Orange Unified School District staff and community-site leaders on Monday outlined the district's progress expanding community schools and asked the board to continue investing in services that connect families to food, technology and mental-health supports.

"Community schools are more than a place for academics. They are hubs of support, trust, and opportunity," said Graciela Magana, community site lead at Esplanade Elementary School, during the public-comment portion of the board's work-study session. Magana described food access and basic-needs support as central services that help students "show up ready to learn."

Executive Director of Student and Community Services Ediberto "Eddie" Angel told the board the Community Schools Partnership work has expanded since 2022 to include site-based counselors and community leads, new family engagement activities and partnerships with organizations such as the Mexican consulate and local food banks. Angel said the district received grant funding across three cohorts: Cohort 1 was cited as $15,200,000, Cohort 3 was cited as $3,080,000, and the presentation said the district currently holds about $3,000,000 in carryover community-schools funds; the Cohort 2 amount in the transcript was unclear.

Community-site leaders and partners gave concrete examples of services: Esplanade's monthly free farmers market and dry pantry; consulate visits offering passports and identification services; parent computer centers; English-language classes; and campus-based wellness workshops. Cam Goringer Pate of Hub OC and parent Merlin Lopez described individual family outcomes connected to those services.

Trustees pressed staff on sustainability, accountability and outreach. Trustee Vane asked for additional detail on the district's vision for a planned summer community fair to distribute supplies and services districtwide; Angel said the district is organizing donations and plans to host the event at the district office, prioritizing families with the greatest needs.

Board members also sought a list of partners and resources. Staff committed to providing that list in a Friday update and described a data-tracking tool being developed with the Orange County Department of Education to document services and measure engagement at each site.

Several trustees urged clear governance at the site level. Presenters said each community school has a site council composed of parents, students, the community lead, staff and community partners; those site councils will have input on how site-allocated community-schools dollars are spent.

The presentation emphasized capacity-building and long-term sustainability: the district plans to formalize memoranda of understanding with partner organizations, launch professional development for leads and counselors, and align community-school site plans with the district's Local Control and Accountability Plan goals.

The board did not take formal action on the community schools presentation; staff said implementation and funding alignment will be reported back to the board as part of a January 2026 process to align site-level expenses and oversight.