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CUSD Spin Cycle CUSD’s administration is moving into its new building, and we’re in mourning. Patti and her colleagues in accounts payable will now have clutter-free desks and ample parking. But what about second grader, Josh, who wants to check out a library book and there’s no librarian? Amber, a sixth-grader, carries a 30-pound backpack around all day because there aren’t enough lockers. Mark, a high-school senior, has to have his mommy pick him up at school because the student parking lot is filled with portable classrooms? CUSD Superintendent James Fleming is “sticking with his story,” telling us in his latest column that “the $35-million cost [of the new “education center”] is paid with funds restricted to brick-and-mortar projects within the city of San Juan Capistrano.” Why does this infuriate me and, more importantly, why should it infuriate you? Because, simply put, it is not true. On March 18, 2002, a Certificate of Participation (COP) was approved by the CUSD trustees to finance the new administration building in San Juan Capistrano, pledging Las Flores and Capistrano Valley High School as assets to secure the COP. A COP is a type of loan, a bond that does not require voter approval. This $35-million loan was also supposed to fund a 50-meter pool at Capistrano Valley High School and a reconstruction project for Newhart Middle School. The proceeds from the COP have all been spent. In fact, as of November 2005, the cost of the building had reached $34,356,635 without landscaping, furniture and other associated costs. Work has yet to even begin at Newhart. The San Juan redevelopment fund, which is contributing $1 million per year to the cost of financing the new building, clearly states in Section 5.3 that the fund can be used for “the lease or purchase of land or facilities for use only as schools, District administrative offices and operations facilities.” Since when are lease payments considered “bricks-and-mortar”? If CUSD’s school board truly believes the kids come first, why did they construct a fancy new building when they could have remained in the district-owned, Calle Perfecto office and paid the leases on the ancillary facilities with the San Juan redevelopment fund? This would have generated an additional $550,000 every year, for the next 20 years, for a total increase to CUSD’s General Fund of more than $11,000,000! There still would have been a $9-million surplus from the San Juan redevelopment fund to help finance improvements at San Juan schools. This would have saved precious Measure A funds for use throughout CUSD. If our school board was going to borrow money without voter approval, they should have spent the money on schools rather than a controversial administration building! Poor Patti would have had to deal with a cluttered desk, but she receives compensation for her woes. Unfortunately, CUSD residents are paying to send Amber, Josh, Mark and more than 48,000 other students to schools with substandard facilities and inadequate staffing. A school designated as “Distinguished” or “Blue Ribbon” by the state doesn’t mean much, when the facilities are dilapidated and not adequately staffed. Why do you think so many parents have opted to send their children to private schools? The most amazing aspect of this situation is the complete denial of our school board that they didn’t do their homework. Why does it take a group of parents to point out the obvious? The PTA and every taxpayer in CUSD should view the evidence for themselves at www.CUSDWatchdog.com. This 128,000 sq. ft. building is a monument to the arrogance and incompetence of the CUSD administration. It demonstrates an utter lack of respect for the teachers, students and residents of this district. Please join me and many more taxpayers just like me on Tues., June 6, at 4:00 at the end of Valle Road (by the new “education center”) in San Juan Capistrano to let this school board know that we don’t appreciate their putting the “administrators first”! Rebecca Bauer |
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