Fleming Asks Taxpayers to Fund His Criminal Defense
Calls increase for accountability and resignations of Fleming-era trustees

The CUSD Recall Committee has learned that James Fleming, the indicted former superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District, has submitted a formal request to the school district asking that taxpayers pay for his criminal defense.

As part of the ongoing criminal investigation of the CUSD leaders, District Attorney Tony Rackauckas recently announced the indictment of former Superintendent James Fleming on three felony counts. If convicted, Fleming could serve up to four years in prison.

Former Assistant Superintendent Susan McGill was charged with two felonies and faces up to five years in prison.

The indictments relate to their creation of multiple versions of political “enemies” lists – lists that included the names of many children.

When the indictments were announced, Rackauckas stated, “We are bombarded with complaints from educators and parents that our schools are strapped for cash and children have to do with less. It’s a shame that resources were shifted away from students to create an unlawful list of political ‘enemies.’”

The CUSD Recall Committee has learned that Fleming submitted his formal request in a letter addressed to Suzette Lovely, acting superintendent at CUSD. Interestingly, grand jury testimony from a CUSD staff member – which was made public last week – implicates Ms. Lovely in helping Fleming create the enemies lists.

[A copy of Fleming’s request that taxpayer’s pay for his criminal defense is included on this week’s blog.] Click here to see it.

Elected officials across south Orange County reacted to the latest developments at the beleaguered school district.

CUSD Recall Committee spokesperson Thomas Russell, “The CUSD Trustees should not ask the taxpayers to spend one penny on a criminal lawyer to defend Fleming – he’s now been indicted for multiple felonies. He should be held accountable and should pay for his own criminal defense – just like anybody else.”

The CUSD Recall Committee is the organization that led south Orange County residents in the unprecedented campaign to recall all seven elected Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District. More than 177,000 signatures were obtained from south Orange County residents calling for the removal of all seven CUSD Trustees. On July 2, 2007, a second recall campaign commenced against the four trustees who served with then-superintendent Fleming (Marlene Draper, Sheila Benecke, Duane Stiff and Mike Darnold). Both campaigns focus upon the serious financial mismanagement and corruption at CUSD.

CUSD Update, July 27
Editorial staff

Parents and other community members are continuing to read through 1,300 pages of grand jury testimony regarding the enemies lists and other matters at CUSD. The material will be available online, and the Capistrano Dispatch will likely foot the bill to give community members easy access. To date, the documents can be read only at the courthouse in Santa Ana.

To read the Capistrano Dispatch online, go to http://thecapistranodispatch.com/. Toward the bottom of the page, readers can subscribe to email notices, which include city updates and news about CUSD.

As reported elsewhere on the blog this week, former superintendent James Fleming has asked the district to pay his legal bills. The district had cut off payment prior to Fleming being charged with felonies on May 24. The four holdover trustees were apparently not expecting the D.A. to issue any charges when they decided to stop paying on March 5. However, their decision could be reversed at the next board meeting, Mon., Aug. 13, when Fleming’s request is on the agenda.

Fleming’s next court appearance is Aug. 10. With his attorney fees running $400 an hour, Fleming has nothing to lose by asking CUSD to pay. His July 9 request (posted on this blog) is addressed to acting superintendent Suzette Lovely. While one might wonder why he didn’t address it to the trustees, a bigger question is who leaked the letter to the Orange County Register. Some people believe the holdover trustees might feel threatened by Fleming’s letter, as if he will implicate them if they don’t cover his bills.

Looking ahead, candidates are already emerging to replace the four holdover trustees up for reelection in November 2008 – Sheila Benecke, Mike Darnold, Marlene Draper and Duane Stiff. One objective of those who supported the 2005 recall effort is finding reform-minded, fiscally responsible candidates with knowledge of finance. CUSD has an annual budget of approximately half a billion dollars, and some of the current trustees embarrass themselves when they attempt to speak about district finances.

In addition to CUSD’s financial crisis and deteriorating facilities, another matter that needs to be resolved in Mission Viejo is sending San Juan Capistrano students back to their own city. Students from some of San Juan Capistrano’s poorest areas attend Viejo Elementary, Newhart Middle School and Capo High School. A Mission Viejo parent said, “We have our hands full trying to take care of Mission Viejo’s poorest families. San Juan Capistrano has a new $140-million high school, and that’s where their students should go.”

Toll Road Issues Confound Mission Viejo
by Bo Klein

New housing at the Ranch will severely impact traffic in the southern portion of Mission Viejo. The recent lawsuit halting completion of the 241 Foothill-South Toll Road puts Mission Viejo in an additional bind. Mitigation measures agreed upon in 2005 severely limited the amount of money the ranch paid the city – the outcome was inadequate. If the extension isn’t completed, what are the chances the city will get any additional relief when the eventual tsunami of traffic comes this way?

The ranch traffic plan predicted a portion of the traffic would use the 241, not the surface streets, including Crown Valley Parkway. The mitigation money the city received was based on that assumption.

The city of Mission Viejo sued the ranch for traffic mitigation measures in 2004, primarily because the ranch plan was based on inconclusive traffic studies performed by ranch consultants. Estimates for needed traffic improvements in Mission Viejo ranged between $35 million and $75 million. Astoundingly, the city settled for a mere $18 million.

The lawsuit was dropped after Councilmen Frank Ury and Lance MacLean, while serving on an ad hoc committee, negotiated on their own the mitigation measures with the ranch. The ranch jumped on the proposed settlement of $18 million, as opposed to prior estimates of up to $75 million for real solutions. I have yet to hear of any plan in which $18 million would be sufficient to handle the anticipated volume of traffic when the ranch is built out. With the recent development halting completion of the toll road, cut-through traffic coming from the ranch could increase by as much as one-third.

Even in 2005, the shortfall of $50 million would have resulted in long-term traffic problems. The problems are the legacy of Ury and MacLean, who sold out the city in the first place. The politicians have been paid off, the problems still exist, and residents will pay the price.

The question is, if the toll road isn’t completed, is the ranch still qualified to build the same number of homes, or will the county downsize the plan? If the plan isn’t downsized, will Mission Viejo receive additional compensation?

The Buzz column, July 27

Reader email: “I watched the video of the June 19 city budget workshop. We had all five council members eager to throw money at anything, and I noticed they were eating throughout the meeting as if the dais were their personal buffet. Are these people so starved that they can’t eat before or wait until after the meeting? It was tacky, but it was appropriate they were shown on TV chowing down at the public trough.”

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Let’s get metaphysical. A resident was so upset after watching council members approve the electronic sign at La Paz and Marguerite, she said, “I’m glad I won’t be bumping into any of these council members when I’m in heaven.”

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Everyone is invited to former CUSD superintendent James Fleming’s house … sort of. It seems Fleming’s ocean-view estate in Laguna Niguel is on the market. Take the online tour and then decide if it’s worth $1,499,900.

 http://www.movoto.com/real-estate/homes-for-sale/CA/Laguna-Niguel/30-Antibes-203_S478874.htm

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Blog readers noted Irvine’s city council took action following the demands of SCAG (Southern California Association of Governments) to put 35,660 units in their city, and 21,282 of them must be affordable. The Irvine council didn’t cave in – they responded with a lawsuit. Compare this with the irresponsible Mission Viejo council members who first attracted the attention of the state by throwing away the city’s affordable housing plan. Next, they proceeded to destroy commercial zoning, thus reducing business opportunity and creation of jobs to allow more homebuilding in a built-out city. All five Mission Viejo council members accepted campaign donations – up to $11,000 – from Steadfast after approving its affordable housing mess. Following the council’s approval, the city was sued by the Public Law Center. City hall insiders estimate the city spent more than $1 million in legal fees and lost the case.

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With regard to Irvine’s action, a Mission Viejo resident emailed the blog, “What does Irvine have that Mission Viejo doesn’t have? Brains, guts, courage, integrity, and they have the interest of the residents at heart – the well-being of the city. Our council members are at the bottom of the heap. Council members in other cities already have successful lives, and then they serve on the city council. In MV, they have nothing going, and being on the council is their only achievement. This is their big chance to have some power and get a goodie-bag from city vendors. They show favoritism to outsiders who want to make money on the city. They contract with consultants for things the city doesn’t need and the residents don’t want.”

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Reader request: “Can you provide information about the League of Cities conferences that Mission Viejo council members and city staff members attend? Where are these people getting all their weird ideas? Why are our residents paying for these people to attend? The council agendas and consent calendars turn into a whole list of idiotic things to blow money on.”

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A Capo school district parent mused after seeing the letterhead of former superintendent James Fleming when he asked the district to pay his legal expenses, “He has D.P.A. after his name. All this time I thought he claimed to have a doctorate in education. Can anyone check the small print on his credentials?”

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The Mission Viejo Community Foundation presented a check for $285,125 – a grant from the state – to the city during the July 2 council meeting. A reader reacted: “I thought the purpose of the foundation was to raise money in the private sector. Isn’t that why all these ‘suits’ are on the board? In addition to the city’s gifts to the foundation of $400,000 in tax dollars, the foundation has now collected $285,125 in state tax dollars, with a thank-you note to State Senator Dick Ackerman. I would like to point out that these taxpayer funds could go directly to the community center expansion or other city projects without first being filtered through the foundation. As a private organization, the foundation has no accountability, and it is able to hide the director’s outrageous salary.”

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To add on to this comment, the foundation’s chair made a variety of bizarre remarks during the presentation of the check at the July 2 meeting. Also bizarre was his explanation that city staff members were involved in requesting the grant money for $285,125. If the truth were told, did the city need someone from the foundation to add his or her name in order for Dick Ackerman to bring home the bacon?

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A civil engineer commented about the appearance of the construction site at Jeronimo and Los Alisos. “I’m concerned about the steepness of the slope, particularly the second level of fill in back of the retail center on the corner. While some people have questioned how the slope will fare during a heavy rainstorm, I’m more concerned about a wet year or a week or two of constant rain. We’ve had slope failures around town, and they fail for various reasons, including underground streams. I think what bothers people more than the danger of slope failure is the appearance, which is completely out of character with the surrounding area.”

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The Buzz editor Kathy Miramontes provided the following Website address, designed to send messages of support to our soldiers in Iraq. “You can’t pick out who gets it, but it will go to some member of the armed services.” After checking it out, Kathy added, “It is an honest to goodness Website (Xerox) and they DO send the cards to our soldiers!” Go to www.letssaythanks.com and pick out a thank-you card. Xerox will print it and send it to a soldier who is currently serving in Iraq.

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The Orange County Register / Saddleback Valley News hosted a forum on Thurs., July 26, to ask for feedback. Twelve Mission Viejo residents attended, and most of them requested more information about city happenings. One attendee reported to the blog, “Several audience members remarked about the city council’s refusal to represent the residents. They also asked for investigative reporting instead of what appear to be press releases issued by city hall. Some articles in the paper are neither balanced nor do they tell the whole story.”

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Editor-in-Chief Carl Schulthess selects the Founder’s Quote for each week’s blog. Here are a few of the other quotes Carl forwarded this week:

"If you don't read the newspaper you are uninformed, if you do read the newspaper you are misinformed." -- Mark Twain

”A government which robs Peter to pay Paul can always depend on the support of Paul.” -- George Bernard Shaw

“If you think health care is expensive now, wait until you see what it costs when it's free!” -- P.J. O'Rourke

“In general, the art of government consists of taking as much money as possible from one party of the citizens to give to the other.” -- Voltaire (1764)

”The inherent vice of capitalism is the unequal sharing of the blessings. The inherent blessing of socialism is the equal sharing of misery.” -- Winston Churchill