The Worth of One Schoolchild
Letter to the editor

The recent turmoil in the Capistrano Unified School District reminds us of how important our schoolchildren are. While the district superintendent has resigned and new elections are forthcoming, our citizens need to be ever-vigilant regarding the decisions made by our elected leaders.

Recently, our city initiated audits of the district to ensure that funds from Mission Viejo are appropriately spent on Mission Viejo schools. While some council members were chafed at the idea of auditing Mello Roos or Measure A funds, it should be apparent from recent resignations in the Capo district that audits are one of the best tools a city can use to clarify and make sure that expenditures of tax money go for the purposes intended. The only property taxes that some council members wished to audit were the pass-through funds of redevelop-

ment because there was an obligation to do so. All council members voted in favor of the audit on the redevelopment pass-through fund but lost some credibility by voting 3-2 that the cost of the audits may exceed the benefits gained on Mello Roos and Measure A. The audit passed, but two council members voted against it.

Our schoolchildren are the future of Mission Viejo, our nation and the world. When parents and teachers have to subsidize schools by bringing supplies and children attend class in aging portables, something is amiss. Taxpayers in the city of Mission Viejo are entitled to assurance that funds they give up in the way of taxes go for the purposes intended. When Capo built its multimillion-dollar administration center with showers in the office of the superintendent, it is very hard to accept that the basic needs of students aren’t being met, but that is the case.

While cities are not in the education and school-facilities business, they are responsible to the taxpayers in their service areas. Does it make sense to deny one schoolchild while providing extravagances for administrators as Capo has done? We can talk about infrastructure, slopes, curbs, roads, etc., all day long, but the needs of one schoolchild have priority. Remember, vigilance is the key, and we can never let up.

James Edward Woodin
Mission Viejo