Around the time Melissa Caldwell began serving as the president of the PTA of her daughter’s elementary school, she was told the school was closing because there weren’t enough students.
Caldwell, who is running for a seat on the Laguna Niguel City Council in the upcoming Nov. 8 election, said after talking to Capistrano Unified School District officials, she realized special needs students were not being counted by the district toward enrollment. Out of 400 students at her daughter’s school, only half are counted, she said.
“When I realized [these] kids didn’t have a voice, it really opened my eyes,” she said. “It just tore me up inside and broke my heart.”…