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Parents and union leaders press SVUSD to use reserves to lower class sizes; district cites restrictions
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Summary
Parents, teachers and the Saddleback Valley Educators Association urged the board to reallocate district funds to reduce class sizes, citing alleged reserves and budget line items; district leaders said many funds are restricted or already committed.
Multiple parents and educators urged the Saddleback Valley Unified School District board on Thursday to prioritize smaller class sizes and greater budget transparency, pressing trustees for specific reallocation plans.
Michelle Martin, a 31-year SVUSD teacher, told the board "A budget is a list of priorities, and students clearly are not high on the list," and alleged the district has at times held reserves "as high as 15%." Several other speakers, including SVEA President Mandy De Groot, presented a union analysis that cited a possible $5,700,000 understatement in the district—s 2023—6 ending fund balance and highlighted $9,102,148 listed in the books and supplies budget as potentially available for reallocation.
SVEA also identified specific budgets it said could be repurposed, including a travel and conference figure it cited as $809,280 and asserted that eliminating combo classes and adding teachers could be funded within those sums. "We know where the money is, and we know how it can be reallocated to serve students," De Groot said.
Superintendent Dr. Turner and district staff responded that several of the cited figures are restricted or already committed. The superintendent detailed line items: for example, $3,529,613 was spent on Chromebooks purchased last year and $2,000,306 was described as required for curriculum adoptions to meet state law, which limits immediate repurposing. The superintendent also noted that some conference travel expenses billed to specific programs were paid by program partners or consulates and reported a smaller district-paid travel total on the record.
Trustees expressed sympathy for calls to reduce class sizes but said they must consider multi-year budget obligations, legal restrictions on categorical funding and an estimated $29,000,000 in additional cuts the district faces over the next three years. Board members and union representatives agreed to continue discussions and requested additional data for deeper review.
The meeting record does not reconcile the competing dollar figures; the district characterized several amounts as either restricted, committed, or one-time funds, while union and parent speakers said reallocation could finance additional classroom staff and eliminate combo classes.
