James Fleming
OC Register: Fleming-era trustees' open meetings law violations were serious and chronic
Oct 29, 2007 Filed in: OC Register
County counsel denies advising Draper on Brown Act after she blamed him to save her own skin under oath
Oct 18, 2007 Filed in: Wenkart,
Ron
Past board president Marlene Draper contended in her grand-jury testimony that the closed meetings and the board’s non-disclosure were legal because all of the agendas for Saturday performance-evaluation meetings were pre-approved by counsel from the Orange County Department of Education. But Ron Wenkart, general counsel for the department and the attorney who would have approved such agendas at the time, says he has no records of him or anyone in his office ever having conversations with Fleming about the Brown Act or of approving CUSD closed meeting agendas.
Trustee Addonizio calls Fleming trustees' failure to hold Fleming accountable, "reprehensible"
Sep 01, 2007 Filed in: Addonizio,
Ellen
Ellen Addonizio and Anna Bryson, two of the newly-elected members of the CUSD Board of Trustees agreed to be interviewed by the press. Addonizio and Bryson both called for the remaining Fleming-era trustees to be held accountable.
Clueless in The OC! No Fleming misdeed is too offensive for OC Superintendent Bill Habermehl
Jul 21, 2006 Filed in: Habermehl,
William
Orange County Schools Superintendent William Habermehl said he felt sorry for Fleming and the Capistrano community because of the recent enemies list scandal. But despite that, he thought Fleming left a positive legacy – and a very attractive job opening. Looks like Habermehl has been drinking the CUSD Kool Aid. Hey Bill, you forgot to mention that test scores are high.
Christensen agrees with constituents - district should not pay Fleming's criminal attorney fees
Aug 17, 2007 Filed in: Christensen,
Larry
CUSD Trustee Christensen commented after 21 individuals spoke at the August 13, 2007 CUSD board meeting in opposition to Fleming's request for criminal attorney fees (which trustee Marlene Draper brought to motion).
Bryson says denial of Fleming's criminal attorney's fees request is in district's best interest
Aug 14, 2007 Filed in: Bryson,
Anna
Bryson was elected to the CUSD Board of Trustees as one of the ABC Reform candidates in November of 2006.
Mission Viejo resident: payment of Fleming's legal fees would constitute misplaced priorities
Aug 15, 2007 Filed in: Henry,
Kelly
Kelly Henry, The Orange County
Register "When the kids start
(school), the teachers ask, 'Can you bring in
Kleenex boxes, because we don't get money for
that. It'd be ridiculous if we're paying for his
legal fees when teachers … are asking for Kleenex
boxes."
Henry is a Mission Viejo resident.
Henry is a Mission Viejo resident.
President of classified employees union: payment of Fleming's attorney's fees would be unfair
Aug 15, 2007 Filed in: Walen,
Ronda
Walen is the president of CUSD's classified employees union, and made this remark while noting that CUSD recently laid off workers.
Christensen explains board's decision not to pay Fleming's defense costs
Aug 15, 2007 Filed in: Christensen,
Larry
Christensen was elected to the CUSD Board of Trustees as one of the ABC Reform candidates in November of 2006.
Fleming refuses to testify, takes the 5th; McGill testifies, is charged with perjury
Jul 08, 2007 Filed in: Fleming,
James
Fleming tries to preempt rejection with sleezy letter to save face and lay false foundation for future denials
Dec 20, 1999 Filed in: Webster,
Terry
Terry Webster, The Las Vegas
Sun "Two other finalists,
George Garcia, superintendent of the Tucson
Unified School District in Tucson, Ariz., and
James Fleming, superintendent of the Capistrano
Unified School District in Southern California,
were previously eliminated by the School Board.
Almost simultaneously, Fleming produced a letter
to Attea stating he was no longer interested."
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming addresses his controversial image in connection with special education issues
Dec 03, 1999 Filed in: Fleming,
James
Fleming was asked about concerns over a special education controversy surrounding Fleming while he was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Fleming is the Superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District.
Fleming reveals organizational philosophy behind later conspiracies of silence at CUSD
Dec 06, 1999 Filed in: Webster,
Terry
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming rejected as "too bureaucratic," Fleming dodges the allegation, says "bureacrat" means nothing
Dec 06, 1999 Filed in: Webster,
Terry
Terry Webster, The Las Vegas
Sun "One of the main
objections the board presented to Fleming during
his final interview was a perception that he seems
too bureaucratic. Fleming said he would address
that by "humanizing" all of the so-called
bureaucrats in the school district. This could be
done by placing articles about school executives
in school newsletters or magazines. Bureaucrat is
a term that is overused and means nothing, he
added."
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming rejected by Clark County School Board, not a team player and concern over leadership style
Dec 08, 1999 Filed in: Webster,
Terry
Terry Webster, The Las Vegas
Sun "One superintendent
candidate for the Clark County School District was
eliminated by the School Board on Tuesday, leaving
two hopefuls in the running. James Fleming,
superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School
District in San Juan Capistrano, Calif., was
scratched from the board's list of finalists ...
Board President Ruth Johnson and board members
Mary Beth Scow, Susan Brager, Shirley Barber and
Lois Tarkanian all named Fleming as the candidate
they were the least interested in ... Barber said
she didn't support Fleming because she prefers
someone with more of a team approach. For Johnson,
it was a matter of fit ... I think it was just his
leadership style.' "
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming showcases his success at building schools and says "accountability" is an essential part of his education philosophy
Dec 02, 1999 Filed in: Webster,
Terry
Terry Webster, The Las Vegas
Sun "Since 1992 Fleming
has been involved in opening 17 new schools in
Capistrano, all of them on time and on budget. His
education philosophy covers four main areas: high
academic expectations for students, hiring the
best teachers, fostering community involvement and
accountability."
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming criticized as a name-dropper, bureaucrat, too self-promoting
Dec 02, 1999 Filed in: Webster,
Terry
Terry Webster, The Las Vegas
Sun "The strengths and
weaknesses of all of the candidates were aired
during public interviews held by the School Board
and the Superintendent Search Process Committee.
Following his interviews, some of the criticisms
made of Fleming were that he was a name-dropper
and a bureaucrat. Some also said he was too
self-promoting. But Fleming said he sees nothing
wrong with demonstrating he can do the job."
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming was being interviewed as a candidate for the position of superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas Nevada. Webster is a reporter for The Las Vegas Sun.
Fleming too bureaucratic, bad for low-achieving students
Dec 02, 1999 Filed in: Cunningham,
Patricia
Patricia Cunningham, The Las Vegas
Sun "Fleming is exactly
what we don't need. He's too bureaucratic and he
puts on a good face. It's everything low-achieving
students don't need in education."
Cunningham made this remark after watching Fleming in action while being interviewed as a candidate for superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cunningham is the chairwoman for the Alliance for Social Justice.
Cunningham made this remark after watching Fleming in action while being interviewed as a candidate for superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada. Cunningham is the chairwoman for the Alliance for Social Justice.
DA charges Fleming with three felonies that carry penalties of up to four years in prison
May 26, 2007 Filed in: Miller, Sam
Miller is the South County education reporter for The Orange County Register.
Fleming speaks "from the heart" by "standing tall" for "the children" and playing the denial game to the bitter end
May 26, 2007 Filed in: Fleming,
James
Fleming is the former superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District.
Admin building controversy is just one of many to plague CUSD in recent years
May 09, 2007 Filed in: Mehta,
Seema
Seema Mehta, The Los Angeles
Times "The
administrative center is just one of the
controversies to dog the district in recent years.
Although many of the district's 56 schools are ranked
among the state's best, other brouhahas have included
an Orange County Grand Jury probe; a raid of district
headquarters by the district attorney; the
resignation of its longtime superintendent after
accusations he kept an "enemies list"; and disputes
over attendance boundaries, a high school's location
and portable classrooms."
Mehta is a reporter for The Los Angeles Times.
Mehta is a reporter for The Los Angeles Times.
Union president says new superintendent needs to work to let teachers know they’re heard on key issues
May 06, 2007 Filed in: Soderberg,
Vicki
Vicki Soderberg, The Orange County
Register “He needs to improve
communications between teachers and him, and not
have the barriers. With (former superintendent
James) Fleming, it was always a one-way
communication."
Soderberg commented upon the two-year teachers contract tentatively agreed to Monday (May 2) that will cover the 2007-08 school year. Soderberg is the President of the Capistrano Unifed Education Association, a teachers union.
Soderberg commented upon the two-year teachers contract tentatively agreed to Monday (May 2) that will cover the 2007-08 school year. Soderberg is the President of the Capistrano Unifed Education Association, a teachers union.
OC Register senior editor jubilant Fleming resigned
Jul 30, 2006 Filed in: Greenhut,
Steven
Greenhut is senior editorial writier and columnist for The Orange County Register.
Smollar says preparation of such lists was Fleming's modus operandi
Aug 10, 2006 Filed in: Smollar,
David
David Smollar, The Capistrano
Dispatch "But
preparation of the list was modus operandi for
Fleming. He’s not a great strategic mind; he
thinks ahead about five minutes most of the time.
He craves information, especially on his many
detractors. And he craved information about the
recall people. Just examine the raft of e-mails
and memos that Fleming prepared and sent across
the CUSD universe of parents, principals
administrators the weekend of April 23-24, 2005,
in preparation for the April 25 board meeting when
recall notices were presented. He was consumed
with the recall, and had just gotten the 150 names
on April 21, off an intercepted Kevin Murphy
e-mail. He surely wanted to know who they were.
That’s his style. Fleming wrote to trustees on
April 22 in a fax that the e-mail appeared to be a
“veritable ‘who’s who’ list of San Juan Hills and
Arroyo Vista NIMBYS as well as some of the more
volatile opponents to the attendance boundary
proposal.” The list could not have been done
without Fleming’s express knowledge and direction,
because its compilation would have required hours
upon hours of tedious work using the district’s
cumbersome Aeries student information system. No
person in his or her right mind would otherwise
have spent 10 hours-plus doing it."
Kutnick is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch. Smollar is the former Director of Communications at Capistrano Unified School District.
Kutnick is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch. Smollar is the former Director of Communications at Capistrano Unified School District.
Smollar explains enenies list facts to dispell drivel of Fleming sychophant Erin Kutnick
Aug 10, 2006 Filed in: Smollar,
David
David Smollar, The Capistrano
Dispatch "James
Fleming denied for two weeks the existence of any
hit list, even though the OC Register had three
versions of such a list. He first had Asst. Supt.
Susan McGill tell the Register that it must be a
list from the Registrar of Voters. (Interesting
that he remembered his Registrar list instantly,
although he later lied to the OC Register and LA
Times that he had ever received
that list.) The
OC Register then faxed him the first two pages of one
version to “refresh his memory.” He still claimed
no knowledge
of the list, and then said that any such list would
have been prepared by me! He had special software
ordered to put on my old computer to find the list.
(Sorry, Jim, I never had it.) He made available to
the media various sycophants in his employ, including
Dan Crawford and Jeff Bristow, to say what a
miserable, disgruntled employee I was (Hmmm, I worked
4 1/2 years under Fleming, and never received any
evaluation, oral or written, complaining about my
performance.) The Register, fortunately, had the
facts and printed the article. And then a week
later—two weeks after first asked about the list—lo
and behold the good Dr. Fleming issues reams of paper
worthy of Rube Goldberg to explain that the list was
all part of a hacking investigation. Of course! Just
slipped his mind. How risible! To conduct a hacking
probe, you don’t need to compile an extensive list of
150 parent names, including the schools attended by
their kids and replete with special notations on 40
of the individuals. And Fleming
still hasn’t
said who created the list, which he now admits was in
his possession. “Journalist” Kutnick conveniently
glides over the fact that Fleming ordered me to
withhold the list from Kevin Murphy, as well as a
memo to Fleming from security director Ed Kovac,
despite the fact that they were public documents from
files in Fleming’s office."
Kutnick is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch. Smollar is the former Director of Communications at Capistrano Unified School District.
Kutnick is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch. Smollar is the former Director of Communications at Capistrano Unified School District.
Waldrip report revealed nepotism and conflicts of interest
Jan 11, 2007 Filed in: Volzke,
Jonathan
Volzke is the publisher of the Capistrano Dispatch.
Independent investigator found evidence of Fleming's wrongdoing
Feb 13, 2007 Filed in: Volzke,
Jonathan
Volzke is the publisher of the Capistrano Dispatch.
Trustees hire criminal defense lawyers for Fleming and themselves
Feb 23, 2007 Filed in: Volzke,
Jonathan
Volzke is the publisher of the Capistrano Dispatch.
Parents tell Trustees about Fleming misconduct identified by Waldrip
Feb 23, 2007 Filed in: Volzke,
Jonathan
Volzke is the publisher of the Capistrano Dispatch.
Trustees agreed to pay Fleming's attorney if no evidence of wrongdoing
Feb 23, 2007 Filed in: Volzke,
Jonathan
Volzke is the publisher of the Capistrano Dispatch.
Recall was unsuccessfull but touched off series of events
Feb 23, 2007 Filed in: Volzke,
Jonathan
Volzke is the publisher of the Capistrano Dispatch.
District has spent $5,000 on Fleming's defense, but now there's evidence of Fleming's wrondoings
Mar 05, 2007 Filed in: Miller, Sam
Sam Miller, The Orange County
Register “The
district has spent about $5,000 on Fleming's
defense. Since the initial decision, three new
trustees – who ran on a reform platform – were
elected, and a district-commissioned investigation
found evidence of "imprudent" actions taken by
Fleming.”
Miller is the South Orange County education reporter for the Orange County Register.
Miller is the South Orange County education reporter for the Orange County Register.
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.
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.
Fleming says boundaries couldn't be changed without upsetting someone
Mar 30, 2005 Filed in: Fleming,
James
Even after alarming evidence of Fleming's wrongdoings, Benecke would use tax dollars to pay his criminal attorney's fees
Mar 07, 2007 Filed in: Benecke,
Sheila
Trustee Benecke and other Fleming trustees said a defense lawyer is no longer necessary because the grand jury investigation seems to have quieted down. However, they also said they would support providing a defense lawyer for Fleming's if investigation activities resume. Benecke and her colleagues previously said that Fleming's criminal defense attorney's fees would be paid until there was evidence of Fleming's wrongdoing. Now that the Waldrip report has provided alarming evidence of such wrongdoing, Benecke and her colleagues have decided ignore the report. This decision is just a flawed as their decision to pay Fleming's criminal defense fees last summer, when they ignored legal criteria and improperly authorized payment.
"It is a misuse of taxpayers' money to defend the indefensible."
Mar 07, 2007 Filed in: Bryson,
Anna
After reviewing the alarming revelations contained in Judge Stuart Waldrip's "Independent" Investigator's Report, reform trustee Bryson made this comment in support of a resolution to stop further funding of former Superintendent James Fleming's criminal defense attorney's fees. Trustees Benecke, Draper, Darnold and Stiff reversed their earlier decision and joined Bryson and the other reform trustees, Ellen Addonizio and Larry Christensen, in cutting off further taxpayer funding of Fleming's criminal defense attorney's fees.
PTA parent was loyal to Fleming until investigated and threatened
Oct 12, 2006 Filed in: Casserly,
Barbara
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano
Dispatch "I was a loyal
supporter of Dr. Fleming and the Trustees until I
was investigated and threatened that if I
continued to ask questions, future funding might
not come to Mission Viejo. I am ashamed that I did
not make my concerns public because of fear of
retaliation."
PTA member recounts heavy-handed tactics leveled against her by former Superintendent Fleming and the Trustees.
PTA member recounts heavy-handed tactics leveled against her by former Superintendent Fleming and the Trustees.