Culture of Corruption
Quotes

OC Register: Fleming-era trustees' open meetings law violations were serious and chronic

Oct 29, 2007 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "The Capo board wasn’t caught simply making some innocuous errors. It engaged in a long-running pattern to conceal information from the public. That board was known as a rubber-stamp for the imperious former superintendent, James Fleming, who resigned and is now under indictment on charges related to his creation of an enemies list of parents who backed a recall of his board allies."

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Recall Committee calls for Fleming-era trustees to resign or face recall

Jun 01, 2007 Filed in: Russell, Tom
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Tom Russell, The Trabuco Canyon News “Today’s indictments are also an indictment of the four remaining Fleming-era Trustees. For years, they chose to ignore Fleming’s wrongdoings. We call upon Trustees Marlene Draper, Shelia Benecke, Duane Stiff and Mike Darnold to resign immediately. If they fail to do so, we will be left with no choice but to commence a recall campaign to remove them from office.”

Russell is a CUSD parent and spokesperson for the CUSD Recall Committee and the Committee to Reform CUSD.

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Fleming wrongdoings happened under Fleming-era trustees' watch

May 25, 2007 Filed in: Beall, Tony
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Tony Beall, The Los Angeles Times "What we're talking about here is Fleming, and that is only the tip of the iceberg. All these issues that are now being brought to light are things we brought directly and personally to the trustees. Those trustees turned a blind eye, put their heads in the sand. And all of this happened on their watch."

Beall is the mayor of Rancho Santa Margarita and a recall leader.

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Fleming indictment is vindication for reformers, who are committed to finishing the job

May 25, 2007 Filed in: Parsons, Dana
Dana Parsons, 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."

Parsons is a columnist for The Los Angeles Times.

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RSM mayor says Trustees were informed of serious wrongdoing, but chose to ignore evidence and participate in cover up

May 26, 2007 Filed in: Beall, Tony
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Tony Beall, The Orange County Register “For more than two years, the people have been bringing to their elected trustees compelling evidence of wrongdoing. They chose and continue to choose to ignore it. They’ve crossed the line from being just asleep at the wheel to being complicit in covering up this wrongdoing.”

Beall is the mayor of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita and a member of the CUSD Recall Committee.

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Recall Committee spokesperson emphasizes "wretched administration" as reason for recall

Jun 12, 2005 Filed in: Russell, Tom
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Tom Russell, The Orange County Register "The teachers and education are good," said recall activist Thomas Russell. "The problem is a wretched administration and a 7-0 board of trustees that doesn't oversee them."

Russell focuses on culture of corruption that is behind most of the serious issues at CUSD. Russell is the spokesperson for the CUSD Recall Committee.

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Columnist questions why SJC city council unanimously endorsed the CUSD board during recall

Jan 25, 2007 Filed in: Endsley, Dan
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Dan Endsley, The Capistrano Dispatch “I was so disarmed by his [Mayor Sam Allevato's] friendliness that I forgot to ask the one probing question that I really wanted to ask. That is, ‘why did our City Council unanimously endorse the CUSD school board during the recall effort when no other city in the district felt the need to speak officially either pro or con?’ I’d better underline that question in my notes for the next time I meet with him.”

Endsley is a San Juan Capistrano resident and business owner and a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch.

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RSM mayor hopes audit efforts will improve after promise of cooperation from new superintendent

May 01, 2007 Filed in: Beall, Tony
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Tony Beall, Trabuco Canyon News "Despite these prior unacceptable delays, we now have reason to believe CUSD will provide our auditors full and complete access and cooperation. CUSD just hired a new Superintendent, Dr. Dennis Smith. RSM Mayor Pro Tem Gary Thompson and I recently met with Dr. Smith and he personally assured us that Rancho Santa Margarita’s auditors would be given full cooperation and immediate access to all financial records relating to the tax dollars CUSD collected from RSM residents. I welcome and appreciate Superintendent Smith’s promise of a new era of openness, honesty and accountability at CUSD."

Beall is the Mayor of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita.

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RSM city council made tax audit of CUSD top priority after discovering proof CUSD misinformed the community

May 01, 2007 Filed in: Beall, Tony
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Tony Beall, Trabuco Canyon News "For years, the Capistrano Unified School District had insisted they were going to pay for their luxurious new $52-million administration building in San Juan Capistrano with redevelopment monies from that City. However, despite repeated public denials, in November 2006, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, CUSD leaders were forced to admit they had been providing “misinformation” to our residents. In fact, the CUSD leadership now admitsted they arewere diverting millions of Mello-Roos tax dollars from Rancho Santa Margarita and other south Orange County cities to pay for this massive office building in San Juan Capistrano. As a result of these serious misrepresentations, our City Council made auditing the CUSD Mello-Roos payments its highest priority."

Beall is the Mayor of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita.

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RSM tax audit of CUSD delayed due to lack of cooperation, responsiveness by district; Mission Viejo has had similar delays

May 01, 2007 Filed in: Beall, Tony
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Tony Beall, Trabuco Canyon News "Unfortunately, progress on this audit has been somewhat slow. CUSD officials have not always been as cooperative and responsive to our requests for this important public information as we would have expected. The City of Mission Viejo, which is also conducting an audit of CUSD, encountered similar delays. Their auditors actually suggested the City Council might have to consider asking the California Attorney General to intervene."

Beall is the Mayor of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita.

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Fleming Trustees should be ashamed, owe public an apology

Oct 12, 2006 Filed in: Casserly, Barbara
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano Dispatch “The current CUSD Trustees who allowed that environment to exist need to be voted out of elected office because they were responsible for the management of an out of control superintendent, Jim Fleming. The Trustees should be ashamed for what they allowed to occur during the Fleming administration. The public deserves an apology.”

Casserly is a Mission Viejo resident and PTA leader.

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CUSD won’t regain public trust and nothing will really change without true accountability

Dec 10, 2006 Filed in: Goff, Brad
Brad Goff, The Orange County Register “... Capistrano Unified School District officials have a long way to go if they want to regain the public’s trust. There is a deep culture of corruption throughout the administrative staff and the existing board members and until those people are held accountable for their misdeeds and removed from office or removed from their administrative positions, nothing is likely to really change.”

Goff is the Chairman of Citizens for a Safe Rancho Santa Margarita, a local citizen action group.

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PTA leader calls Waldrip investigation a "taxpayer funded cover-up"

Jan 11, 2007 Filed in: Casserly, Barbara
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano Dispatch "This “independent” investigation was conducted by the law firm that defends the district. The firm retained retired Judge Waldrip who spent five months on a report that contains important documents and but draws weak conclusions. This was not an impartial investigation because Judge Waldrip once worked for that firm. CUSD must stop hiding behind lawyers and using scarce funds for outrageous legal fees and taxpayer funded cover-up investigations."

Casserly is a Mission Viejo resident and PTA leader.

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CUSD Recall Committee: teachers good, administration bad, no oversight by trustees

Jun 12, 2005 Filed in: Russell, Tom
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Tom Russell, The Orange County Register "The teachers and education are good. The problem is a wretched administration and a 7-0 board of trustees that doesn't oversee them."

Russell is the spokesperson for the CUSD Recall Committee.

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Volzke asks whether voters will hold SJC Councilmembers Hart and Swerdlin accountable for biased, backroom politics

Aug 24, 2006 Filed in: Volzke, Jonathan
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Jonathan Volzke, The Capistrano Dispatch "How about the Capo Unified Schools debacle – will voters take Hart and Swerdlin, to task for a resolution supporting the district trustees at the onset of the recall?"

Volzke is the publisher of The Capistrano Dispatch.

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Smollar "disgruntled" due to lies - Fleming, Draper and others to blame for taking focus off teaching and learning

Aug 10, 2006 Filed in: Smollar, David
David Smollar, The Capistrano Dispatch "Yes, Erin Kutnick, I grew most unhappy as I learned of the lies, hype and exaggeration from the top. Anyone with a moral compass would be disgusted, and there are many in the district silently relieved at the end of the Fleming regime. For the record, I resigned, and Fleming then gave me a letter offering to “be of assistance in my future endeavors.” So much for your little innuendo hinting at something else. I’m sure Fleming would love now to say he fired me, but that’s one lie, if told, that would definitely have legal consequences for him. And yes, it’s sad that the community’s focus has been taken off teaching and learning, but the blame lies squarely at the feet of Fleming, Draper and the gang with their arrogance of power."

Kutnick is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch. Smollar is the former Director of Communications at Capistrano Unified School District.

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Critics right, district admits lies about admin building funding but says "move on" with no accountability

Dec 03, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "Another source of frustration for parents supporting the recall was the district’s spending of $35 million on a bluff-top administration building, even as many schools in the district were stuck with inadequate portable classrooms. That seemed to epitomize the mentality at the district under Mr. Fleming’s reign. Critics had argued that funds for the headquarters were coming from Mello-Roos fees paid in various cities, and that such money should not be used for an administration building. District officials responded that the building was paid for with redevelopment funds from San Juan Capistrano. At a meeting Nov. 28 organized by Mr. McCully to account for the district’s school construction and renovation program – itself, a good idea that promotes openness and accountability – the district admitted the critics were right. “[CUSD] officials acknowledged for the first time ... that they had misled the public about how they would pay for a new administration building, but urged the public to move on now that the correct information has been revealed,” the Register reported."

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Common thread of CUSD scandals - arrogance of power

Aug 21, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "Other issues have troubled us and parents over the years, including the district’s attempt to use eminent domain against a private school and its use of racial considerations in determining new districts (in apparent violation of Proposition 209). The common thread seemed to be one of arrogance of power ... It’s hard not to agree with a recall supporter who pointed to a “culture of corruption” at the district."

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Potential for retribution most chilling aspect of enemies lists

Jan 11, 2006 Filed in: OC Register
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Editorial, The Orange County Register "The most chilling aspect of this case is the potential for retribution against children – something one recall supporter believes happened to her elementary school child. Public schools have a responsibility to keep politics out of the education process. Whether or not retaliation took place, it’s natural for parents to suspect the worst when the district kept tabs on them, noted where their kids went to school, and used descriptive terms such as “NIMBY” and “outspoken” on the spreadsheets compiled of recall supporters. Parents have every right to be as outspoken as they please about a recall of a school board."

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Benecke supports Fleming's unethical use of mole to spy on recall proponents in private home

Jul 11, 2006 Filed in: Benecke, Sheila
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Sheila Benecke, The Orange County Register "Do I think it’s good for Jim (Fleming) to know what’s going on out there? I do.”

Benecke told The Orange County Register that she supports Fleming's use of a pro-board informant who infiltrated the recall campaign by entering a private home of recall proponents to spy on them. By condoning and excusing such unethical behavior, Benecke reveals how closely allied she is with Fleming and how corrupt she has become in defending him.

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Enormous salary increases paid to two of CUSD's worst offenders

Jan 02, 2007 Filed in: Winsten, Mike
Mike Winsten, Trabuco Canyon News “CUSD provided three enormous salary increases to two of CUSD’s most controversial deputy Superintendents -- Dan Crawford and David Doomey. ... Doomey (who many believe is the person most responsible for creating the CUSD portable classroom crisis) admitted CUSD had provided “misinformation” to the public as to how CUSD would fund the new $52,000,000 administration office ... During the recall, Crawford was roundly criticized for publishing a letter in the O.C. Register that grossly understated the total number of portable classrooms actually utilized by CUSD.”

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Waldrip report sustained recall allegations

Mar 05, 2007 Filed in: Volzke, Jonathan
Jonathan Volzke, The Capistrano Dispatch “... none of the trustees have commented on the report, which essentially sustained allegations made during a failed recall attempt, but said nothing violated the law.”

Volzke is the publisher of The Capistrano Dispatch.

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Enemies list victim says Fleming's actions not in good faith

Mar 07, 2007 Filed in: Lefner, Kim
Kim Kefner, The Orange County Register "I don't think anyone here can seriously argue that Fleming's actions were in good faith."

Lefner learned from the Waldrip report that Superintendent James Fleming kept her name and her children's names after her involment in the CUSD Recall campaign.

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Auditor says CUSD's non-responsiveness worst ever seen

Mar 24, 2007 Filed in: Kelly, Trish
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Patricia Kelly, The Orange County Register "I asked how many (agencies) he has had this kind of problem with, where it's so difficult to get this information, and he said none."

Kelly, asked Joe Aguilar, a CPA with the firm of Vavrinek Trine Day & Co., LLP (VTD), about CUSD’s delays and unresponsiveness to VTD’s records requests. VTD, the auditing firm retained by the City of Mission Viejo to audit CUSD’s use of Measure A, Mello-Roos and Tax Sharing Agreement funds from the City of Mission Viejo, audits nearly 300 agencies annually. Kelly is a Mission Viejo City Councilmember.

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CUSD has hindered auditor's ability to follow paper trail

Mar 19, 2007 Filed in: Bornstein, Irwin
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Irwin Bornstein, Agenda Report re Status Report on CUSD Audit “A field inspection of records would have allowed VTD to thoroughly inspect records, ask questions, and dig deeper. Having to go through the Public Records Act to request information has truly hindered VTD’s ability to follow a paper trail.”

Bornstein is Assistant City Manager and Director of Administrative Services for the City of Mission Viejo.

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CUSD uses delays and Public Records Act to obstruct audit

Mar 19, 2007 Filed in: Bornstein, Irwin
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Irwin Bornstein, Agenda Report re Status Report on CUSD Audit “On June 26th, we were advised by VTD that CUSD had delayed field work until August. In August, the school district advised VTD that they must use the Public Records Act process to request information and they would not be allowed to conduct a standard audit of records on site.”

Bornstein is Assistant City Manager and Director of Administrative Services for the City of Mission Viejo.

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Smollar confirms Fleming's and Trustees' amoral character

Jul 18, 2006 Filed in: Smollar, David
David Smollar, The Orange County Register "Mostly, I thought they were white lies, exaggerations, and I'd correct them," Smollar says. "But then with the recall, I realized they (Fleming and the board) would stop at nothing."

Smollar, former CUSD spokeperson, confirms the amoral, by-any-means-necessary characters of former Superintendent James Fleming and the CUSD Trustees he served under.

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Recall leader reacts to Waldrip report

Jan 09, 2007 Filed in: Russell, Tom
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Tom Russell, The Los Angeles Times "The reality is there was clearly, clearly a scheme of activities which were unethical and probably illegal."

Russell, a recall backer who helped bring many allegations to light, dismissed the Waldrip report as tainted, noting that Waldrip once worked for the same law firm as the district's longtime counsel.

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