Santa Ana Unified School District Vice President Hector Bustos held a 21-and-over drag brunch fundraiser at a venue not disclosed on the public flyer on Sunday to support his Area 5 reelection bid, as the district continues fiscal stabilization after approving 262 layoffs during a $154 million budget deficit.
“Drag Hector into Office!” the flyer said.
The noon fundraiser advertised performances by Drag Queens named Summer Daze, Khalib Kills, Mona Grey and Persephone Argent. It lists Solita, Grupo La Familia, Lavender Democrats, the California Working Families Party and the Community Action Fund of Planned Parenthood as co-hosts.
Santa Ana Unified has faced extreme financial difficulties in recent years.
Bustos attributed the district’s financial pressure during a 2025 board meeting to a shrinking student population.
“We are no longer the second largest school district in Orange County. We are now the fourth,” Bustos said.
Bustos joined the board majority that approved the 262 job cuts, including teaching and counseling positions, while Brenda Lebsack cast the lone dissenting vote. District officials said enrollment had dropped 28% over a decade and projected another 7% decline over the following two school years as $400 million in temporary pandemic aid expired.
Lebsack blamed earlier staffing decisions made with temporary funding for deepening the district’s budget problems.
“The root cause is a series of bad decisions by 3 of the board members that resulted in budget deficits and steeper decline of enrollment,” Lebsack said.
SAUSD nevertheless retained a positive fiscal certification. In December, officials said the district could meet its obligations for the current and following two years.
“The District received a positive certification, meaning it can meet its financial obligations for the current and next two years,” the board minutes said.
In March, Bustos moved to approve another positive certification and a fiscal stabilization plan, with both measures passing unanimously.
Bustos’ campaign lists “Accountable and Responsible Budgeting” among its priorities and presents his tenure as a record of progress.
SAUSD also settled a 2025 lawsuit brought by Jewish organizations over its ethnic studies approval process. The agreement suspended three courses until they could be redesigned with public input and barred specified instructional materials.
