Teachers, parents and students press Ocean View board to end "combo" classes, citing low pay and declining enrollment

At the May 26 Ocean View School District board meeting, a steady stream of teachers, parents and students urged trustees to take concrete steps to end multi‑grade "combo" classes and to address teacher compensation and staffing shortfalls.

Veteran teacher Heather Don told the board she has worked in the district for 25 years and said Ocean View teachers are still "one of the lowest paid teachers in Orange County," arguing that wages are not keeping pace with local cost increases. "We just want to be able to keep up with inflation and not have to go into debt to do it," Don said. Several parents from College View and Circle View detailed daily instructional problems they attribute to combo classes, including students losing learning time when classes swap rooms and teachers juggling multiple grade‑level lessons within a single block.

Students also spoke directly: a fourth‑grade student, Brooklyn, described asking for help while her teacher was instructing another grade, saying, "If I get stuck on a problem and I need help, I can't ask my teacher because I don't want to interrupt her lesson." Another student echoed that daily switches to different classrooms for math are "loud, confusing, and it wastes time where we could be learning." Parents said combo classes are prompting some families to consider private schools and asked the district to present transparent consolidation, staffing and budget options.

Labor context: The Ocean View Teachers Association (OBTA) co‑presidents addressed the board later in the meeting to explain bargaining status. The OBTA leaders said the district and association completed 11 negotiation sessions and that the negotiated tentative agreement was presented to members but "was voted and not ratified by our active OBVTA members." The OBTA representatives said they remain committed to continued dialogue with the district.

Board response and constraints: Several trustees acknowledged the hardship of combo classes and described structural constraints: class‑size maximums/minimums, declining K‑8 enrollment and state funding formulas that complicate simple local fixes. Board members said consolidation had been considered in prior reviews but stress that community input and careful analysis are required before closing or merging schools.

What trustees asked for next: Trustees asked staff to return with long‑term analyses including budget and academic impacts of consolidation options, and asked for continued community engagement before formal action. The transcript does not show an immediate policy vote on consolidation at this meeting.

Provenance: Statements and claims originate from public‑comment speakers (Heather Don, parents and students from College View), and OBTA co‑presidents Jennifer Paulino and Rebecca Brousard's remarks to the board during employee association communications.