Category: Orange Unified School District

Orange Unified Adopts ‘Parent Bill of Rights,’ Votes to Fly Governmental Flags Only

June 23, 2023
CaliforniaOrange Unified School Districtparental rightsRegional & State NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUSUS News
0 Comment

The Orange Unified School Board adopted a “parent’s bill of rights,” which grants district parents and guardians the right to know what their children are being taught and the right to be heard by district leaders. At a special June 20 board meeting, trustees unanimously approved the resolution—though Trustees Andrea Yamasaki and Kris Erickson criticized…

Read More

Orange Unified Board Cleared of Brown Act Violation Allegations, Except for One Trustee

May 10, 2023
CaliforniaOrange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
0 Comment

The Orange County District Attorney’s office determined the Orange Unified Board of Education did not violate California’s open meeting laws when it voted to fire its superintendent in January—though one trustee was found in violation of the rules for disclosing closed session information to the media. The DA launched a two-month investigation into multiple complaints—filed…

Read More

California Bill to Ban School Boards From Abruptly Firing Administrators Advances

April 29, 2023
CaliforniaCalifornia legislatureCapistrano Unified School DistrictOrange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
0 Comment

California state senators advanced a bill last week that aims to discourage newly-elected school board majorities from terminating their head administrators—after two Southern California school boards recently opted to fire superintendents just weeks after they took office. State Senate Bill 494 would require board members to wait a minimum of 30 days after they are…

Read More

Orange Unified Halts Search for Permanent Superintendent

April 19, 2023
CaliforniaOrange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
0 Comment

The Orange Unified School District’s Board of Education recently paused its search for a permanent superintendent, and it’s unclear when it will resume. The board was to select a consulting firm April 13 to aid its search. But at the meeting, trustees instead voted unanimously to take no action, with various reasons why. Board President…

Read More

Westminster School District Appoints Superintendent Previously Fired From Orange Unified

March 28, 2023
CaliforniaGunn Marie HansenOrange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUSWestminster School District
0 Comment

Former Orange Unified School District Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen was appointed as Westminster School District’s new superintendent March 23, two months after she was abruptly fired from the same position by Orange Unified’s new board majority. “I am incredibly honored to be the Superintendent of the Westminster School District, and I look forward to collaborating…

Read More

Orange Unified Appoints 2nd Acting Superintendent This Year

March 7, 2023
CaliforniaOrange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
0 Comment

The Orange Unified School Board unanimously appointed one of its existing assistant superintendents as acting superintendent March 2. Assistant superintendent Ernie Gonzalez will be the district’s temporary superintendent while the board works to find a permanent replacement with the help of an outside consultant. “We look forward to [Gonzalez’s] leadership as the Board of Education…

Read More

Orange Unified Superintendent Resigns After a Month on the Job

February 16, 2023
Orange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
0 Comment

Interim Superintendent Edward Velasquez resigned from his position at the Orange Unified School District after just one month on the job. “It is with sadness that I announce that my last day as interim superintendent will be Thursday, February 16,” Velasquez said in a Feb. 15 letter to the school community. “It has been an…

Read More

Orange Unified Restores Library App After Suspension Due to Inappropriate Book

February 6, 2023
Orange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
0 Comment

The Orange Unified School District restored students’ access to a digital library app Feb. 3 after suspending it last week at the request of a parent who said they found a book with inappropriate content—including explicit language, sex, and rape—in their elementary child’s digital library. Interim Superintendent Edward Velasquez announced a temporary suspension of the…

Read More

Orange Unified Approves Interim Superintendent’s Contract After Firing Former Superintendent

January 21, 2023
Orange Unified School DistrictRegional & State NewsRegional NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsState NewsUS
0 Comment

After abruptly firing its superintendent two weeks ago, the Orange Unified Board of Education approved a contract for an interim superintendent, Edward Velasquez, during a board meeting Jan. 19. Velasquez, an educator who has served as interim superintendent for multiple school districts in San Diego County, left retirement to step into the vacant role at…

Read More

Orange Unified Hastily Fires Superintendent in ‘Surprise’ Meeting

January 6, 2023
Local NewsOrange Unified School DistrictRegional NewsRegional-Local NewsSouthern CaliforniaSouthern California OC NewsUS
0 Comment

The Orange Unified School Board voted 4–3 on Jan. 5 to fire Superintendent Gunn Marie Hansen and Assistant Superintendent Cathleen. The decision passed in closed session of a special board meeting, called just 24 hours prior by President Rick Ledesma, who was re-elected to the board last November. Ledesma along with trustees John Ortega, Angie…

Read More