Anaheim Union High School District

Anaheim Union High School District
Address
501 Crescent Way
Anaheim
, California, 92803
United States
Coordinates33°50′20.27″N 117°56′56.03″W / 33.8389639°N 117.9488972°W / 33.8389639; -117.9488972
District information
TypePublic
MottoUnlimited You
Grades7th-12th[1]
Established1898 (1898)[2]
SuperintendentMichael Matsuda[3]
Asst. superintendent(s)Dr. Jaron Fried,
Dr. Nancy Nien,
Brad Jackson[3]
Accreditation(s)Western Association of Schools and Colleges
Schools22
Budget$566,368,409 (2022-2023)
NCES District ID0602630 [1]
Students and staff
Students29,183 (2020–2021)[1]
Teachers1,203.57 (FTE)[1]
Staff1,294.22 (FTE)[1]
Student–teacher ratio24.25:1[1]
Athletic conferenceCIF Southern Section
Other information
Websitewww.auhsd.us

The Anaheim Union High School District (AUHSD) is a public school district serving portions of the Orange County cities of Anaheim, Buena Park, Cypress, La Palma, and Stanton. It oversees eight junior high schools (7-8), eight high schools (9-12), and one non-magnet, secondary selective school, Oxford Academy (7-12).

Its superintendent, Dr. Elizabeth Novack, was fired in December 2013 without public explanation.[4] The Board of Trustees appointed Michael Matsuda, the district's former BTSA Coordinator who also currently serves as Secretary on the North Orange County Community College District Board of Trustees.[5]

The school district has gained brief national notoriety twice: once in 1968 when members of the organization Mothers Organized for Moral Stability, inspired by the information in the pamphlet "Is the School House the Proper Place to Teach Raw Sex?", flooded a school board meeting and demanded that a course in sex education at the school be suspended,[6] and again in 1978 when it banned the novels Silas Marner and Gone with the Wind from the school curriculum.[7] The books and the course have long since been reinstated.

In 2024, the school district has received backlash from the local community as a result of its decision for a mass reduction in force (RIF), with the intent to lay off 10% of teachers (119 out of 1,259) increasing to now 253 teachers district-wide.[8][9][10] In response to recent backlash, Michael Matsuda claims the layoffs were because of the expiration of federal funding at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and a drop in student enrollment.[9] As of May 2024, the district has released a joint statement with the Anaheim Secondary Teachers Association that they’ve rescinded all RIF notifications.[11]

  1. ^ a b c d e f "Search for Public School Districts – District Detail for Anaheim Union High". National Center for Education Statistics. Institute of Education Sciences. Retrieved 2022-03-05.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference AUHSD Brochure was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference AUHSD Organizational Chart was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  4. ^ "Search to Begin for New Anaheim Schools Superintendent". Voice of OC. Retrieved January 15, 2014.
  5. ^ "NOCCCD - Board Biographies". NOCCCD. Archived from the original on 2014-06-30. Retrieved 24 June 2014.
  6. ^ Josh Corngold (2008). Toleration, Parents' Rights, and Children's Autonomy: The Case of Sex Education. ProQuest. pp. 149–150. ISBN 978-0-549-85273-5. Retrieved 4 September 2013.
  7. ^ Ockerbloom, John Mark. "Banned Books Online". The Online Books Page, University of Pennsylvania. Retrieved 4 August 2012.
  8. ^ "Union Protects the Rights of Members During Layoff Hearings". California Teachers Association. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  9. ^ a b "Rallies decrying layoffs of Anaheim school teachers continue as dozens await rescission letters". ABC7 Los Angeles. 2024-04-03. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  10. ^ Perera, Nathan. "Students respond to AUHSD decision to lay off teachers". The Gamut. Retrieved 2024-04-27.
  11. ^ Perera, Nathan. "ALL RIFS RESCINDED". The Gamut. Retrieved 2024-05-28.