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Parents urge Orange Unified to change hiring process and address safety at Anaheim Hills Elementary
Summary
Parents and PTA representatives from Anaheim Hills Elementary told the board repeated principal turnover, deferred maintenance, and gaps in safety planning have harmed students and staff; they presented a petition and asked that teacher representatives take part in principal hiring and that the district speed safety improvements such as fence covers.
Several parents and PTA leaders from Anaheim Hills Elementary told the board they are concerned about leadership instability, campus maintenance and school safety, and requested a more inclusive principal‑hiring process.
Speakers said the school has had three different principals in four years, which they said has led to diminished classroom conditions, teacher burden, and communication breakdowns with families. Parent organizers presented a petition with nearly 200 signatures and asked that the district include a teacher representative from the school in the principal interview and selection process and create separate teacher and parent surveys designed to assess local needs.
Amanda Archer, the PTA president, told trustees the lack of a permanent principal had forced parents to pay for basic infrastructure needs — she cited $37,000 spent by the PTA on lunch tables last year — and repeated that PTA-funded fence covers for kindergarten gates (about 150 feet) had been denied twice by site maintenance. Multiple speakers requested a district safety assessment and clearer communication of evacuation plans after recounting past campus fire and evacuation disruptions.
Board members thanked speakers and directed staff to follow up: the superintendent said staff would reach out to clarify emergency plans and the board asked for communication back to the community. No formal board action was taken on the petition during the meeting.
