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CUSD Update As part of the ongoing criminal investigation of the Capistrano Unified School District, Board President Marlene Draper just spent three days testifying before the Orange County Grand Jury. A criminal defense attorney charging $395/hour is representing Draper, and the taxpayers will be forced to pay the bill. Draper appears to be the second elected trustee forced to testify. Trustee John Casabianca, who was voted out of office on Election Day, was forced to testify in October. Former Supt. Fleming and the other CUSD trustees have not yet been subpoenaed. The CUSD Recall Committee calls upon Trustee Draper to resign from the board of trustees immediately. It will be virtually impossible for CUSD to attract high-caliber candidates to fill the open superintendent’s position unless she removes herself and the numerous controversies surrounding her from the school district. Draper has been the CUSD board president for the past two years. Draper and the CUSD trustees have stirred numerous controversies: Taxpayer-funded criminal defense attorneys. The trustees unanimously approved the engagement of a $400/hour criminal defense attorney to represent former Supt. James Fleming and a $395/hour criminal defense attorney to represent themselves in connection with the ongoing criminal investigation. These costs will come directly out of the district’s General Fund. Nepotism with CUSD’s Environmental Consultant. As reported in the Los Angeles Times on Aug. 5, Draper’s daughter, Shawna Schaffner, works for CUSD’s primary environmental consulting firm, Culbertson, Adams & Associates. Schaffner was personally responsible for producing numerous environmental reports and documents that were submitted and approved by Draper and the rest of the board of trustees. Most recently, in December 2005, the board approved a new contract with the firm that will cost taxpayers an additional $172,000. Massive Budget Deficit. CUSD has amassed an $18-million budget deficit. Provided Massive Increases to Scandal-ridden Administrators. CUSD provided three enormous salary increases to two of CUSD’s most controversial deputy superintendents, Dan Crawford and David Doomey. Last week, the Orange County Register reported that Doomey (who 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-million administration office. In Crawford’s case, his cumulative salary increase amounted to more than $25,000 during a nine-month period. 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. Failure to Budget Basic Teacher Increases. CUSD failed to budget anything for teacher salary increases, not even basic cost-of-living adjustments. Effort to Suppress Important Information from the Public. The minutes from the illegal July 30, 2005, CUSD closed-session meeting, which were published in the O.C. Register, reveal that Draper attempted to conceal the terms of a multimillion-dollar settlement with the construction contractor for the infamous $52-million administration building. Despite the fact CUSD had a “guaranteed maximum price” contract with Valley Commercial Contractors to construct the building, CUSD agreed to pay an additional $3.8 million in settlement costs without any public explanation. Harrassment of Recall Volunteers. Draper and her husband, Dennis Draper, were the center of police attention in the summer of 2005 when Sheriff’s deputies detained Mr. Draper for harassing recall signature gatherers as Mrs. Draper looked on from her parked car. To learn more about these important issues, please visit our website at www.cusdrecall.com. |
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