Dennis Smith
Draper says nepotism and cronyism is OK because it's not "technically" illegal, "It just smells."
Draper made this statement in response to a resident who criticized her for historically engaging in nepotism and cronyism by discussing and voting on district contracts with Culbertson, Adams and Associates, an environmental firm where Draper's daughter, Shawna Schaffner, serves as CEO. The Waldrip report had admonished the trustees to avoid the appearance of such improprieties, and cited the Culbertson and Adams agreement as an example. Judge Waldrip advised any trustee with such family relationships to abstain from such discussions or votes in the future, and speculated that the public would see the end of such improprieties as more reasonable judgement prevailed at CUSD in the future. Draper and the other Fleming trustees never apologized or took personal responsibility for any of the numerous wrongdoings confirmed by Waldrip. Instead, Draper disregarded Waldrip's admonitions and advice, discussed and voted for her daughter's contract at the first opportunity, and twisted Waldrip's words to justify her continued unethical conduct. Rather than raise the ethical bar at CUSD, as Waldrip recommended, Draper disregarded ethics and defended the bare legal minimum as good enough for CUSD ... even if it "smells." The crowd and the press were shocked. The new superintendent, Dennis Smith, put his face into his hands and shook his head in disbelief. The only person in the room who didn't seem to get it, was Draper.
Comments
CUSD Troubles Were Predicted
Jun 08, 2007 Filed in: Culture of
Corruption | Elected
Officials | Investigations
| People vs
Fleming
Is it possible for me to take my City Council hat off for a minute and discuss an issue that I have been talking to you about for six or seven years, an issue that we may all be sick of hearing about but is so very important none-the-less, the CUSD.
I was personally not shocked to hear of the indictments of Jim Fleming and Susan McGill, although I thought there would be a few more names included, of course this may change before this article is published. Read More...
Capistrano Unified hires interim leader
Aug 18, 2007 Filed in: Superintendents
Former military officer to take over in September.
By Sam Miller, The Orange County
Register
Capistrano Unified trustees hired a longtime military officer to take over as interim superintendent of the county's second-largest school district.
Woodrow Carter (aka Arnold Carter), who has been superintendent of the 23,000-student Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District since 2005, is expected to start in early September. Terms of his contract are being negotiated, but his stay is expected to last for nearly two years, district spokeswoman Beverly De Nicola said. Read More...
Capistrano Unified trustees hired a longtime military officer to take over as interim superintendent of the county's second-largest school district.
Woodrow Carter (aka Arnold Carter), who has been superintendent of the 23,000-student Fairfield-Suisun Unified School District since 2005, is expected to start in early September. Terms of his contract are being negotiated, but his stay is expected to last for nearly two years, district spokeswoman Beverly De Nicola said. Read More...
Opening statement by Board President Sheila Benecke at the June 4th meeting of the CUSD Board of Trustees
Jun 04, 2007 Filed in: Old Guard
Bloopers | Superintendents
Dennis Smith: the ultimate quitter
May 31, 2007 Filed in: Superintendents
Capistrano Unified School District is no doubt fortunate that its new superintendent, Dennis Smith, quit and decided to return to his old job. As the Register reported, Smith was slated to take over the district on July 1, but had effectively been serving as superintendent throughout May. He bailed out after the indictment of the former superintendent, and said: Read More...
Statement by Board President Sheila Benecke regarding the resignation of Superintendent Dennis Smith
May 30, 2007 Filed in: Superintendents
Dennis Smith's resignation letter
May 30, 2007 Filed in: Superintendents
As you know, I have been anticipating beginning my first term as your new superintendent on July 1, 2007. I have looked forward to working with the current board members to establish a new vision that enables the district to move forward. That optimistic view was based on a presumption that several legal controversies and leadership challenges facing the district had been resolved. Together, we thought Capistrano Unified was positioned to launch a new and exciting chapter in its history. Read More...