Inside IUSD: Sharon Wallin
Sharon Wallin is a five-term member of IUSD’s Board of Education. She began her advocacy for Irvine’s students as an active parent in her children’s schools. Photo credit IUSD.
In the first of our series on the Irvine Unified School District’s Board of Education members, we get to know Sharon Wallin. A long-time Board of Education member, Wallin has supported Irvine’s schools for over three decades. Her passion for education stems, in part, from her own struggle to have one.
“I grew up in Scranton, Pennsylvania, and no one in my family went to college,” says Wallin. “My parents asked me, ‘Do you want to go to college or do you want a car?’”
Wallin opted for the car and married at nineteen-years-old. When she and her husband resettled in Orange County, she tried to get her undergraduate degree from Cal State Fullerton, but did not receive her diploma because of the Public Speaking Graduation Requirement. She raised her three children in Irvine, where they attended IUSD schools from Kindergarten to high school graduation. She is a proud grandmother of five. Four of her grandchildren attend IUSD schools, one is a toddler, and one will enter the world in a week or so. Wallin’s involvement in IUSD began when she was an active parent in her children’s schools.
“I’ve lived in Woodbridge for over 40 years,” Wallin says. “I first got involved in PTA in addition to School Site Council. I’ve run for office five times and served seventeen years on the Board of Education. It’s a lot of work.”
The work Wallin embraces runs the gamut, but one of her greatest passions is the school district’s emergency plans.
“When I was a parent, I was shocked to learn that the district had no official policy,” recalls Wallin. “It was up to each school to come up with their own emergency preparedness plan.”
After many years of advocacy, Wallin’s efforts paid off. IUSD now boasts a robust emergency preparedness plan that includes EPIC (Emergency Preparedness Interagency Collaborative) meetings. These quarterly meetings allow IUSD to connect with the Irvine Police Department, Orange County Fire Authority, Orange County Health Care Agency, and Orange County Sheriff's Department’s Emergency Management Division, in addition to public and private schools in and around Irvine. These meetings allow all agencies involved to prepare for any number of manmade and natural emergencies. Wallin counts this unqualified success among her many proud achievements as an IUSD Board of Ed member.
Another of Wallin’s passions is her tireless advocacy for public education. That includes striving to improve IUSD’s funding. Despite many setbacks, she continues to work for more support and better resources for IUSD.
“IUSD is one of the least funded Unified School Districts in California,” explains Wallin. “Many surrounding districts receive much more funding per student. Legislative Action is essential for public schools and IUSD. Fair, full, and equitable funding for public education should be the state’s number one priority.”
To reach that goal, Wallin travels to Sacramento year after year to speak with legislators and advocate for IUSD’s funding. Unfortunately, this lobbying is only one piece of a complex puzzle and the state’s budget does not always allow for suburban districts to get what they need.
“I was disappointed in the Governor’s latest budget,” Wallin says. “We lobbied for three essential pieces and none our lobbying efforts were listened to. Suburban schools like IUSD hoped for the BASE of the state’s funding formula be raised for all students. Number two, we hoped the state would pay down a portion of pension costs. The third item we requested was that all new grant dollars should be to allocated to all ‘supplemental’ districts, not the majority going to ‘concentration’ districts.”
This doesn’t mean that IUSD is entirely shut out of the state’s increased funds.
“IUSD will get more money overall,” Wallin says. “But the increase of dollars in the next budget will be either one-time or for mandated programs. Other schools will be able hire more teachers than us. It’s just not fair for our students.”
Despite her disappointment over these challenges, Wallin will continue to champion Irvine’s students. She sees this coming year as a pivotal one.
“Due to the pandemic, our students have endured a lot,” Wallin says. “Our staff has been pulled in many directions and yet they display their talent every day in the classroom. Every staff member stepped up and is continuing to go above and beyond their job description. Our PTAs were unbelievably helpful in communicating to parents. This past year has been difficult and challenging but I believe IUSD is, not was (it’s not over yet!), weathering the storm better than any other school district. I am more proud than ever to serve our students as a Board Member. When my time comes to step down, I will miss every part of this marvelous journey.”
Want to see IUSD’s Board of Education in action? Check out a meeting. Also, you can follow Wallin on Facebook.