Teachers and parents press Saddleback Valley USD over class sizes, reserves and budget transparency

Teachers, parents and union leaders used public comment at the Saddleback Valley Unified School District board meeting to press officials for smaller class sizes and greater budget transparency ahead of the school year.

Michelle Martin, a 31‑year district teacher, said there is a “serious breakdown in trust” between educators and the district over spending, and asserted district reserves have been as high as 15% in recent years. Several parents and local educators, including Becca Knappberg and Nikkita Ganatra, described the classroom consequences of large classes — citing examples of 36‑student fourth‑grade classes and 'combo' classes that combine multiple grade bands — and urged the board to reallocate funds to hire more teachers and cap class sizes.

Mandy DeGroot, president of the Saddleback Valley Educators Association, said the union’s review found the district routinely underestimates ending fund balances and noted an additional $5,700,000 in excess 2023–24 reserve that the union says was not anticipated. DeGroot urged the board to reassign discretionary and unrestricted dollars to reduce combo classes and to make budget data available to staff and the public.

Superintendent Dr. Turner replied with itemized figures and constraints. He said the travel and conference budget totals $809,280 overall, but only $355,837 is in unrestricted funds that can be freely reallocated. He noted nearly $17 million in books and supplies budgets with $9,102,148 in unrestricted dollars but stressed many of those commitments are one‑time or already encumbered; the superintendent said a portion of funds is legally required for curriculum adoption and for other restricted purposes. Dr. Turner said the district has already implemented roughly $15,000,000 in cost‑saving measures and faces about $29,000,000 in additional reductions across the next three years, and therefore lacks ongoing unrestricted revenue to sustainably implement broad class‑size reductions at this time.

Trustees acknowledged the public’s concerns and expressed support for smaller classes in principle, while several board members and staff emphasized legal and accounting constraints that limit immediate action. The board approved a tentative agreement with the teachers’ union at the meeting but did not authorize large, ongoing reallocations for class‑size reduction during this session.

Next steps: staff and trustees said they will continue to analyze funding options, report data where available and advocate for state and federal support for recurring funding.