CUSD Recall Committee Featured at U.S. Capitol Film Debut
Dec 03, 2009 Filed in: Culture of
Corruption
"Not As Good As You Think: The Myth of the Middle Class School" is a groundbreaking documentary that shatters the myth that "good" schools located in "nice" neighborhoods are shielded from the education crisis that pervades schools in poor, urban areas. The CUSD Recall Committee’s successful five year campaign to bring badly needed reform to the Capistrano Unified School District is prominently featured in this movie -- as an example of just how badly broken the American public school system can be in one of the country’s most affluent areas…and how tremendous improvements and reforms can be achieved by dedicated, vigilant citizen action and oversight.
READ OC Register Story
READ the Official Invitation
WATCH the Trailer in HD
Comments
Union Politics Are Hurting Our Children
Oct 26, 2009 Filed in: Unions | Teacher
Salaries
• What Parents Need to Understand About the CUSD Budget Cuts and Collective Bargaining
An open letter to the community from CUSD parent and child advocate Dawn Urbanek
As a parent of a student in CUSD, who has attended most of the CUSD Board Meetings and Budget Workshops over the past two years, I felt compelled to write this letter. Not every parent has time to attend meetings and workshops. Those of us who do need to start sharing our knowledge with other parents to truly reflect what we as parents feel “is in the best interest of our children.”
I was really angry, and disgusted, to see teachers at my child’s school standing outside the campus Friday morning… wearing black… handing out flyers. The flyers were asking parents to contact Ellen Addonizio, the President of the Capistrano School Board, and tell her to start working with teachers during contract negotiations in a "reasonable and responsible way.".
What happened Friday was a staged event by the CUEA (Capistrano Unified Education Association) -- the teachers union. Read More...
"Kids First"? Hardly. The true colors of a union leader
Albert Shanker, former AFT President
Next time you hear that tired old union baloney about putting “Kids First,” remember what the late Albert Shanker, former American Federation of Teachers president, once said:
“When school kids start paying union dues, that’s when I’ll start representing the interests of school children.” Albert Shanker, The OC Register
This helps to explain the “Kids First” hypocrisy we continue to experience from union leaders, including those at CUSD, where many of their own rank and file have been influenced to ignore or deny the truth about dishonest special interest union politics.
Thanks for the brutal honesty, Albert. You’re a peach. We couldn’t have said it better.
URGENT UPDATE: Capistrano Unified Budget Crisis
Mar 27, 2009 Filed in: Budget | Teacher
Salaries
UNION LEADERS ARE HURTING OUR
CHILDREN!
Teachers
Union President Vicki Soderberg
wants
more
money for CUSD union members…even if it hurts our
children
Your Elected Reform Trustees:
• Must Cut $25 Million from Budget
• Want to Save Every Teacher’s Job
• Want to Preserve Smallest Possible Class Sizes
Union Leaders and Senior Administrators:
• Are Refusing Across the Board Pay Cuts
• Want Board to Lay off Hundreds of Young, Talented, Energetic Teachers
• Want Board to Increase Class Sizes
• Want to Preserve High Salaries and Benefits for Themselves at the Expense of the Students, Young Teachers and Taxpayers of CUSD!
The Capistrano Unified School Board is facing a crisis. They must cut approximately $25 million from the 2009-2010 budget…especially painful because they were forced to cut millions from this year’s budget.
Our school district was ill-prepared to deal with the State’s current budget crisis because former Superintendent James Fleming (now indicted for multiple felonies and awaiting trial on April 7th) and his seven “old guard” trustees (Sheila Benecke, Marlene Draper, John Casabianca, Shelia Henness, Duane Stiff, Mike Darnold and Crystal Kochendorfer) had engaged in years of gross fiscal mismanagement (e.g. massive deficit spending on an annual basis, failure to establish and maintain adequate reserves). Read More...
Your Elected Reform Trustees:
• Must Cut $25 Million from Budget
• Want to Save Every Teacher’s Job
• Want to Preserve Smallest Possible Class Sizes
Union Leaders and Senior Administrators:
• Are Refusing Across the Board Pay Cuts
• Want Board to Lay off Hundreds of Young, Talented, Energetic Teachers
• Want Board to Increase Class Sizes
• Want to Preserve High Salaries and Benefits for Themselves at the Expense of the Students, Young Teachers and Taxpayers of CUSD!
The Capistrano Unified School Board is facing a crisis. They must cut approximately $25 million from the 2009-2010 budget…especially painful because they were forced to cut millions from this year’s budget.
Our school district was ill-prepared to deal with the State’s current budget crisis because former Superintendent James Fleming (now indicted for multiple felonies and awaiting trial on April 7th) and his seven “old guard” trustees (Sheila Benecke, Marlene Draper, John Casabianca, Shelia Henness, Duane Stiff, Mike Darnold and Crystal Kochendorfer) had engaged in years of gross fiscal mismanagement (e.g. massive deficit spending on an annual basis, failure to establish and maintain adequate reserves). Read More...
District Administrators Propose Covering Massive Budget Deficit on the Backs of our Children, Families and Taxpayers...Again
Mar 24, 2009 Filed in: Budget | Teacher
Salaries
With the economy flagging and thousands loosing their jobs, highly paid CUSD administrators (check it out here) and union leaders are rejecting modest, across-the-board pay cuts -- a sensible solution supported by reform trustees that could preserve desperately needed education programs, smaller class sizes and protect overburdened taxpayers.
Instead, administrators are proposing another assault on the remaining 15% of the budget, which is precious little to cover current classroom needs already cut to the bone. Apparently, this is fine with administrators, union leaders and tax-hike advocates who continue to ignore the "85%" elephant in the room that is crushing the educational needs of the children to death.
See the OC Register story.
Report Confirms Superintendent Carter Was Insubordinate and Guilty of Numerous Illegal and Other Improper Acts
Mar 20, 2009 Filed in: Culture of
Corruption | Superintendents
See OC Register story, official CUSD news release and official report on the board's decision on termination of Carter's employment.
Trustees Fire Superintendent Carter!
Mar 10, 2009 Filed in: Culture of
Corruption | Superintendents
See OC Register story.
New OC Register Column: Public School System Doesn't Need More Money - Its "Bankrupt Culture" Needs Reform and Common Sense.
Mar 09, 2009 Filed in: Budget | Culture of
Corruption
Click here to read Ms. Star's column.
New Report Shows California Teachers Are Highest-Paid in the Nation...Yet the Teachers Union Wants Billions More.
Mar 08, 2009 Filed in: Budget | Teacher
Salaries
Click here to read the OC Register editorial.
New Report Confirms Woodrow Carter Engaged in Serious Misconduct While at CUSD
Mar 03, 2009 Filed in: Superintendents
Click here to read the incredible story.
Trustee Bryson Confirms Board Had Valid, Well-Documented Causes To Remove Carter
Jan 30, 2009 Filed in: Superintendents
Bryson, the lone dissenter on the school board's 6-1 vote to put Carter on leave, defended her colleagues, saying there were multiple, documented reasons that led to Carter's leave of absence. Trustees say they can't disclose those reasons because of employee privacy laws.
“I think various trustees had circumstances which were valid," Bryson said. "They are pretty practical people and I have to give them their credit on accepting what occurred in some instances. It's pretty well documented."
Read More...
CUSD’s New Battle: The Voters’ Elected Representatives vs. CUSD’s Entrenched Special Interests
Jan 12, 2009 Filed in: Culture of
Corruption | Elected
Officials | Special
Interests | Superintendents
There is a new battle being waged in our school district…and it is every bit as dangerous as the battle voters just won when they removed the last of the corrupt Fleming era trustees from office.
The voters of South Orange County have spoken…clearly and unmistakably -- for the third election in a row. Voters in CUSD have rejected the corrupt status quo and elected seven reform trustees by landslide margins. Voters have given you a mandate for positive reform in CUSD.
In my remarks to this Board just one month ago, on the night the newly-elected board members were sworn in, I stated:
“With the removal of the last Old Guard Trustee, one battle is over…But no one should misunderstand – the fight is far from over. Many who directly profit from CUSD’s multi-million dollar budget are continuing their efforts to frustrate and rollback the reforms you are striving to implement…”
Read More...
The truth about Woodrow Carter's past failures
If all you heard were the impassioned gushing over Woodrow Carter (aka Arnold Carter) by employees and a few parents incited by union boss Vicki Soderberg, and their equally impassioned and vile attacks against our new trustees, you would think Carter should be beatified and the trustees condemned to the fiery pits of hell.
Well here are some other facts and points of view that Carter, Soderberg and their bully mob would prefer not discussed. And these are just few examples. Others can be viewed by clicking here.
Schools' exec stirs outrage
By Julie Kay/Staff Writer, The Reporter (Vacaville, CA), December 1, 2006
The superintendent of the Fairfield-Suisun Unified School district is under fire for having displayed to 85 district administrators an image of a 'Ladies Swiss Army Knife' containing attachments including a tampon and a phallus-like vibrator.
A flyer being circulated shows the Swiss Army-like knife on one side and cites on the other side the California Education Code which says a permanent employee can be dismissed for 'immoral or unprofessional conduct.' Read More...
CUSD Trustee Ken Maddox addresses board's decision to place superintendent on administrative leave
"Last Tuesday, the Board of Trustees voted to place the Superintendent on administrative leave. It was not a decision arrived at easily. Regrettably, the Board is prohibited by law from sharing the details of our closed session discussion.
Our faculty and staff are expected to provide a quality education despite this recent action. I have every confidence in our CUSD personnel.
I will do my best to dispel any rumors and keep the pubic informed as we move forward. Yesterday, I met with the PTA to discuss the superintendent issue and anticipated budgetary shortfalls. It was a lively and candid discussion." Read More...
CUSD Board of Trustees Releases Publc Statement Regarding Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter
As previously reported, the Board of Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District, at its meeting on January 6, 2009, took action to place Superintendent, A. Woodrow Carter, on paid administrative leave. The District and several members of the Board of Trustees have received questions as to why this action was taken.
The Board of Trustees is committed to making employment decisions based on the best interests of the students and community that it serves. However, such decisions inevitably involve issues relating to how public employees are performing their responsibilities. While the public’s interest in such matters is well understood, it is also the case that California law establishes a right of privacy in favor of the employee with respect to their job performance, and makes confidential the Board’s deliberations with respect to such matters. The employee’s right of privacy derives from the State Constitution, as well as other statutory provisions and case law. Accordingly, and out of respect for the Superintendent’s privacy rights, as well as the confidentiality associated with the Board’s deliberations, the Board cannot comment on or respond to questions concerning its decision to place the Superintendent on paid leave. The District and the Board will share further information at the appropriate time and in compliance with the law.
CONTACT:
Julie Hatchel
Chief Communications Officer
(949) 234-9427
jhatchel@capousd.org
New trustees exercise leadership and take action to restore order in our broken school district.
Jan 06, 2009 Filed in: Culture of
Corruption | Public
Statements | Special
Interests | Superintendents
When reformers commenced the first recall in early 2005, CUSD was a school district in crisis. Years of financial mismanagement by the Old Guard trustees and administration created serial deficits and the resulting budget cuts caused severe overcrowding, unhealthy and substandard facilities and massive cuts to educational programs.
These problems were exposed by years of parent complaints and investigations by the Orange County Register and other sources. This not only revealed the severity of the problems, but more importantly, the primary causes. The policies of the district, its leadership and management were found lacking, especially when compared to other school districts.
The Old Guard leadership irresponsibly spent nearly three quarters of a billion dollars on facilities and untold millions more for other purposes without a master plan or budget. To add insult to injury, much of this was knowingly done in violation of numerous laws and regulations. The tragic results were covered up through years of propaganda that misinformed the public by distorting and concealing sources, amounts and uses of funds, conditions of facilities and finances, inequitable spending priorities, prudent alternatives, etc.
Then there were the incessant denials and endless self-adulation by the Old Guard board and staff, coupled with their continuing attacks against their detractors (often illegally through the use of district resources), no matter how egregious or self-evident their offenses.
These are just a few examples of the Old Guard’s notorious “Culture of Corruption,” all arrogantly and dishonestly promoted to inculcate the district's tired, hypocritical mantra, “Kids First.” Read More...