Coronado school board incumbent Malachy Sandie wants to stop accepting interdistrict transfer students in grades TK-8 once the district shifts to Basic Aid funding in the 2027-2028 school year.

The move would shrink class sizes at the elementary and middle school levels, Sandie said in a candidates forum response published Sept. 23 in the Coronado Eagle & Journal. High school transfers would continue to keep programs like Career Technical Education, Coronado School of the Arts, JNROTC and athletics at full strength.

Because Basic Aid is funded by property-tax revenue rather than student headcounts, the district will no longer need transfers to boost attendance-based state payments, Sandie wrote. "This will be fantastic for our TK-8 grade classes as we will be able to reduce class sizes."

Sandie is one of four candidates competing for three open seats on the Coronado Unified School District (CUSD) Board of Trustees in the November 2026 election. The other candidates are Alexia Palacios-Peters, Margaret "Peggy" Duncan and Kaye McCormick Schneider.

The money math

Basic Aid replaces the state's attendance-based Local Control Funding Formula with property-tax revenue. Superintendent Karl Mueller called the transition "now a reality" at a Jan. 15 board meeting, telling trustees the district expects $8 million to $10 million in additional annual revenue once it takes effect, the Coronado Times reported.

Sandie put the net gain lower. The district has been deficit-spending about $6 million a year from reserves, he wrote, leaving a net increase of roughly $2 million to $4 million on a total budget of about $60 million. His stated priorities for that money include raising teacher and staff pay and upgrading facilities with solar panels and HVAC systems.

Transfer numbers

As of March 2026, CUSD enrolled 469 interdistrict transfer students, about 17% of its 2,640 total enrollment, according to the Coronado News. Of those, 78 were military-connected, 71 were children of CUSD staff, and 38 received individualized services.

District staff had already begun moving in the same direction. At a March 3 board meeting, Mueller recommended the district stop accepting new transfers in grades six through eight. The high school policy, as described at that meeting, would still accept transfers with a target of 250 students per grade, prioritizing CoSA, career pathways and military-connected students.

Sandie's proposal goes further. It would extend the cutoff down through transitional kindergarten.

Other candidates weigh in

Schneider, in a Sept. 25 Coronado Times profile, said the district needs to examine class sizes and potential changes to the transfer program "while protecting the quality of education our students receive."

In a September Q&A published by the Coronado News, Schneider cited the superintendent as saying the Basic Aid change would have a positive impact on TK-8 and allow for smaller class sizes.

The next regular CUSD board meeting is scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 15.