> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://www.santanero.org/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Hector Bustos on the Issues: SAUSD Board Area 5 - URL: https://www.santanero.org/news/all/2026/10/05/scq-hector-bustos-26/ - Published: 2026-10-05T19:00:49.000Z - Updated: 2026-10-05T19:00:49.000Z - Author: Daniel Diaz - Tags: #Santanero Questionnaire, 2026 Santanero Questionnaire, #ElectioNite, ElectioNite Hector Bustos, 27, is a Santa Ana native who was born and raised in the city. He was raised alongside two brothers by a single immigrant mother from Jalisco, Mexico, in a working-class household that relied on programs including CalFresh and after-school services. The grandson of hotel workers, Bustos says those experiences showed him early on the role public institutions can play in providing stability and opportunities for families. Bustos attended Taft Elementary, McFadden Intermediate and Segerstrom High School, graduating in 2017\. He became the first person in his family to graduate from college, earning a bachelor’s degree in Politics with a minor in Public Service and Community Engagement from the University of San Francisco. Bustos has been involved in youth organizing in Santa Ana since high school and currently serves as communications director for Chispa, where his work focuses on youth and community advocacy. In 2022, Bustos ran unopposed for the Santa Ana Unified School District Board of Education’s Area 5 seat. According to the district, he became the youngest person to serve on the school board and Santa Ana’s first openly LGBTQ+ elected official. His public service also includes serving on the Orange County Behavioral Health Advisory Board and as a delegate to the California School Boards Association. > *Per our policy, The Santanero does not endorse any candidate or ballot measure.* ### How to read this questionnaire Questions are grouped by issue. Use the blue search tool below to find a topic or question and jump directly to Bustos' full response. The complete wording of each question is preserved so readers can see exactly what the candidate was asked. A separate section featuring questions submitted by community members can be found near the end of this questionnaire. Find a question ⌕ ## Absenteeism #### Chronic absenteeism remains a major challenge for school districts. Based on what you have seen during your time on the board, what do you believe is the most important reason some students who are capable of attending school regularly are choosing not to show up, and what specific action would you bring before the board to address it? ****Bustos:** One of the biggest factors I believe we can influence is whether students feel connected to their school and have a reason to show up every day. We are already seeing evidence that our expanded learning programs can help address this. SAUSD students participating in before and after-school programs have lower rates of chronic absenteeism, demonstrating that when students have additional opportunities, relationships, and support on campus, they are more likely to attend school consistently. I believe we need to build on what is working. In my next term, I would push for a more concerted effort to recruit and hire the staff necessary to expand access to these programs, particularly at schools and among student populations with the highest absenteeism rates. We also need consistent, daily intervention when students are absent. Every school should have staff responsible for calling home, checking on students and families, identifying why a student is missing school, and connecting them with whatever support they need. That cannot happen sporadically, it should be a district-wide expectation every single day. # Budget ## Cuts: What Gets Axed? #### When budget reductions become necessary, how should the board decide what gets cut and what should be protected? Based on your experience on the board, what principles would guide your decisions when reductions affect staffing, programs, administration, school sites, and student services? ****Bustos:** I would protect the people and services students interact with every day first: classroom teachers, counselors, special education services, school-site staff, academic interventions, and programs with demonstrated impact on student achievement, attendance, and well-being. Before reducing those services, I would first examine central-office administration, vacant positions, outside contracts and consultants, duplicative programs, and expenditures that cannot demonstrate a meaningful impact on students. I also believe we should examine whether declining enrollment has left administrative structures or programs larger than necessary and adjust responsibly. The Board should not make these decisions based solely on the size of a program or department. I want data showing who is served, what outcomes are being produced, what the cost is per student, and what would actually happen to students if funding were reduced. We also need meaningful input from employees and families closest to the work. ## Partnership with City #### Both the City and school district face significant budget challenges in the coming years. While education is primarily the responsibility of the school district, the City also provides libraries, recreational facilities, and other resources used by Santa Ana youth. How would you collaborate with the city to make efficient use of limited resources while maintaining services for youth? What more, if anything, should the district do to expand students’ access to studying spaces, programs, and resources outside of school? ****Bustos:** I would support strengthening joint-use agreements so students have greater access to libraries, recreation facilities, athletic fields, and other public spaces outside the school day. I also want stronger coordination between our expanded learning programs and City programming so we can identify gaps, share facilities where appropriate, and make sure programs complement rather than compete with one another. We should also expand access to safe places for students to study after school and in the evenings. That could include keeping selected school libraries or other campus spaces open later, particularly in neighborhoods where students have fewer options, while partnering with City libraries to coordinate hours and academic resources. Ultimately, neither agency can afford to operate in a silo. I would support regular coordination between SAUSD and City leadership focused specifically on youth services, facilities, and programming so that limited public dollars go further while protecting the opportunities our young people depend on. ## Revenue Options #### As enrollment and district finances change, would you support consolidating schools or programs, repurposing underused campuses, or redeveloping district-owned property if doing so could reduce long-term costs or generate additional revenue? Where would you draw the line between preserving neighborhood schools and making better financial use of district property? ****Bustos:** Yes, I believe consolidation, repurposing, leasing, and redevelopment have to be part of our long-term financial conversation as enrollment changes. It would be irresponsible to maintain facilities that are significantly underused indefinitely while cutting services for students elsewhere. At the same time, closing a neighborhood school is one of the most consequential decisions a school board can make, and it should never be driven by short-term budget pressure alone. Before considering consolidation, I would want clear enrollment projections, facility utilization and condition data, long-term operating costs, impacts on surrounding schools, transportation and safety considerations, and a transparent analysis of the actual savings. Families, employees, and neighborhoods affected should be involved well before a final recommendation reaches the Board. I would also prioritize repurposing property before selling it. Underused district property could support early childhood education, expanded learning, workforce or affordable housing, community services, or partnerships that generate ongoing revenue while allowing the public to retain ownership of the land. I would draw the line when the financial benefit does not outweigh the educational and community harm. Neighborhood schools are public assets, not simply pieces of real estate. But preserving a building at any cost cannot come at the expense of the students inside our schools. Any savings or revenue generated from these decisions should ultimately be reinvested in improving educational opportunities and protecting direct services for students. ## Campaign Goal #### If reelected, at the end of your first year of the new term, name one concrete result for the SAUSD community that you intend to accomplish. ****Bustos:** By the end of the first year of my next term, I want to see a measurable increase in the number of SAUSD students reading at grade level by third grade. We have invested in literacy coaches at every elementary school for the 2026–27 school year. My focus now is making sure that investment produces results. I will push for clear literacy benchmarks, early identification of students who are falling behind, targeted intervention during the school day, and regular public updates to the Board on student progress. By the end of that first year, the community should be able to look at the data and see that more SAUSD students are on track to become strong, confident readers. ## First Amendment x Public Comments #### Parents, students and community members sometimes come before the board with strongly held concerns or beliefs, including views protected by the First Amendment that may be upsetting or objectionable to students or employees affected by the issue. During your time on the board, how have you distinguished between a speaker’s right to be heard and whether the board should actually act on what that speaker is requesting? When a proposed response to a parent or community concern could place a significant burden on particular students or staff, what should guide your decision? ****Bustos:** Public comment is essential to democratic governance, and during my time on the Board I have listened to people with whom I strongly agree and strongly disagree. But having the right to express a viewpoint does not mean the Board has an obligation to turn that viewpoint into district policy. When someone asks us to take action, I consider whether the proposal is lawful, educationally sound, consistent with our nondiscrimination obligations, and ultimately in the best interest of students. I also consider the practical impact on employees and whether we would be placing an unreasonable burden on a particular group of students or staff simply to accommodate someone else's objection. Parents should have a meaningful voice in their child's education, but we also govern a public school system serving thousands of families with different backgrounds, beliefs, and values. One family's beliefs cannot determine another student's access to education, support, or equal treatment. The First Amendment protects the right to advocate for a policy. It does not require the Board to adopt it. ## Enrollment #### SAUSD has experienced significant enrollment decline during your time on the board. What actions have you supported to address that decline, what results have those actions produced, and what would you do differently in your next term to increase enrollment and retain families? ****Bustos:** During my time on the Board, I have supported expanding programs that make our schools more competitive, including Career Technical Education and dual enrollment, stronger arts and enrichment opportunities, and the Monroe Elementary Lab School partnership with UC Irvine. We have also invested in literacy coaches at every elementary school, expanded student mental health supports, and made major facility improvements. At the same time, our schools have achieved some of their strongest academic gains in more than a decade. In my next term, I want us to be much more intentional about turning those improvements into enrollment growth. That means developing a school-by-school enrollment and retention strategy, expanding high-demand programs like dual language, CTE, VAPA, and college pathways, strengthening outreach to families before they leave the district, and doing a better job communicating what our schools offer. I also believe we should explore using underutilized district property to support affordable workforce and family housing, addressing one of the pressures pushing families out of Santa Ana. Most importantly, I want SAUSD to move from reacting to enrollment decline to actively competing for families. Every school should have a clear identity, strong programs, and a strategy for attracting and retaining students. Our academic progress gives us something real to build on; the next step is making sure families see SAUSD as their first choice. ## Instructional Staff Support #### Some instructional staff feel overwhelmed when they repeatedly raise concerns about a student’s behavior, classroom disruption, or lack of academic progress and do not believe those concerns are taken seriously or followed up on quickly enough. During your time on the board, have you been satisfied with how SAUSD supports teachers in those situations? What would you change to ensure teachers receive timely administrative support while students also receive appropriate interventions? ****Bustos:** I believe we can do better. A teacher should never repeatedly document the same behavioral or academic concern and feel like it disappears into a system without a timely response. When classroom-level interventions are not working, there should be a clear escalation process with defined timelines. The teacher should know who is responsible for responding, what action is being taken, and when follow-up will occur. Depending on the concern, that could mean an administrator contacting the family, convening a student support team, involving a counselor or behavioral specialist, providing targeted academic intervention, or developing a more intensive behavior plan. I also believe administrators need to take greater responsibility for communication with families when problems become serious or persistent. Teachers should absolutely be part of that partnership, but they should not be left alone to repeatedly manage a situation that requires administrative intervention. In my next term, I would support establishing consistent district-wide expectations for responding to documented teacher concerns. I also want us to regularly ask teachers whether the intervention actually improved conditions in their classroom. ## Lack of Programs at Schools #### Students have raised concerns that some SAUSD high schools offer far fewer electives and career-oriented programs than others, while campuses with a wider range of programs can become much more attractive to families. At the same time, changes in technology and artificial intelligence may reduce demand for some traditional white-collar entry-level work while skilled trades and practical occupations remain essential. During your time on the board, have you been satisfied with the range of electives available across SAUSD high schools? What would you support to expand or restore practical courses such as culinary arts, home economics, construction, automotive, manufacturing, personal finance, and other career-technical programs? ****Bustos:** I am not satisfied with the differences in elective and career-technical opportunities across our high schools. A student should not have significantly fewer options simply because of which SAUSD high school they attend. In my next term, I would prioritize expanding programs tied to clear employment opportunities, particularly construction and the skilled trades, automotive, culinary arts, manufacturing, and other hands-on pathways. We have already begun building this work through partnerships with organized labor, pre-apprenticeship opportunities, expanded trades programming at Century High School, culinary opportunities, and pathways connecting students with Santa Ana College, including automotive. I also strongly support making personal finance and workplace readiness accessible to every student. Given our financial realities, we cannot realistically duplicate every specialized program at every high school. Instead, I would develop a districtwide CTE strategy that guarantees every student access to strong career pathways while allowing certain campuses to specialize. That means addressing transportation and scheduling so a student can participate in a program at another SAUSD campus without transferring schools entirely. We should also be much more aggressive about partnerships. Unions, community colleges, apprenticeship programs, and employers can provide instructors, equipment, internships, facilities, and industry expertise that would be expensive for the district to build alone. When we invest district dollars, I would prioritize programs with strong student demand, recognized certifications or college credit, and demonstrated pathways into apprenticeships, employment, or further education. ## Literacy #### Separate from standardized testing, what specific actions would you support in your next term to improve literacy and mathematics achievement and increase the number of students who successfully pass their English and math courses during the regular school year rather than needing summer school, credit recovery, or other remediation? ****Bustos:** For literacy, we have already invested in literacy coaches at every elementary school for the 2026–27 school year. My priority is ensuring that investment produces measurable results. I would require regular Board updates on reading growth, particularly in the early grades, with a clear goal of increasing the percentage of students reading at grade level by third grade. Students who are falling behind should be identified early and receive targeted intervention during the school day rather than waiting until summer. I want to bring that same level of focus to mathematics. I would support dedicated math intervention and coaching, regular monitoring of students who are at risk of failing, and additional instructional support built into the school day. At the secondary level, I want schools identifying students at risk of failing English or math well before the end of a semester and providing tutoring, intervention periods, or other targeted support while there is still time to earn the credit. The Board should receive regular data on English and math course pass rates, D/F rates, grade-level growth, and the number of students requiring summer school or credit recovery. # Parent Engagement ## Behavior Notification #### Schools can provide counseling, interventions, behavior plans, and disciplinary consequences, but some behavior problems continue when there is little accountability or follow-through at home. During your time on the board, have you been satisfied with how SAUSD engages parents or guardians when a student has repeated serious behavioral issues? What more, if anything, should the district require or expect from families in those situations? ****Bustos:** I believe we can set clearer expectations for family involvement when a student has repeated serious behavioral issues. Schools have a responsibility to provide counseling, interventions, behavior plans, and appropriate consequences, but we cannot expect those interventions to succeed if there is no partnership or follow-through outside of school. When serious behavior becomes repeated, I believe parents or guardians should be expected to participate in conferences, understand the intervention or behavior plan being developed, maintain communication with the school, and follow through on reasonable steps agreed upon to support their child. Schools, in turn, should document outreach, make meetings accessible to working families, provide interpretation when needed, and clearly communicate both the seriousness of the behavior and what is expected moving forward. If repeated attempts to engage a family are unsuccessful, the district should have a clear escalation process involving school administrators, counselors, social workers, or other appropriate staff rather than leaving an individual teacher to manage the situation alone. There are limits to what a school district can control once a student leaves campus. We should provide families with resources and remove reasonable barriers to participation, but partnership requires effort from both sides. When serious behavior continues, accountability cannot rest entirely on the classroom teacher or school. Families, students, and the district each have a role and responsibility in improving the situation. ## Academic/Attendance Notification #### Some parents do not regularly attend school meetings, Back-to-School Night, conferences, or monitor systems such as Aeries until a student is already failing classes, missing school, or facing other serious problems. During your time on the board, have you been satisfied with SAUSD’s efforts to engage families earlier and more consistently? What would you support to increase regular parent participation and make tools such as Aeries more useful for keeping students on track throughout the school year? ****Bustos:** Family and community engagement is already one of our Board priorities, and we have made important investments in that work. We have Family and Community Engagement (FACE) liaisons at every school and Community School Coordinators at some campuses. But family engagement has to be everyone’s responsibility. I believe we can do more to engage families before a student is already failing, chronically absent, or facing a serious problem. Every family should receive support in activating and using Aeries, understanding grades and attendance, and setting up notifications. Training should be offered throughout the year, in families’ home languages, and both in person and virtually. We should also strengthen automatic alerts when attendance declines, assignments are repeatedly missing, or grades begin to fall. Technology, however, cannot replace relationships. Teachers, counselors, administrators, FACE liaisons, and other school staff should all play a role in reaching families early. When warning signs emerge, someone should be calling or texting home, documenting that outreach, and following up rather than waiting until the end of a grading period. There is also shared responsibility. The district must make information accessible and proactively reach out, but families have a responsibility to monitor their child’s progress and respond when schools contact them. Our goal should be a culture where family engagement happens consistently throughout the year, not only after a student is already in crisis. ## Position of a Board Member #### Who do you believe you are elected to represent as a school board member: students, parents, employees, taxpayers, the broader community, or some combination of them? When those groups want different things, whose interests should come first, and how has that guided your decisions during your time on the board? ****Bustos:** I was elected to represent the entire community, students, families, employees, taxpayers, and residents, but when those interests conflict, students must come first. The fundamental purpose of a school district is to educate and support young people, and every decision I make has to begin with what will best serve them. That does not mean ignoring everyone else. Parents know their children and deserve a meaningful voice. Employees are the people doing the work every day, and their experience should inform our decisions. Taxpayers deserve responsible stewardship of public dollars, and the broader community has a stake in strong public schools. During my time on the Board, this principle has guided me through difficult decisions involving budgets, staffing, curriculum, student protections, and district policy. I listen to every constituency, but I ultimately ask: What does this decision mean for students? Does it improve their education, safety, well-being, and opportunities? Sometimes putting students first means making a decision that is unpopular with one constituency. That comes with the responsibility of serving on a school board. My job is not to satisfy every interest equally; it is to weigh those interests responsibly while never losing sight of why the school district exists in the first place: our students. ## PBIS #### SAUSD schools use approaches such as Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports, or PBIS, which can include incentives and positive reinforcement. However, some perceive situations where a student has a serious behavioral episode and then receives snacks, privileges, or other positive reinforcement as rewarding the behavior rather than holding the student accountable. During your time on the board, have you been satisfied that SAUSD is maintaining the right balance between behavioral support and meaningful consequences? What would you support to ensure interventions actually improve behavior without creating the perception that misconduct is being rewarded? ****Bustos:** I support PBIS and other approaches that help students develop better behaviors, but I do not believe behavioral support should mean the absence of meaningful accountability. The standard should be whether an intervention actually changes behavior. I would expect the district to track repeat incidents, classroom removals, suspensions, and whether students receiving behavioral interventions demonstrate improvement over time. If the same behavior continues despite repeated interventions, we need to reassess the strategy rather than continuing something simply because it is labeled a behavioral support. I also believe incentives should reinforce specific positive behaviors and progress, not simply follow misconduct. Students should understand what behavior is expected, what happens when those expectations are violated, and what they need to do to repair harm and demonstrate improvement. Consequences should be age-appropriate, consistent, and paired with support when students need it. I also want educators to have a stronger voice in evaluating whether these approaches are working in their classrooms. Ultimately, PBIS should help teachers teach and students learn. We can support students, understand the circumstances behind their behavior, and provide opportunities to improve while still maintaining clear boundaries and accountability. ## Special Interests vs. Constituents #### When your personal, political, or financial interests conflict with the concerns of the community, what specific actions or standards will you follow to ensure that you prioritize the residents you were elected to serve? ****Bustos:** First, I follow conflict-of-interest and disclosure laws and would recuse myself whenever I have a disqualifying financial interest. Even when recusal is not legally required, I believe potential conflicts should be disclosed publicly when they could reasonably cause the community to question my impartiality. For policy decisions, I rely on a consistent standard: What does the evidence show, what does the law require, what are students and families telling us, and what best advances the district’s educational mission? I also believe major decisions should be made through transparent public processes with sufficient information available for the community to scrutinize. Politically, I do not believe campaign support, endorsements, donations, or personal relationships entitle anyone to a particular vote. I have been willing during my time on the Board to take positions that are politically difficult when I believe they are right for students and the community. Ultimately, accountability requires transparency. If I cannot explain and defend a decision publicly based on its merits and its benefit to the people I represent, that is a strong indication that I should not be making that decision. ## Special Education Spending #### Special-education spending has grown, and that may reflect an increase in students receiving IEP services. During your time on the board, have you been satisfied that the growth in special-education spending is producing better academic, behavioral, and long-term outcomes for students with IEPs? If not, what would you change in the district’s approach to services, staffing, or accountability? ****Bustos:** I am not satisfied measuring the success of special education by how much we spend. Increased investment is necessary when student needs increase, but the Board should expect that investment to produce measurable improvements in academic growth, behavior, graduation, independence, and postsecondary readiness for students with IEPs. In my next term, I would strengthen accountability around those outcomes. That includes providing both special education and general education teachers with ongoing training so they have a larger toolbelt to support students with different learning needs. I also want to ensure schools have administrators, including assistant principals with special education expertise, who can support teachers, oversee IEP implementation, and work effectively with families. Parents also need to be genuine partners. I would expand opportunities for families to understand the IEP process, their rights, their child’s goals, and the services available to them. At the Board level, I want regular reporting that goes beyond spending and caseloads to examine whether students with IEPs are meeting their academic and behavioral goals, graduating, and successfully transitioning to college, careers, or greater independence. We should also strengthen our process for evaluating students who are meeting their goals and may no longer require special education services. When appropriate and supported by the IEP team and evaluation data, successfully transitioning a student out of special education should be viewed as a positive outcome. Ultimately, our standard should not be whether we spent more money or provided more services. It should be whether those services are helping students make meaningful progress and become increasingly successful and independent. # Technology Use ## AI Use vs. Basic Skills #### SAUSD has increasingly embraced artificial intelligence in its schools (i.e. flyers, logos), but students will also enter colleges, workplaces, licensing environments, and other settings where AI may be restricted or where they will be expected to demonstrate their own knowledge and skills without it. During your time on the board, have you been satisfied that the district is preparing students to succeed both with AI and without it? What would you support to ensure students still develop strong independent writing, research, mathematics, critical-thinking, and problem-solving skills rather than becoming dependent on AI? ****Bustos:** I do not believe we have fully found the right balance yet. Our responsibility as a school district is first to make sure students can read, write, research, calculate, think critically, and solve problems independently. In my next term, I would support clear districtwide expectations for when AI is appropriate and when students must demonstrate their own knowledge without it. Every student should regularly complete writing, mathematics, research, and problem-solving assignments in settings where AI is not available. Teachers should also have training and flexibility to design assignments that emphasize a student’s reasoning, writing process, and ability to explain how they reached an answer, not simply the final product. We also need to teach AI literacy, including how to verify information, identify bias and inaccurate outputs, protect personal information, and understand the ethical implications of these tools. I also believe the district has to model the behavior we expect from students. We should be thoughtful about our own reliance on AI for flyers, logos, communications, and creative work when we have talented students and employees capable of producing that work. ## AI Culture in Schools #### Students increasingly describe some AI-generated flyers, graphics, presentations, and other school or district materials as ‘AI slop’—content they see as low-effort, generic, or not worth engaging with and point to the free application Canva for better flyers. As SAUSD has embraced AI, do you believe the district has maintained an appropriate standard for the quality and originality of materials being presented to students? What expectations would you support for the use of AI in district and school communications? ****Bustos:** No. I think we can do better. If students are describing district materials as “AI slop,” we should take that feedback seriously. AI should not become an excuse for producing generic, low-effort materials simply because they can be created quickly. I would support establishing clear districtwide expectations that AI should not be used to generate flyers or original artwork for school and district communications. Instead, we should create more opportunities for students to design materials, build portfolios, and gain real-world experience through work that the district actually uses. I think we are missing an opportunity when we rely on AI instead of our own people. We have talented students studying art, graphic design, media, and communications, as well as creative employees throughout the district. I would rather create more opportunities for them to produce work that represents our schools than replace their creativity with an AI-generated image. ## Back to Computer Labs? #### SAUSD moved away from traditional computer labs in favor of providing students with individual devices, including Chromebooks and, for younger students, iPads. As technology becomes more demanding and concerns grow about replacement costs, classroom distraction, gaming, and inappropriate use of AI during assignments, do you believe the district’s current one-to-one device model is still the best long-term investment? Would you support a different approach by grade level, such as iPads for younger students, more limited Chromebook use for older students, and a return to higher-performance shared computer labs for courses that need them? ## Cell Phones in the Classroom #### SAUSD restricts student cell phone use during instructional time, with classroom use generally requiring teacher permission. Based on what you have seen during your time on the board, do you believe the district’s current phone policy is too strict, not strict enough, or about right? What changes, if any, would you support regarding when students may possess or use phones during the school day and how repeated violations should be handled? ****Bustos:** I believe our current policy is about right in principle. Phones should not interfere with teaching and learning, and students should not be using them during instructional time unless a teacher has given permission for an educational or other appropriate purpose. Where we need improvement is consistency and enforcement across schools. We will be reviewing our cell phone policy soon, and I have supported directing the Superintendent to hold listening sessions with students, educators, and families before changes come before the Board. The people experiencing this issue every day should help shape the policy, particularly our teachers and students. My starting point is that classrooms should be phone-free during instruction, with reasonable exceptions for emergencies, medical needs, and teacher-authorized use. I am open to students having access during lunch and passing periods, but I want to hear directly from our school communities before establishing a districtwide rule. Whatever we adopt should be clear and consistent across schools so teachers are not individually responsible for creating or enforcing entirely different expectations. For repeated violations, I support progressive consequences that involve families rather than immediately relying on punitive discipline. That could include requiring a parent or guardian to retrieve a device after repeated misuse. At the same time, families need confidence that they can reach their children during a genuine emergency through established school procedures. ## Test Scores #### During your time on the board, how much confidence have you placed in standardized academic testing as a measure of how SAUSD students are actually performing? Given that some students may not approach these assessments with the same level of engagement or effort they give their regular coursework, do you believe the results accurately reflect student learning, or are there limits to how the board should use them when evaluating schools and academic programs? ****Bustos:** I believe standardized assessments are an important accountability tool, but the Board should never treat a single test score as the definitive measure of whether a student, school, or academic program is succeeding. I pay attention to the data because it can identify achievement gaps, show trends over time, and help us determine where additional resources are needed. But I also recognize its limitations, including that a single assessment does not always capture what a student knows or the progress they have made throughout the year. That is why I believe the Board should evaluate academic performance using multiple measures. Alongside state assessments, I look at grades and course completion, graduation rates, reading proficiency and growth, English learner progress, college and career readiness, chronic absenteeism, and district assessments that allow us to measure student growth throughout the year. Most importantly, we should focus on growth, not just proficiency. If a student begins the year significantly below grade level but makes substantial academic progress, that matters, even if a standardized test still categorizes that student as below standard. Standardized testing should be a diagnostic and accountability tool, not the definition of student success. The Board’s responsibility is to look at the full picture and use that information to determine what is working, where students are struggling, and where we need to invest or change course. ## Youth Programs Expansion #### Would you support expanding access to district libraries, athletic fields, gyms, and other school facilities after regular school hours for studying, youth sports, recreation, or community programs? If so, what role should the City of Santa Ana play in helping fund, staff, secure, or operate that expanded access? ****Bustos:** Yes, and I am currently leading efforts to make this a reality. Our schools are public assets, and I believe libraries, athletic fields, gyms, and other appropriate facilities should be more accessible to students and the community after school, in the evenings, and on weekends. I am working to strengthen collaboration between SAUSD and the City of Santa Ana around expanded community use of our facilities. With both agencies facing limited budgets, this has to be a shared responsibility. The district can provide space while the City helps fund and operate recreation, youth sports, and other community programs. I also want to explore keeping selected school libraries and other spaces open later for students who need a safe place to study, particularly in neighborhoods with fewer public resources. We should prioritize facilities where there is demonstrated community demand and ensure expanded access has sustainable funding, appropriate supervision, and clear responsibility for maintenance. My goal is to make better use of public facilities taxpayers have already invested in while protecting education dollars and expanding opportunities for Santa Ana youth and families. --- # Questions from the Community These questions stem from a submission form posted on The Santanero's Instagram. #### Red or green pozole? ****Bustos:** Red pozole. #### What is your favorite food? ****Bustos:** Anything my mom cooks. #### What is your astrological zodiac sign? Bustos: Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 20) #### Spotlight a Santanero business or place! **Editor's Note: If the selected place, its owner, or business has donated to or endorsed your campaign, an editorial note will disclose that relationship.* ****Bustos:** Frida Cinema (305 East 4th St, #100, Santa Ana, CA 92701) #### My favorite thing about Santa Ana is... ****Bustos:** ...the people, the culture, our schools. #### Why should voters give you another chance? ****Bustos:** I have shown up. In classrooms, at school events, in meetings with students and educators, and during some of the most difficult moments our families have faced. During my first term, we expanded mental health support, invested in early literacy, strengthened career pathways, protected immigrant students and families, improved academic outcomes, modernized aging schools, and confronted a significant budget deficit while protecting essential student services. But I am not asking for another term because I believe our work is finished. I am asking because I know we can do better. Too many students are still behind academically, chronic absenteeism remains too high, families need stronger engagement, and we have to ensure every student has access to excellent programs regardless of which SAUSD school they attend. I grew up in this district. These schools helped shape my life, and serving them has been one of the greatest responsibilities I have ever had. I am asking voters for another chance because I have shown that I will do the work, I will show up, and I will never stop expecting more for the students of Santa Ana.