Parents ask TUSD for transportation support for incoming Legacy sixth-graders

At the Tustin Unified School District board meeting, parents urged the district to provide stable transportation for students assigned to the Legacy program, saying current options are unreliable and could prevent children from attending.

Maria Sandoval told the board, "I come to plead my case once again to see if there is a way that we can get transportation for incoming legacy, sixth graders," explaining that her family’s transportation plan collapsed after her husband lost his job and that other families face similar constraints. Sandoval said the Legacy program offers "immense things" for students, including college-level courses and project-based learning, and asked the district to consider alternatives that would allow students to access those educational opportunities.

Erica Martinez, a new paraeducator, told the board she also faces logistics challenges with one child assigned to Legacy and another to a neighborhood school, asking plainly, "How am I gonna get my child to school?" Martinez said informal solutions — asking other parents or arranging transfers — are not reliable and urged the district to explore transportation options so families can maintain employment while students access programs.

Earlier in public comment Captain Wilkerson, company commander for the Huntington Beach recruiting company, described a separate community event, saying the military-affiliated outreach will host "Careers in Service" on Sept. 12 and offered to coordinate with schools and provide busing support where possible. Board members took the comments under advisement; no funding or program commitments were made during the meeting.