CUSD Spin Cycle – Statement from Benecke
Staff editorial

Immediately following the resignation of Dennis Smith as CUSD superintendent, board president Sheila Benecke issued a response, which appears below. Smith’s letter (see copy in this week’s blog editorial) includes his reasons for leaving. He states his prior belief “that several legal controversies and leadership challenges facing the district had been resolved.” He adds, “However, there are indications that these problems may persist for well into the future.” Instead of addressing these remarks, Benecke’s focus is on a later statement from Smith, in which he writes, “Given the uncertainty and instability of the current situation, any efforts on my part to launch new initiatives and improvement strategies for the district could be overshadowed by protracted, high profile divisiveness in the community.”

Smith knew of CUSD residents’ division – those supporting the old regime of former superintendent James Fleming and those who supported the 2005 effort to recall all seven trustees. What Smith likely didn’t anticipate when he accepted the job was the May 24 indictments of Fleming and former administrator Susan McGill. Those promoting the recall had been painted by Fleming as a small group of dissatisfied parents. Such constituents, regardless of how much noise they made, were never described by the district as “high profile.” Such a phrase only makes sense in the context of lowly dissidents being bolstered by the May 24 indictments. District Attorney Tony Rackauckas, the D.A.’s prosecuting attorneys and the grand jury are high profile. Parents are not.

As a particularly disturbing aspect of Benecke’s letter, she seems to say all complaints should have ended with Smith’s arrival, regardless of an ongoing criminal investigation, which includes allegations against some of the current old-guard trustees.

Benecke’s statement predictably ends with an attempt to claim credit for hardworking teachers and student achievements. Of course, it’s all about the children. Anyone who thinks the trustees give a rip about the kids should take a tour of Newhart Middle School.

Statement from the School Board President Sheila Benecke:
The Board of Education was informed today that Dr. Dennis Smith has reconsidered his decision to accept the position as our new superintendent of schools. He was to have assumed that role effective July 1, 2007. In the transition, he has been assisting the district for the past two months on an interim basis. As Trustees, we respect his decision and wish him continued success as superintendent in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.

As our new superintendent, Dr. Smith was asked to help the district recover from a protracted period of controversy and divisiveness. In accepting that challenge, he and the Board members believed that the contentious atmosphere in our district could be bridged with his leadership. We hoped that divisive elements in our community were prepared to focus on the future. We believed that this period of instability and uncertainty was behind us and that we could start the process of rebuilding confidence in the district. That was the optimistic context in which he accepted the position.

However, the divisive atmosphere appears to be far from resolved. In fact, controversy may hinder any efforts we make to initiate new programs and strategic initiatives during the coming years. We hired Dr. Smith to lead us into a new era. Sadly, there are factions in our community that refuse to let us emerge from the past to let that happen. As Trustees, we are confident that our school district will weather the current storms and emerge stronger and more focused than ever on student achievement.

We will continue to work with Dr. Smith on an interim basis as we renew our search for a new superintendent. It is incumbent on everyone in the Capistrano educational community to approach the next few months in a spirit of common purpose. Capistrano Unified has a well-deserved reputation for being one of the premier school districts in California. Our track record of excellence and tradition of community responsiveness should not be overshadowed by other agendas. The voices of a few should not diminish the beliefs of a majority of our residents that Capistrano Unified School District is on a sound educational path with a promising future. The daunting job of the superintendent cannot be done without full community support. We owe it to the citizens of our community and for the sake of our children to work in collaboration to accomplish this goal.

CUSD update – Calling All Parents

Following is a well-circulated email regarding the Mon., June 4, meeting of the Capistrano Unified School District board of trustees.

To all parents of CUSD students:

Please consider attending the board meeting this Mon., June 4, at 7 p.m.  Our district is in crisis, and new voices need to be heard to show support for those who have fought this corrupt school board for years. The old-guard trustees are blaming "factions in our community" for the departure of Dr. Smith and using the same divisive intimidation tactics that the recently indicted Mr. Fleming perfected. Despite this indictment, the necessity of subleasing the new administration building and the travesty of low enrollment at the new high school, this board continues to blame a small group of parents for their incredible failings. They really believe that just a handful of people are unhappy and causing problems. We need to show up and speak up and let them know that we are all fed up.

Please consider speaking:
1) Fill out a blue card checking the general comment section ("Oral Communications").
2) At 8:30 p.m., names on cards will be called to speak.
3) Prepare a short (3 minute max.) speech or just say: "I am a parent in this school district, and we are not to blame. The school board is responsible for the problems in this district, and we expect you to manage or step down."

If you do not want to speak, please come anyway and show support – it should be a really entertaining evening!

Does Charity Begin at Home?
Letter to the editor

Some streets have been left out of the areas that are being considered for low-income housing. What about Violet, Astoria, San Gonzalo, Driftstone and Alicante Drive? If these streets were to be considered, then we, the residents of Mission Viejo, would know that the council members are including themselves as neighbors of the low-income numbers of Orange County.

No one was concerned or worried about us when we took buses for one and one-half or two hours at times to get to work. We didn’t feel abused. We just knew that we had to work hard to be able to afford housing in better areas. How times have changed!

Beverly Cruse
Mission Viejo

From Capstone to Millstone
Staff editorial

The almost-superintendent of Capistrano Unified School District submitted his letter of resignation on May 30. Dennis Smith, whose job was to start officially on July 1, had been working for CUSD during the past two months. Interim Superintendent Charles McCully, who filled in after James Fleming’s departure last August, is also gone.

Smith’s abrupt exit seemed to surprise everyone. The full text of his resignation letter appears below.

Various factions within the district selected phrases from the letter to repeat in emails and blogs. But even the full text doesn’t adequately explain why Smith would leave the job he one month ago called the “capstone” of his career.

Trustee Sheila Benecke, an old-guard board member loyal to Fleming, blamed the recall group for continuing to stir things up. She responded with a lengthy statement, which is included under a separate heading in this week’s blog.

One faction of the recall group pointed to last week’s indictments of Fleming and former CUSD administrator Susan McGill as the reference in Smith’s letter to “several legal controversies and leadership challenges.”

Others in the community are equally focused on statements by District Attorney Tony Rackauckas during his May 24 press conference, indicating more indictments could follow. Additional charges against administrators or remaining old-guard trustees might be more than Smith wants on his plate.

According to online discussions, the lead prosecuting attorney for the D.A. is returning in a few days, and grand jury findings regarding CUSD will be unsealed. If Smith left because he heard what’s coming, it must be big.

Or maybe someone in CUSD’s accounting department finally told Smith what many people suspect, “We’re broke.” If that’s the case, perhaps the state would like to come in and sort things out, which could include selling the $50-million oversized Taj Mahal administration center.

Following the rapid-succession departures of three chiefs – Fleming, McCully and Smith – a blog reader emailed, “Has anyone had time to use the shower in the superintendent’s office of the new building?”

Dennis Smith's resignation letter:
Dear President Benecke and Members of the Board of Education,

As you know, I have been anticipating beginning my first term as your new superintendent on July 1, 2007. I have looked forward to working with the current board members to establish a new vision that enables the district to move forward. That optimistic view was based on a presumption that several legal controversies and leadership challenges facing the district had been resolved.  Together, we thought Capistrano Unified was positioned to launch a new and exciting chapter in its history.

However, there are indications that these problems may persist for well into the future. The conditions under which I accepted the position of superintendent have clearly changed.  Given the uncertainty and instability of the current situation, any efforts on my part to launch new initiatives and improvement strategies for the district could be overshadowed by protracted, high profile divisiveness in the community. For these reasons, I am asking that the Board of Education accept my decision not to become your new superintendent. I intend to remain as superintendent of Placentia Yorba Linda Unified School District.

This was a very difficult decision for me personally and professionally because I believe that Capistrano Unified has a rich tradition of excellence that can form the basis for even greater achievement in the years ahead.

I realize that the district will require some time to look for and retain a new superintendent or interim superintendent as this situation unfolds over the next few months. In that regard, I am willing to assist with interim services, as mutually agreed upon, until a new person can begin. Thank you for your understanding and support.

Sincerely,
Dennis Smith

The Buzz column, June 1

The column this week is comprised of reader feedback, giving blog staffers a break.

Reader comment following an April 7 Buzz item about Mission Hospital’s low-quality sculpture on the corner of Crown Valley Parkway and Medical Center Drive: “It’s not art. It’s temporary storage for scrap metal. Storage units are expensive, and the hospital is storing its scrap metal on the corner for free.”

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The Buzz last week indicated parents of autistic children should check out the benefits of Polfit’s intensive therapy. Reader response: “Polfit is therapy/fitness for children with CP, brain damage and muscular problems. Go to the Website www.polfit.com to learn more about it. Their work with autistic children is limited because most autistic children don't need the intensive therapy. You can also look on myspace.com or go to www.myspace.com/morethanwords_results.”

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From a resident who attended the May 28 Memorial Day event at City Hall: “I couldn’t believe it when Lance MacLean started giving a tribute to the late Norman P. Murray. Does anyone remember when Lance MacLean, Trish Kelley and Bill Craycraft voted to prevent Murray from continuing to serve on the Planning Commission in 2004? MacLean is not worthy of mentioning his name.”

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Published in the June 1 Saddleback Valley News: Resident Stanley E. Miller wrote a letter to the editor asking why the city allows Waste Management to bill residents three months in advance for trash collection. A blog reader responded, “What do we expect from council members after they accept thousands of dollars from city vendors for their campaigns? The incumbents in the last election had almost no residents campaigning for them except their immediate family. They were able to win because they were funded by city vendors. Incumbents are now showing they are loyal to their primary financiers, the city vendors.”

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Incumbents are not the only ones accepting campaign cash and selling out the residents. A blog reader asked about a donation from the owner of the property next to Steadfast’s “Nightmare on Jeronimo,” saying, “I noticed the owner of the Unisys property donated in the 2006 city election to the so-called 1-2-3 council candidates, Diane Greenwood, Bill Barker and Justin McCusker. Why would he bypass the incumbents and donate to challengers? What promise did he extract from these three in exchange for the donation? I’ve since learned the owner went directly to city hall and offered his business property for rezoning to high-density residential. It is appalling to realize these three candidates sold out the residents even before the election was over. Did the people who campaigned for Greenwood, Barker and McCusker have any idea what they were supporting?”

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A reader emailed regarding the ongoing challenge by Disneyland, which succeeded in gathering enough signatures to put an Anaheim council decision for rezoning on their city ballot. “When Mission Viejo was considering a request from UDR Pacific to rezone its property on east Los Alisos from commercial to residential, Curt Pringle [mayor] of Anaheim was sitting in the audience on behalf of his client, UDR Pacific. It seems Pringle is now on the other side of rezoning in his own city and voting on behalf of Disneyland. First, I’d suggest Pringle had no business meddling in Mission Viejo’s rezoning issues. Second, it is clear Pringle will support the highest bidder rather than stand on principle.”

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Several comments this week were in response to ongoing turmoil in CUSD, including indictments of former superintendent Boss Fleming and former assistant superintendent Susan McGill. With regard to CUSD’s finding a new superintendent: “They will have difficulty filling the position. I don't think the public would want anyone who is ‘dumb’ enough to take it.” Another response, “I’m tired of CUSD trustees blaming the parents for anything and everything. They continue deflecting blame, and they are incapable of solving problems.” Another response, “I was disgusted to learn James Fleming had used the CUSD email distribution to send out his 800-word response to the indictments. After being charged with three felonies, he should have used his right to remain silent. Some of the trustees responded publicly, demonstrating their right to remain stupid.”