Reform Campaign 4Q08
Recall committee leader Tony Beall: "Congratulations on your impressive election victories…and Best Wishes for tremendous success."
Dec 08, 2008
Tony Beall Rancho Santa Margarita Councilman and
CUSD Recall Committee Leader
Parents and Taxpayers -- in CUSD and all across America – want to believe and trust that their children, and their educations – are being properly taken care of by their school district leaders.
Over the past five years, that belief has been shattered.
The people have spoken…clearly and unmistakably -- for the third election in a row -- and they’ve given you a mandate for positive reform in CUSD.
The old guard did not go quietly... They fought to the bitter end to retain their stranglehold on the people of CUSD -- and upon our school district’s massive annual budget. Read More...
Comments
Recall committee leader Jennifer Beall: “I’m not at all surprised by the election outcome. I heard the people for years and I knew what they wanted.”
Dec 08, 2008
Public comments following the swearing in of the reform trustees at the December 8, 2008 special meeting of the CUSD Board of Trustees
Jennifer Beall CUSD Recall Committee Leader
I’m Jennifer Beall and I’m not sure I’ll be able to wipe the smile off my face tonight.
This has been a long time coming. I’m proud to know all of you and to call all of you a friend. Thank you so much for standing up there, taking the oath of office, and doing the right thing for the students of Capistrano Unified.
I am always going to remember the road we took to get here -- and I hope you do too.
Read More...
Recall committee leader Michelle Russell: "The people have spoken. It’s time for positive change."
Dec 08, 2008
Michelle Russell CUSD Recall Committee Volunteer
Hello, President Addonizio and Trustees. My name is Michelle Russell.
I just wanted to take a moment to congratulate the new trustees: Sue Palazzo, Mike Winsten, Ken Maddox, and Jack Brick, and remind you that with great power comes great responsibility in the case of the reform agenda.
Please, after five years of hard work on recalls and elections, the people made it clear they want positive changes, and that’s what is needed.
This is your opportunity, with a clear majority, to finally effectuate positive change. I was proud to have fought for you these past five years in the campaigns that led to this amazing moment. Read More...
Recall committee leader Tom Russell: "This is a momentous occasion and we...finally can declare victory, and the beginning of a new era of positive reforms at CUSD."
Dec 08, 2008
Public comments following the swearing in of the reform trustees at the December 8, 2008 special meeting of the CUSD Board of Trustees
Tom Russell CUSD Recall Committee Chairman and Spokesperson
Congratulations to the trustees. Wow…what a difference five years makes. Who could have imagined that ALL seven board seats would be replaced with reform trustees.
This is a momentous occasion and we at the CUSD Recall Committee finally can declare victory, and the beginning of a new era of positive reforms at CUSD.
You ran on a platform of academic excellence, first-rate classrooms…smaller classrooms.
Every parent has a reasonable expectation of safe and sanitary classrooms for his children. Every child has a reasonable expectation of having his own desk and adequate classroom supplies. Read More...
Candidate Mike Winsten offers sensible solutions to improve transparency and restore public trust in their school district
Oct 26, 2008
Mike Winsten addresses parent concerns over the lack of transparency at CUSD and proposes solutions for the benefit of parents and taxpayers
Winsten is the reform candidate for CUSD Trustee Area 3
CUSD can do a lot to improve its transparency. Here are just a few of the ideas I have:
Constituents Bill of Rights Draft and adopt a Constituents Bill of Rights requiring the Administration to pledge to conduct themselves openly, neutrally and transparently, by setting standards of conduct and ethics that are greater than current state law, but in fact raise the bar to the highest standards of openness, honesty, integrity and accountability;
Conflict of Interest Code Draft and adopt a more stringent Conflict of Interest Code that sets standards far greater than the sham standards set by state law, that ensures there are no more cozy hidden relationships involving sole source contracts for years and decades, between CUSD vendors and Administrators, like we have heard about in the recent past; Read More...
Candidate Mike Winsten explains a key element of his reform platform: "Spend our tax dollars equitably throughout CUSD."
Oct 18, 2008
"Please vote for me and I will help lead CUSD forward while making sure every school site is treated equally. I will not quietly tolerate one school site being treated more equally than others due to shadow politics and favoritism. Thank you for taking the time to make an educated vote for our public schools."
Mike Winsten, an attorney and independent businessman, is the reform candidate for CUSD Trustee Area 3, which covers most of San Clemente. His opponent, Duane Stiff, is one of the two remaining, old guard, Fleming-era trustees.
As noted in my candidate statement on file with the Registrar of Voters and in the sample Ballot Statements recently mailed by the Registrar of Voters, a key element of my platform is ensuring that CUSD spends our tax dollars equitably throughout CUSD, and stop taking money dedicated for one community to spend on unfair projects in another community. For instance, recent audits by the City Councils of Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita established that under the old Board, there existed a long standing pattern of education money flowing out of these cities into other CUSD cities, while many of the school facilities in Mission Viejo and Rancho Santa Margarita suffered from overcrowding and lack of maintenance for far too long. Similarly, Mello Roos funds that should have been spent on new or upgraded school facilities in Mission Viejo, Rancho Santa Margarita and San Clemente, were instead spent on the obscenely oversized and underutilized new Administration Building, that white elephant overlooking the 5 freeway in San Juan Capistrano, while school facilities where those Mello Roos dollars were collected, are suffering. My opponent enabled these practices with a series of ‘yes’ votes, without ever dissenting against this imprudent spending of your money.
To correct the inequitable treatment of the past, the CUSD Board of Trustees needs to focus itself and the Administration on the following priorities, and must ensure that the Superintendent and Administrative Staff faithfully follow and implement these policies: Read More...
Republicans Rally Behind CUSD Reform Slate Candidates
Sep 22, 2008
Brick, Maddox, Palazzo & Winsten Score Key
Endorsements for November Election
Rancho Santa Margarita, CA. Each of the most
prominent Republican Party organizations have
officially endorsed
Jack Brick, Ken Maddox, Sue Palazzo and Mike
Winsten, the four reform
candidates running for seats on board of trustees of
the Capistrano Unified School District in the
upcoming
November 4th general election. The
endorsements were unanimous and came from the most
prominent Republican Party organizations, including:
•
The California Republican Assembly
Link
• The Republican Party of Orange County
Link
• The Orange County Young Republicans
Link
Brick, Maddox, Palazzo and Winsten
are also
endorsed by the CUSD Recall Committee.
Brick,
Maddox, Palazzo & Winsten each bring a wide
spectrum of impressive personal and professional
talents that will make them uniquely qualified and
ready to serve as CUSD Trustees once elected in
November. They possess qualities and experience the
“old guard” Trustees clearly
lack.
Fleming's foes are just getting started
May 25, 2007
Opponents of the indicted former Capistrano Unified superintendent are now going after remaining trustees who supported him.
Dana Parsons, Orange County, The Los Angeles Times
You bet they feel vindicated. What they aren't feeling is charitable. You could say, in fact, they're just getting warmed up.
The foes of former Capistrano Unified School District Supt. James Fleming — yes, the man had enemies — had reason to celebrate Thursday, if that's the right word. They had been loudly proclaiming in recent years that Fleming was running a corrupt administration, and now they've got county grand jury indictments against Fleming and his assistant superintendent to back them up. Read More...