Orange County School of the Arts Supporters Protest Santa Ana Unified Amid Legal Battle
- Cynthia Rebolledo
- Apr 2
- 5 min read
OCSA parents, students, teachers and school supporters protest Santa Ana Unified and call for a settlement to avoid bankruptcy.
More than 200 Orange County School of the Arts (OCSA) supporters attended the March 25 Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD)’s board meeting to protest SAUSD’s demand of $16 million from the school for special education services.
The dispute between the school and the district began in 2019 when SAUSD billed OCSA $19.5 million in back funding for general fund support to be paid toward districtwide special education programs. Other charter schools in the district were also billed for back funding. During that time (2000-2020), OCSA employed its own special education staff to provide special instruction and services for students with disabilities.
SAUSD stated in a 2019 press release that “(t)he Santa Ana Unified School District informed each charter school it has authorized that participates in its special education local plan area (SELPA) of this required contribution and sought to meet and work collaboratively with them to make the contribution required by law and their charters to students with disabilities residing in Santa Ana .… OCSA has deliberately and systematically sought to avoid its legal obligation as a public charter school to contribute to excess costs all public schools bear in meeting the educational needs of special needs students. When approached in good faith to work out a fair settlement, they chose instead to expend their funds on court battles and not the needs of special education students.”
OCSA argues that SAUSD is demanding money for services that were never provided to OCSA and goes against the language of OCSA’s charter.
In the six years since OCSA first received word about the required funds, they have been trying to figure out a solution with SAUSD.
”We've been operating in good faith, trying to negotiate with the district for years, and we finally got them to agree to go to mediation to try and resolve this case in a way that would benefit their school district and our school and our students – saving everybody millions of dollars of ongoing legal,” said Teren Shaffer, president and CEO of OCSA, during a phone call earlier on March 25.
“Unfortunately, it was very clear in mediation that the district was not interested or willing to negotiate in good faith.”
When asked about what negotiation points were being considered during mediation, OCSA could not comment. According to a representative for the school: “Mediation under California law is considered privileged and confidential. Unfortunately, we can't say specifically what happened at the mediation.”
OCSA parents, students, teachers, alumni, and school supporters filled up the board’s chambers and overflow room. Almost everyone wore teal T-shirts that read “I Stand With OCSA,” and a few people held handmade signs that stated “I Love OCSA.”
Although the Santa Ana Board of Education didn’t have an item on its agenda related to OCSA, Cabinet Deputy Superintendent Lorraine Perez addressed the charter and circumstances regarding the court case.
“I see that our room is filled with folks from OCSA and I’m going to start with some comments and the fact that we understand why folks are here to share their feedback with our board and with our school community,” Perez said. “I want to share that the folks who are sitting up here right now are not the folks who we started with during this court case – but that board and this board actually have a fiduciary responsibility to make sure that we are recouping those dollars for our students and our families and our community.”
While she didn’t mention it, her comments came at a time that Santa Ana Unified School District has started to lay off hundreds of teachers and staff members to fill a roughly $180 million budget deficit.
“It has never been our intention to bankrupt or destroy any educational institution that benefits students,” Perez said.
As for paying back the funds and avoiding bankruptcy, Perez referred to court documents that were made available to the public. “OCSA could and should see post judgment relief to pay that fee over the ten years that is allotted,” she said.
Shaffer was one of the first to address board and attendees at the meeting, saying, “We have wasted a combined $6 million dollars on lawyers in this case. The only way to end this without more being spent is to work together toward a reasonable settlement.” He sees three potential outcomes: one, the district is victorious which would put OCSA into bankruptcy leaving the district to recoup pennies on the dollar; two, OCSA is victorious which would require $3 million dollars in legal fees owed to OCSA by SAUSD; or three, a mutual settlement that “does not put OCSA out of business permanently.”
PHOTOS 1 and 2: Trish Sweeney hands out a “I Stand With OCSA” t-shirts to the OCSA supporters attending the board meeting. PHOTO 3: The Santa Ana Unified School District meeting broadcast was broadcast on a projection screen in the overflow room. Photos by Cynthia Rebolledo, Culture OC
Other speakers at the March 25 meeting focused on the impacts of the ongoing litigation between the school and the district. The vast majority who spoke urged board members to consider mediation, saying the $16 million judgment would force OCSA into bankruptcy.
Former student Caledonia Hanson described her alma mater as a second home.
“I was surrounded by people like me,” she said to the trustees. “People who in high school were the weirdos, the freaks, the losers – the people you probably would not have thought twice about sitting with. All of us were allowed to be ourselves at OCSA.”
Chris Reese, a parent of an OCSA student and a Santiago Elementary student emphasized how the arts are fundamental to education.
“We learned early on that our children would not be able to survive without creative arts in their education,” he said. “They need the arts to succeed in their learning environment. It’s through the arts that they learned how to love learning. It’s through the arts that they found community, support and belonging. It’s through the arts that my youngest found OCSA.”
Board President Hector Bustos thanked speakers for sharing their thoughts, describing them as having “come from a very sincere place on this issue.” But he also claimed the board was legally unable to discuss the issue since the controversy wasn’t on the agenda that night.
“We don’t anticipate this topic coming before this board in the coming months for a public discussion but if that does change, I want folks to keep in mind that we are keeping your comments in mind,” he said.
Oral arguments in the appellate court are scheduled for May in Los Angeles. Three judges will weigh in on the case, with a decision determined by a majority.
