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Saddleback Valley Unified School District, California, elections

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Saddleback Valley Unified School District
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District details
School board members: 5
Students: 23,199 (2023-2024)
Schools: 34 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Saddleback Valley Unified School District is a school district in California (Orange County). During the 2024 school year, 23,199 students attended one of the district's 34 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
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Elections

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Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 2

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 2

Michele Sparks defeated Scott Miller in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 2 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Michele Sparks
Michele Sparks (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
52.5
 
10,260
Image of Scott Miller
Scott Miller (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
47.5
 
9,282

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 19,542
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 3

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 3

Incumbent Suzie Swartz defeated Michelle O'Brien in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 3 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Suzie Swartz
Suzie Swartz (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
57.5
 
11,357
Image of Michelle O'Brien
Michelle O'Brien (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
42.5
 
8,401

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 19,758
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 4

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 4

Incumbent Amanda Morrell defeated Michael Stannard in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 4 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Amanda Morrell
Amanda Morrell (Nonpartisan)
 
55.4
 
10,208
Image of Michael Stannard
Michael Stannard (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
44.6
 
8,218

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 18,426
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 1

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 1

Dan Walsh defeated incumbent Greg Kunath in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 1 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
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Dan Walsh (Nonpartisan)
 
55.0
 
8,845
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
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Greg Kunath (Nonpartisan)
 
45.0
 
7,241

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 16,086
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 5

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 5

Incumbent Barbara Schulman defeated Jennifer Richter in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 5 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
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Barbara Schulman (Nonpartisan)
 
53.1
 
7,892
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Jennifer Richter (Nonpartisan)
 
46.9
 
6,981

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 14,873
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 2

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 2

Incumbent Edward Wong defeated Tricia Yee in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 2 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Edward Wong
Edward Wong (Nonpartisan)
 
54.2
 
11,024
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
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Tricia Yee (Nonpartisan)
 
45.8
 
9,323

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 20,347
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 3

General election

The general election was canceled. Suzie Swartz (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 4

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 4

Incumbent Amanda Morrell defeated Benjamin Yu in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified School District school board Area 4 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Amanda Morrell
Amanda Morrell (Nonpartisan)
 
61.2
 
13,846
Image of Benjamin Yu
Benjamin Yu (Nonpartisan)
 
38.8
 
8,764

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 22,610
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education (2 seats)

Barbara Schulman and Greg Kunath defeated Dan Walsh and incumbent Dennis P. Walsh in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
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Barbara Schulman (Nonpartisan)
 
32.4
 
39,287
✔
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Greg Kunath (Nonpartisan)
 
23.5
 
28,485
Silhouette Placeholder Image.png
Submit photo
Dan Walsh (Nonpartisan)
 
22.6
 
27,323
Image of Dennis P. Walsh
Dennis P. Walsh (Nonpartisan)
 
21.5
 
26,056

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 121,151
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education

Incumbent Amanda Morrell, incumbent Suzie Swartz, and incumbent Edward Wong won election in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education on November 8, 2016.

Candidate
✔
Image of Amanda Morrell
Amanda Morrell (Nonpartisan)
✔
Image of Suzie Swartz
Suzie Swartz (Nonpartisan)
✔
Image of Edward Wong
Edward Wong (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey.

Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team.

Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education

General election

General election for Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education

Incumbent Dennis P. Walsh and incumbent Dolores C. Winchell won election in the general election for Saddleback Valley Unified Board of Education on November 4, 2014.

Candidate
✔
Image of Dennis P. Walsh
Dennis P. Walsh (Nonpartisan)
✔
Image of Dolores C. Winchell
Dolores C. Winchell (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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About the district

School board

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameSeatYear assumed officeYear term ends
Michele SparksTrustee Area 220242028
Amanda MorrellTrustee Area 420202028
Suzie SwartzTrustee Area 320202028
Dan WalshTrustee Area 120222026
Barbara SchulmanTrustee Area 520192026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Saddleback Valley Unified School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
California State Assembly District 71Kate SanchezRepublican Party 68% 11%
California State Assembly District 72Diane DixonRepublican Party 29% 12%
California State Assembly District 73Cottie Petrie-NorrisDemocratic Party 3% 3%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $31,983,000 $1,311 8%
Local: $252,153,000 $10,338 63%
State: $118,968,000 $4,878 30%
Total: $403,104,000 $16,527
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $364,345,000 $14,938
Total Current Expenditures: $334,957,000 $13,733
Instructional Expenditures: $224,234,000 $9,193 62%
Student and Staff Support: $37,449,000 $1,535 10%
Administration: $34,284,000 $1,405 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $38,990,000 $1,598 11%
Total Capital Outlay: $9,493,000 $389
Construction: $8,813,000 $361
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $7,209,000 $295
Interest on Debt: $3,133,000 $128

Academic performance

Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 51 75-79 <50 29 PS 65-69 58
2018-2019 53 73 30-34 31 <50 69 63
2017-2018 52 73 30-34 31 21-39 64 61
2016-2017 51 72 25-29 31 40-59 64 62
2015-2016 50 71 25-29 29 40-59 63 59
2014-2015 48 68 30-34 27 40-59 62 57
2013-2014 77 85-89 60-69 64 PS 80-84 83
2012-2013 73 87 55-59 56 70-79 84 81
2011-2012 73 86 60-64 56 60-69 82 80
2010-2011 74 86 60-64 55 60-69 82 80

The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2020-2021 73 85-89 40-59 60 PS 75-79 79
2018-2019 64 79 50-54 45 <50 76 73
2017-2018 64 81 40-44 46 40-59 75 73
2016-2017 64 78 45-49 46 60-79 75 74
2015-2016 65 79 50-54 47 40-59 75 74
2014-2015 62 75 50-54 42 60-79 72 71
2013-2014 72 75-79 70-79 57 PS 70-74 80
2012-2013 73 83 65-69 54 70-79 83 82
2011-2012 75 85 70-74 57 60-69 85 83
2010-2011 75 85 65-69 55 80-89 84 83

The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:

School year All (%) Asian/Pacific Islander (%) Black (%) Hispanic (%) Native American (%) Two or More Races (%) White (%)
2019-2020 93 >=95 >=80 89 PS 90-94 95
2018-2019 93 90-94 80-89 89 PS 90-94 95
2017-2018 92 >=95 80-89 87 >=50 >=95 95
2016-2017 93 >=95 >=90 90 >=50 >=95 94
2015-2016 96 >=95 >=90 93 >=50 >=95 97
2014-2015 95 >=95 >=90 92 >=50 >=95 97
2013-2014 95 >=95 >=90 91 >=50 >=95 96
2012-2013 95 >=95 >=90 91 >=50 >=95 97
2011-2012 95 >=95 >=90 91 >=50 >=95 97
2010-2011 94 >=95 >=90 88 >=50 >=95 96

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 23,199 -2.2
2022-2023 23,711 -2.9
2021-2022 24,390 -2.3
2020-2021 24,954 -5.4
2019-2020 26,304 -1.7
2018-2019 26,747 -2.4
2017-2018 27,378 -1.6
2016-2017 27,803 -3.2
2015-2016 28,706 -1.1
2014-2015 29,028 -2.4
2013-2014 29,731 -2.1
2012-2013 30,355 -1.7
2011-2012 30,885 -2.7
2010-2011 31,724 -2.1
2009-2010 32,387 -1.7
2008-2009 32,936 -1.9
2007-2008 33,558 -1.0
2006-2007 33,909 -2.0
2005-2006 34,592 -0.9
2004-2005 34,901 -1.3
2003-2004 35,349 -0.6
2002-2003 35,566 1.3
2001-2002 35,117 -0.2
2000-2001 35,199 1.5
1999-2000 34,657 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Saddleback Valley Unified School District (%) California K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.1 0.4
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 12.8 12.1
Black 1.1 4.9
Hispanic 39.2 56.1
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.2 0.4
Two or More Races 9.2 5.8
White 37.2 20.2

Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.

Staff

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Saddleback Valley Unified School District had 1,002.97 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 23.13.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.00
Kindergarten: 84.57
Elementary: 551.18
Secondary: 367.22
Total: 1,002.97

Saddleback Valley Unified School District employed 16.00 district administrators and 53.85 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 16.00
District Administrative Support: 73.64
School Administrators: 53.85
School Administrative Support: 115.68
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 330.11
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 32.60
Total Guidance Counselors: 55.44
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 24.34
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 22.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 1.16
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 79.48
Other Support Services: 503.41

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Saddleback Valley Unified School District operates 34 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Cielo Vista Elementary488KG-6
Del Cerro Elementary381KG-6
Del Lago Elementary359KG-6
De Portola Elementary567KG-6
El Toro High1,9729-12
Esperanza Education Center777-12
Foothill Ranch Elementary1,065KG-6
Glen Yermo Elementary318KG-6
Laguna Hills High1,4019-12
Lake Forest Elementary688KG-6
La Madera Elementary602KG-6
La Paz Intermediate7077-8
La Tierra Early Childhood Center1KG-KG
Linda Vista Magnet Elementary278KG-6
Lomarena Elementary525KG-6
Los Alisos Intermediate6117-8
Melinda Heights Elementary950KG-6
Mission Viejo High1,6289-12
Montevideo Elementary456KG-6
Olivewood Elementary412KG-6
Portola Hills Elementary758KG-6
Ralph A. Gates Dli Magnet Elementary908KG-6
Rancho Canada Elementary630KG-6
Rancho Santa Margarita Intermediate1,1167-8
Robinson Elementary489KG-6
San Joaquin Elementary229KG-6
Santiago Steam Magnet Elementary497KG-6
Serrano Intermediate8877-8
Silverado High2489-12
Svusd Virtual Academy (Alternative)161KG-12
Trabuco Elementary95KG-6
Trabuco Hills High2,5079-12
Trabuco Mesa Elementary630KG-6
Valencia Elementary524KG-6


About school boards

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External links

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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