue on a future meeting agenda and to negotiate placement or additional supports so students served at Twin Oaks would not lose continuity of care.
The public comment period on this topic included many speakers in support of Amu; board discussion and any personnel actions were not recorded as part of the June 12 meeting’s formal votes. The board’s next regular meeting is scheduled for June 26, when further items on staffing, policies and budgets will be considered.
