Express Advocacy
SJC City Council rescinds 2005 resolution opposing recall of CUSD trustees
Oct 03, 2007
DAILY NEWS BLAST: Neutral On CUSD
The City Council on Tuesday voted 3-1 to rescind a 2005 resolution that supported CUSD trustees under fire in an attempted recall. The vote, with Joe Soto abstaining because of a landscaping contract with the district, officially leaves San Juan Capistrano with "no position" on the current recall attempt against Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke. A handful of residents and Councilman Lon Uso argued the move should have gone farther to support the current recall, but that effort failed to garner any support. Councilman Tom Hribar voted against even rescinding the 2005 decision. Read More...
Comments
SJC City Council should withdraw its opposition to recall
Oct 02, 2007
By Barbra Casserly, Mission Viejo
Good evening Honorable Mayor and City Council. Thank you for providing me with the opportunity to speak. My name is Barbara Casserly and I am a resident of Mission Viejo.
The last time you considered this item you considered the cost of the election. I ask you to consider the cost of allowing the current leadership to continue to take from our children’s schools. We cannot allow the current leadership to pass one more budget. We are experiencing our sixth year of budget deficits because for several years CUSD was a district where our seven Trustees voted together – on every single item. Details were left to key staff members who were rewarded with frequent contract renewals and high praise. CUSD Trustees did not display dirty laundry in public as the dirty laundry was swept under the rug the infrastructure of the district started crumbling.
Read More...
1990-1991 Grand Jury Report exposes the deep roots of, and players behind the CUSD culture of corruption
Jun 17, 2007
It looks like Benecke, Draper and others at CUSD are
up to their old tricks ... very old
tricks.
Have you read the
1990-1991 Grand Jury report on CUSD’s unethical
and illegal conduct during the 1989-1990 Measure
A Mello-Roos election? The issues are
strikingly similar to those recently exposed in
numerous CUSD scandals, and those recently
investigated by the Orange County District
Attorney and the 2006-2007 Grand Jury, and which
recently became the subjects of formal criminal
indictments against former superintendent James
Fleming and former assistant superintendent
Susan McGill. Read
More...
Lesson in hubris at Capo Unified
May 29, 2007
Indictments of former superintendent, assistant,
should encourage community
vigilance
Editorial, The Orange County
Register
The indictment last week of two former top officials at Capistrano Unified capped a long and bitter battle at that south county school district over efforts to reform leadership that had grown arrogant and out of touch with the public. An indictment is a far cry from a conviction, but the county grand jury’s decision is indeed vindication for the hearty band of parents who attempted to recall the school board and offers encouragement for grass-roots activists who want to keep their government accountable. Read More...
The indictment last week of two former top officials at Capistrano Unified capped a long and bitter battle at that south county school district over efforts to reform leadership that had grown arrogant and out of touch with the public. An indictment is a far cry from a conviction, but the county grand jury’s decision is indeed vindication for the hearty band of parents who attempted to recall the school board and offers encouragement for grass-roots activists who want to keep their government accountable. Read More...
An enemies list at Capistrano Unified
Jul 11, 2006
School district’s Orwellian monitoring of
recall-supporting parents is no small
matter
Editorial, The Orange County
Register The Register reported
on Monday that the Capistrano Unified School
District “kept lists of 150 families who supported
last year’s board recall campaign, detailing such
personal information as where their children went
to school.”
This is a chilling abuse of power that should be thoroughly investigated by the county district attorney. One parent, appropriately enough, called the behavior “Nixonish.” Read More...
This is a chilling abuse of power that should be thoroughly investigated by the county district attorney. One parent, appropriately enough, called the behavior “Nixonish.” Read More...
CUSD Trustees and Superintendent engage in improper coercion, intimidation and fear
Jul 10, 2006
• Superintendent Fleming Has Created a Mafia-like
Organization and Infrastructure
• Specific Examples of Coercion, Intimidation and Fear
• We call upon the District Attorney to conduct a full and complete investigation
Superintendent James
A. Fleming and the seven CUSD Trustees have
institutionalized a district-wide atmosphere
where parents, teachers and administrators are
afraid to speak out for fear of retaliation.
They improperly use their official
office/capacity to intentionally create an
environment within the district that makes it
virtually impossible for any one to express
disagreement with the district without being
subjected to retribution or the threat thereof.
The CUSD leadership routinely punishes (or
threatens to punish) parents and their children,
teachers and administrators who dare to speak
out against them or their agenda. Conversely,
the CUSD leadership rewards those who are loyal
and willing to carry out their “dirty
work.” Read
More...
• Specific Examples of Coercion, Intimidation and Fear
• We call upon the District Attorney to conduct a full and complete investigation