CUSD Update – An Opportunity Slips Away
Editorial staff

Three new Capo school district trustees bumped out the old in the November 2006 election. Winners were reform candidates Ellen Addonizio, Larry Christianson and Anna Bryson. With seven CUSD trustees and only three seats up for election last fall, voters couldn’t change the majority. If reform trustees stuck together, they would still lose every vote 4-3.

This balance changed at the June 25 board meeting with the absence of Trustee Mike Darnold, a Fleming holdover. Although it was temporary, the three reform trustees could have flexed their muscle by voting together. No big-spending, irresponsible item could have passed that night with a 3-3 vote, as a tie defeats the motion.

Despite the opportunity and something huge at stake – the CUSD budget – nothing changed. The budget that supported an increase in pay for management and cuts for classroom basics should not have passed, but it did. Addonizio and Christianson held the line by voting no, and Bryson aligned with the old guard. The 4-2 vote in favor of the budget was a victory for Fleming loyalists and a wake-up call for those who supported Bryson as a reform candidate.

Last November, Addonizio, a fiscally conservative CPA who had gathered recall signatures in 2005, ran as a known reform advocate. Christianson was largely unknown, and Bryson was a whole other story. Beyond her questionable qualifications, she was chummy with old-guard trustees.

Bryson’s performance as a new trustee has too often consisted of making motions in support of Fleming loyalists or seconding their motions. In the June 4 matter of selling real estate (with the bulk of proceeds going toward operational costs), Bryson made a puzzling remark by dramatically stating she’s a fiscal conservative but voting with the old guard to sell the property. Wouldn’t a real fiscal conservative hold the line against backwards priorities and overspending instead of having a fire sale?

If Bryson’s supporters from the 2006 campaign still have influence with her, perhaps they should explain a few things to the wayward reformer.

CUSD residents voting for reform didn’t expect miracles after claiming only three of seven seats in the 2006 election. Some optimists may have hoped holdover Trustee Duane Stiff would jump ship and vote with the new trustees, but he hasn’t. Realistically, the next opportunity to establish reform is the November 2008 election when the four remaining Fleming loyalists will either run for reelection or retire. If they run, they’ll likely lose. Voters should hope candidates with demonstrated reform leadership will enter the race.