Fewer Coronado students say they feel safe at school. The four candidates running for the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) board disagree on what to do about it.
The 2025 California Healthy Kids Survey (CHKS) found that the share of CUSD students who "feel safe at school" dropped compared with 2023, according to a Q&A published Monday, Oct. 5, by The Coronado News. Kaye Schneider, Peggy Duncan, Alexia Palacios-Peters and Mal Sandie are competing for three open seats on the board in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, election.
The candidates agree the decline deserves attention. Where they split is on the fix.
Schneider: new Safety Commission, unannounced visits
Schneider, a 34-year Coronado resident and Certified Family Life Educator, cautioned against reading too much into the headline number. She noted that Village Elementary's fifth-grade participation rate was only 65% and that both fifth and ninth graders showed notable declines. She also flagged drops in "caring-adult relationships" at Village Elementary and in both that metric and school connectedness among ninth graders.
Her proposal: a Safety Commission made up of parents, staff, administrators and the school police liaison. The board would review safety data quarterly. She also called for regular, unannounced observations of classrooms, playgrounds and common areas at schools showing declines, with findings reported to the commission.
"Parents are the ears of our community and often hear firsthand what students are feeling and experiencing," Schneider said in the Q&A.
Duncan: smaller classes, consistent discipline
Duncan, a former Francis Parker School trustee and president of Coronado nonprofit FOCUS, zeroed in on the grade-level data. She said safety perceptions declined most among ninth graders and Village Elementary fifth graders, while Silver Strand fifth graders actually improved.
She said she is especially concerned about the Village fifth-grade cohort because those students have since moved to middle school, which she called "a developmental period when students can be especially vulnerable socially and emotionally."
Duncan said she would push for clear, consistent discipline, stronger mental health support and smaller middle school classes so teachers can spot problems earlier.
Palacios-Peters: phones, counseling, military families
Palacios-Peters, a CUSD trustee since 2022 who has been elected board president twice, pointed to the phone pouch pilot already underway at Coronado Middle School (CMS). She said she wants those results to shape a district-wide policy.
CMS Principal Brooke Falar told the board at its Sept. 10 meeting that the program had produced only nine first offenses in five weeks, and all 36 surveyed teachers called it effective, the Coronado Times reported.
Palacios-Peters also said she would protect and expand counseling and mental health support, including through partners like Safe Harbor Coronado, where she once served as board president. She noted that roughly 40% of CUSD students come from military families who face deployments and frequent moves.
Sandie: ban devices, address bullying
Sandie, a retired Navy helicopter pilot and CUSD board member since 2022, went further on devices. He called social media "a primary catalyst" for harassment and bullying and said the district should ban personal electronic devices during school hours.
He said the district has completed a safety analysis and implemented all recommended protocols, including routine lockdown drills. Sandie is running as the only entirely self-funded candidate, capping his spending at $2,000 and refusing donations.
District safety work already in motion
The board approved comprehensive safety plans for all four CUSD campuses at its Feb. 19 meeting, as required annually by California Education Code 32280. At the Aug. 20 meeting, Student Services Director Niamh Foley presented a "School Safety Blueprint" covering risk and threat assessments, child abuse mandated reporting and suicide risk assessment, according to Coronado NewsCA.
The CHKS data does not specify the exact percentage-point decline, and the underlying report has not been independently published. Voters will choose three of the four candidates on Nov. 3.
