How We Actually Honor Laguna Beach Taxpayers
FUEL President Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal addresses the board majority's pattern of framing decisions around taxpayer contributions. The way we honor taxpayers is not by repeatedly invoking how much money they contribute. The way we honor them is by delivering what they are actually paying for — an exceptional public education system.
There is a pattern emerging at LBUSD board meetings. The board majority has repeatedly framed decisions around the financial contributions of this community — citing the district's $90 million budget, SchoolPower's annual giving, and community scholarship donations as context for governance decisions.
The numbers are real. The community investment in our schools is genuine and extraordinary. But the framing is wrong, and it matters.
FUEL President Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal addresses this directly. Public schools are funded through property taxes and local contributions because education is a core public good — not because financial contribution creates authority over student experience. The way we honor taxpayers is not by invoking how much they give. The way we honor them is by delivering what they are paying for: an exceptional public education system where every student thrives.
Our students are not beneficiaries of charity. They are the reason the system exists.
Watch Shaheen's full statement below.
This is a statement from FUEL President Shaheen Sheik-Sadhal addressing a pattern of governance framing at Laguna Beach Unified School District board meetings. FUEL attends every LBUSD board meeting and advocates for student-centered decision making in Laguna Beach schools.
The Math Behind the Outrage
The numbers do not lie. FUEL breaks down the financial figures at the center of recent community frustration and explains what they actually mean for LBUSD students and families.
PUBLISHED BY LAGUNA BEACH INDEPENDENT ON MARCH 20, 2026
There has been a lot of noise around the “$1.77 million” health care issue in Laguna Beach Unified, and at this point, the number is being used more to inflame people than to inform them.
Yes, there was a real problem. For several years, the district failed to consistently apply the health care contribution formulas outlined in employee contracts. This issue should have been caught much sooner and needed to be corrected. No one disputes this.
However, the way this issue is being framed now is deeply misleading.
District staff brought this issue to public attention and commissioned an independent review. The review found a compliance and internal controls problem, but more importantly, did not find evidence of fraud, theft, or funds being “diverted.” These words are loaded and go far beyond what the actual record supports.
The main problem with the public conversation is the way the “$1.77 million” figure is being thrown around as if it tells the whole story when it does not.
$1.77 million is the total only from the years when the district paid more than the contract formula required, from FY23 to FY26. What keeps getting left out is that in FY21 and FY22, staff overpaid, so the district owed them. After completing the full reconciliation, the number brought forward for corrective action was $1.04 million. That is the figure the board acted on.
So no, this is not a case of “simple math” being ignored. It is a matter of people choosing the biggest number because it makes for a better scandal.
Context and honesty are important.
Teachers and staff did not create this problem. They selected plans from the available options based on the information provided. They should not be blamed for administrative mistakes they did not make, and they should not be turned into political punching bags because some people want to manufacture outrage.
While $1.04 million is significant, it represents a 6-year correction in a district with an annual general fund of approximately $85 million. Serious? Yes. Worth fixing? Absolutely. Proof of some sweeping conspiracy? No.
If this issue were truly as obvious and clear-cut as some claim, it would be fair to ask why a formal review and full reconciliation were necessary to determine the amount. The truth is less dramatic than the outrage campaign suggests: an administrative failure, not the scandal some people desperately want it to be.
We should require accountability, but the public also deserves accuracy, and right now that has been in short supply.
Erika Hennon Rule
LBUSD Parent
Aliso Viejo
If You Want Facts About Our Schools, Start With the Families in Them
In January 2026, FUEL ran its first public advertisement in the Laguna Beach Independent and Stu News Laguna. The ad introduced FUEL to the broader community, explained why parents organized after the December 2024 school board meeting, and outlined what a 501(c)(4) structure allows FUEL to do on behalf of students and families. We are sharing it here as part of our permanent record.
This is FUEL's public introduction to the Laguna Beach community, originally published as an advertisement in the Laguna Beach Independent and Stu News Laguna in January 2026. FUEL (Families Unified for Education in Laguna) is a parent-led 501(c)(4) advocacy organization supporting accountable governance of Laguna Beach Unified School District.
