Voice of OC (https://voiceofoc.org/tag/santa-ana-unified-school-district/)
Santa Ana is home to the highest amount of hard-to count areas in Orange County, and the supervisors’ move has prompted blowback from state and federal elected officials.
Much of the frustration centered on plans to put the shelter in a low-income city that long has hosted more shelter beds than any other Orange County city, while wealthier south county cities have refused to open a shelter.
The real estate consultant and former city planning commissioner was leading former city planner Manny Escamilla by 150 votes in Tuesday’s update, and there appeared to be too few left in play to change Bacerra’s winning position.
Manny Escamilla narrowed his gap behind Phil Bacerra from 6 percentage points on election night 1.1 points Friday. Vote counting continues Tuesday.
Phil Bacerra, a real estate consultant and former city planning commissioner, held on to his lead for a City Council seat in the third day of election results Thursday, as former city planner Manny Escamilla closed in slightly, from 2.4 percentage points to 2.0 points behind Bacerra.
Vote counting will continue through at least Friday.
It’s still early; in last year’s primary election, almost half of all ballots in Orange County were not yet counted at of the end of election night.
Voters are deciding on a council member who will potentially impact key decisions on local issues like the ongoing homelessness crisis and complaints about slow 9-1-1 response times.
Robyn MacNair supports arts education in the Santa Ana Unified School District, arguing it adds to a well-rounded education by increasing critical thinking, problem-solving skills, improved test scores and higher attendance rates.
As we mourn the innocent victims who lost their lives in the senseless tragedy at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida and ask ourselves why and how has this happened again in our schools, we search for answers that we hope will guide us and give direction on how we can prevent such a horrendous act of violence from ever happening again. Although we may not have all the answers, what we do have – as elected leaders and educators – is a responsibility to ensure that we institute safety and security protocols to ensure our students and staff are safe when they are in our care at school. Schools must remain a safe place where all students can learn, grow and become productive members of society. In the Santa Ana Unified School District (SAUSD), the largest school district in Orange County serving 50,000 students, the Board of Education has a long-standing commitment to the safety of students and staff by investing in a strong, well-trained school police department that is specifically designed to support the school community. Operating 24 hours a day, each day of the week, the Santa Ana School Police Department monitors and oversees 57 schools while maintaining a strong partnership with the Santa Ana Police Department and many other neighboring law enforcement agencies in Orange County.