This post was originally published on this site
Editor’s Note: Councilmember Johnathan Ryan Hernandez was born and raised in Santa Ana. He is also a parent who is passionate about investing in our youth, Early Childhood Education programs, sports and the arts. At press time, the Orange County School of the Arts and the Santa Ana Unified School District are in mediation; if that fails, an appeal court hearing is expected to be scheduled for this summer.
As a Santa Ana councilmember, I believe in the spirit of collaboration and problem solving to face challenges in the city head on, especially when these challenges involve our most vulnerable—our youth.
Santa Ana is a very young city, where at least a quarter of our population is under 18 years old. In Ward 5 alone, I represent the children and parents of 16 schools ranging from elementary to high school and including a mix of Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD) and charter schools.
As both a councilmember and father, I believe young people are a huge priority in Santa Ana. We must prioritize their mental health, access to educational resources and, last but not least, their arts engagement.
Data shows that 94% of students highly engaged in the arts attend a four-year college, compared to just 76% of those with low arts engagement. What does this mean? Having access to an arts education is a game changer for our youth, and as a father, I’ve seen the impact of arts exposure firsthand.
The Family Ties
My daughter Evoni has loved the arts since she was young. We nurtured her spark early on, enrolling her in piano lessons and programs at the Orange County Children’s Therapeutic Arts Center with Dr. Ana Jimenez-Hami, and eventually enrolled her at the Orange County Educational Arts Academy. For high school, she was admitted into Orange County School of the Arts’ (OCSA) Arts & Enterprise Conservatory. Since then, I’ve watched her grow in ways I never imagined.
Therefore, I take what’s happening between SAUSD and OCSA personally. As a parent, a councilmember and a long-time Santa Ana resident, I’m afraid we’ve gotten lost in this conflict and forgotten our commitment to those we collectively serve—the students.
For 25 years, OCSA has brought a lot to Santa Ana. It has driven economic activity to the city by breathing life into underused buildings, transforming them into vibrant spaces and, in turn, that revitalization has brought foot traffic to local businesses, fostering communities of restaurants, coffee shops and boutiques, while also creating jobs across multiple sectors.
OCSA employs more than 500 people each year, many of whom live locally. And with over 2,300 students and their families coming from all over Southern California, the school brings a steady stream of tourism into Santa Ana. In fact, students from Santa Ana make up the second-largest group in OCSA’s student population. The largest cohort – 557 – come from Irvine, according to 2024-25 school enrollment figures.
Meanwhile, SAUSD is the second largest school district in Orange County, reflecting the significance of its decisions on Santa Ana youth. SAUSD employs approximately 5,000 people and oversees the development of 36,000 students from elementary to high school.
Both parties have great responsibilities and neither of their impacts can be denied.
And yet, today, we find ourselves in the middle of an unnecessary conflict.
SAUSD has demanded more than $16 million from OCSA for special education services the district did not provide to OCSA, violating the terms of the charter agreement.
So far, the district has already received more than $11 million in unused special education funds collected from OCSA. At the May 6 SAUSD board meeting, OCSA board representative Jessica Herthel presented a settlement offer of $4 million. When you add this proposal to the $11 million special education funds already paid to SAUSD, the school will have contributed more than $15 million to the district.
This meaningful contribution could help the district amidst a time when 278 educators have been laid off and students feel the brunt of the change.
I encourage the district and OCSA to come to an agreement that would benefit the Santa Ana community and our students. In a time when our students struggle with their mental health, we need to focus on immediate, actionable solutions to provide resources for our most vulnerable. Doing so requires partnership and transparency. My concerns around the lack of this stem from events in recent years.
Advocating for Parents
In 2023, my office received word from concerned parents whose children were enrolled in special education programs at a SAUSD school within my district. The parents shared concerns related to unacceptable treatment of students with severe special needs.
In 2025, families were blindsided by the district’s plan to move their special education program to another school site without consultation or justification. Parent leader Adrian Anguiano shared with me that he was very concerned about the district’s treatment of special education students. Mr. Anguiano, along with 40 other special education parents, advocated for the school district to consider the importance of not relocating this program and supporting special education students at their regular school site. We ultimately found the decision to move the program was not based on sound educational reasoning but rather hidden deliberations.
Fortunately, due to the leadership of parents, my office was able to take swift action and advocate in collaboration with City Manager Alvaro Nuñez, Mayor Valerie Amezcua, Mayor Pro Tem Benjamin Vazquez, school board member Valerie Magdaleno, Superintendent Jerry Almendarez and the wonderful staff at Orange County Transportation Authority to not relocate these special education students. This is an example of how collaboration is our biggest strength, when we band together and find solutions for the sake of our youth.
What’s more, in the past 10 years, SAUSD has seen a declining enrollment rate, losing 28% of its students, including 5% in just the last year. Investing in collaborative solutions and moving through challenges with transparency will help with this challenge.
Lastly, I want to kindly remind both the city and the school board of the shared responsibility we have to serve all children and families. I implore SAUSD to lead with transparency moving forward, and my hope is that this conflict with OCSA is resolved in a manner that benefits both parties.