Greg Powers, Dana Point Times I just finished reading the arguments presented by Linda Verraster (the spokesperson from the Union-backed CUCF) with a plea to vote yes on Measure H (September 17-23, 2010, Dana Point Times, Vol., 3, Issue 38) and feel compelled to provide the perspective that she fails to include on why this is a bad scheme...

Tags: Elections, Measure H, Union-Backed Recall

Craig Alexander, Dana Point Times In Ms. Verraster’s Letter to the Editor (September 17-23, 2010, Dana Point Times, Vol., 3, Issue 38) she argues for passage of Measure H and claims “special interests” from outside the Capistrano Unified School District are the chief funders of Board of Trustee elections. What Ms. Verraster forgot to tell you is that the largest “special interest” is not from outside CUSD but within it—the teachers union...

Tags: Elections, Measure H, Union-Backed Recall

Craig Alexander, Dana Point Times Once again Mr. Espinosa, the spokesperson for the current recall of Capistrano Unified School District Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Lopez-Maddox, plays fast and loose with the facts in his accusations against Mr. Winsten. In last week’s letter to the editor (DP Times, Sept.3, 2101, Vol. 3, Issue 36), he states that Mr. Winsten’s prior letter is full of “hubris, arrogance and incompetence” and that Mr. Winsten is a liar, deceitful and deceptive. But rather than state facts to prove these allegations, Mr. Espinosa resorts to name calling, character assassination and misstating recent events...

Tags: Elections, Measure H, Union-Backed Recall

Kim Greene, Studio City, Daily News Re "Don't celebrate school tax defeat" (Letters, June 11): Throwing more money at the school district is not the answer. It would just go to the union. The California Teachers Association is the most harmful political party in California today and their abject greed is part of the reason why LAUSD is the abomination it is. Add to that layers and layers of bureaucracy where everything but the child's education is a priority… Editor's note...

Tags: Unions, Reform Pro

Charlie Fry, The Orange County Register I am a teacher in the same school district as Nicholas Wishek, last week's writer ["Why I'm retiring early," Commentary, June 6] … Are you serious? We have the greatest job in the world! We go to work each day and are surrounded by kids who want us to teach them about ... everything. Our job is to teach children academics and life skills and help prepare them for their future. It doesn't matter if it's fun all the time because we are being paid by the citizens of this state and nation to work at it, to the best of our abilities. This is by no means personal, Mr. Wishek, it's just a difference of opinion…

Tags: Teaching, Reform Con

Nicholas Wishek, The Orange County Register My last day of teaching will be June 18. I will have worked as a full-time teacher for 37 years. Until very recently I fully expected to work at least several more years, to age 65, if not longer. I don't throw the word "love" around casually, but I have really, really "liked" my job. I have liked almost all of the kids I taught, as people, if not as students. I've respected most of my principals, and appreciated the professionalism of most of my co-workers. The saying – that if you enjoy your job you will never work a day in your life – is absolutely true. However, for the past few years, my job has been turning more and more into work…

Tags: Teaching, Reform Pro

Paul Ogle, Garden Grove, The Orange County Register I would like to fix all the wrongs in our city but at what point do we say "enough" and become responsible? The school unions have attacked Proposition 13 for years to get funds by increasing our property taxes. This bond will, in fact, increase our property taxes by 3.5 cents per $100 or $35 per $100,000 of assessed value through year 2019-2020. Have we ever seen an increase like this on any bond where it's actually paid off and then have our taxes reduced? Once this increase is implemented it will be forever...

Tags: Bonds, Facilities, Prop 13, Unions, Reform Pro

Ashley Sutherland, Rancho Santa Margarita, The Los Angeles Times The students' educations are being jeopardized. It's not their fault that the school district has poor money-handling skills or that the country is in a recession. The teachers told the kids to turn around and go home, and they enforced it by blocking the entrance to the student lot. It is hard for me to believe the teachers when they say they are "for the students" when they act like this...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Michael Rubino, San Pedro, The Los Angeles Times The Capistrano Unified school board is demonstrating a lack of leadership at a time when leadership is urgently needed. While teachers are willing to make temporary sacrifices, the board has escalated the fight so that it now affects students...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Con

Art Sanchez, The Orange County Register On Friday, April 17, the teachers' union in Capistrano Unified School District voted to go on strike. You might think that this strike is mostly about wages and work days, but you would be wrong. The 10 percent compensation cut that the Capo school board has proposed is in line with what the mutually-agreed mediator proposed and what employees have experienced from private companies to state universities. Capo faces a $34 million deficit next year unless cuts of this magnitude are made. The strike is more importantly about political power and influence in Orange County. What television host Bill O'Reilly calls "the secular, progressive left" has long been frustrated here, where voters are mostly conservatives and libertarians who mostly cast Republican ballots...

Tags: Progressivism, Reform Pro

Joe Quisenberry, Laguna Hills, The Orange County Register I applaud the CUSD Board for holding their ground with the union. They are facing a $34 million deficit and need to do everything to bring that under control. The board could rescind the 10 percent cut, and just layoff 400 teachers (at an average salary of 76,000), to save the $34 million. They have already cut everywhere else. But the CUSD board is putting the students first by trying not to layoff teachers and to not increase class sizes – all of the things the union campaigns on at election time…

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Louie Kish, Santa Ana, The Orange County Register Salaries from $48k to $97k are pretty hard to come by in today's work environment – unless you are a government/union employee. Last I read that is about 50 percent higher than the average wage. Who in the private sector takes a three-month vacation every year? Plus get all the holidays? Sick leave? Retire at nearly full pay? Full health care for life. Can't be fired? And work much less than 40 hours per week? … Keep on striking and force the issue for the good of all.

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Sam La Sala, San Clemente, The Orange County Register Yesterday, this letter writer visited with picketing teachers in San Clemente. One, an English teacher, was concerned about the loss of review time for the AP exam and a special-education teacher was worried that her substitute could not attend to the physical needs of some of her students. The signs they carried read, "We'd rather be teaching," an expression of pride in their profession – visceral and sincere...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Con

Doug Braun, Coto de Caza, The Orange County Register A thank you to the teachers of Capistrano Unified School District. Thank you for teaching our children and helping them become productive members of our society as the next generation of teachers, community leaders, entrepreneurs, scientists, business leaders and hard-working employees. Thank you for leading by example. Thank you for their recent lessons … Thank you for leading by example to teach our children about the adult activity they should learn not to duplicate.

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

John McCormick, Ladera Ranch, The Orange County Register Well I hope the teachers who go on strike are ready for the possible backlash from those in the community who are tired of the teachers union. There are too many unemployed people who would love to take a 10 percent pay cut and have a job with benefits. For those of you who will throw numbers out proving wasted spending by the district: you're wasting your time. We got into this mess because of the former trustees and the teachers union with their increased demands. But most of all, I just want to thank the union for showing that they don't put kids first...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Valerie Burchfield Rhodes, Laguna Niguel, The Orange County Register If the current state of affairs in our district is a sign of what we can expect with "local experts" such as our current board of trustees running the show, I fear we have more lawsuits, demoralized teachers, broken campaign promises and financial mismanagement in our future. Local control will only be as good as the local school district board of trustees which does not bode well for Capistrano School District...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Con

Milton Rouse, Dana Point, The Orange County Register The Capistrano Unified School District board of trustees has proved itself to be deceptive, manipulative and anti-teacher. When other local school districts have settled with their teachers through negotiation for less drastic and temporary cuts, CUSD is the only school board in the county that has unilaterally imposed drastic and permanent pay cuts. Board members have shown the arrogance to ignore the sensible recommendations of the neutral mediators and instead they have unilaterally imposed the largest pay cut in the history of Orange County educators. They have done this in order to fulfill their goal to undermine and destroy the teachers' union...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Con

Clare Petrotta, Capistrano Beach, The Orange County Register If the district, county or state have no money we need to change the current structure to run more like a business and not a welfare state. Get rid of the unions and replace any of these employees who would dare walk off their job and disregard the responsibility they have to these children and the people who pay their salary. Have any of them for one moment even given consideration to the parents of these children who have been without work due to the current U.S. economics?

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Douglas T. Sherwood, Costa Mesa, The Orange County Register H. Duncan of Mission Viejo [Letters, April 16] tells us that being a K-12 teacher in the public school system is hard, and the general public needs to know how teachers feel. I am writing this letter to tell him how I (as a member of the general public) feel … First, professionals don't join unions ... Teachers, if you don't like your job (too much pressure, pay too low, not enough vacation time, no respect, etc.) try to find a better one.

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Andy Hamilton, Lake Forest, The Orange County Register With the economy still slumping and the record high unemployment, I can only guess the intention of the CUSD teachers union – nostalgia over better times when CUSD coffers were full? Times are tough and my guess is that school district finances will only get tougher. Be happy you have a job – my former firm laid off nearly half of us in 2009. One final thing – remember the Air Traffic Controller's strike in the early 1980s? They never got their jobs back. Is the 4 percent reduction in expected salary worth the risk?

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Valerie Burchfield Rhodes, Laguna Niguel, The Orange County Register Like most parents in the Capistrano Unified School District, I am eager to hear innovative solutions to our district's horrible financial mess. So it was with a high degree of interest I read O.C. Department of Education Superintendent William Habermehl's proposal to rescind existing state regulations and move budget control from Sacramento to local district offices...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Con

John McCormick, Ladera Ranch, The Orange County Register Well, I hope the teachers who go on strike are ready for the possible backlash from those in the community who are tired of the teachers union. There are too many unemployed people who would love to take a 10 percent pay cut and have a job with benefits. Those of you who throw numbers out to prove wasted spending by the district are wasting your time. We got into this mess because of the former trustees and the teachers union with their increased demands. But most of all, I just want to thank the union for showing that they don't put kids first...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Clare Petrotta, Capistrano Beach, The Orange County Register If the district, county or state have no money we need to change the structure to run more like a business and not a welfare state. Get rid of the unions and replace any of these employees who would dare walk off their jobs and disregard the responsibility they have to these children and the people who pay their salaries...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Andy Hamilton, Lake Forest, The Orange County Register If a school district has a massive budget deficit (like all Orange County school districts), where does the gap in the budget get filled ["CUSD schools to stay open as strike starts," Local, April 22]? If the teachers union agrees to a 6 percent pay cut, but gets a 10 percent pay cut and goes to strike over the 4 percent difference, is that wise?...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

Tom Griggs, Mission Viejo Dispatch Dropped my kids off at school today and saw a lot of Striking Employee Union Members – AKA teachers. I also saw a small number of the regular teachers that are working today. I just wanted to take a second to praise and honor those selfless teachers who are not striking; who have the courage to stand on conviction rather than going with the crowd...

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Pro

H. Duncan, Mission Viejo, The Orange County Register Capo Unified teachers did the right thing by broadcasting their discontent ["Thousands participate in Capo Unified sickout," Local, April 14]. If they allowed themselves to be disregarded and make no protest, they will lose all self-respect. The negotiation was not equitable, so the issue is respect. The general public needs to know how teachers feel, and accept responsibility for undermining the earning potential of one of the most educated demographics in any neighborhood. This is not a grocery clerk or hotel service employees union. It is a union of some of our most effective and goal-oriented professionals.

Tags: Teachers Strike, Reform Con

Chris Korpi, The Orange County Register I was quoted in your editorial "Recall fever rises again in Capo Unified" [Opinion, Feb. 24] and am writing to take issue with several points in your editorial. Since I was interviewed and quoted, I am requesting that you allow me to respond in your letters to the editor section...

Tags: Union Candidates, Reform Con