CUSD Update
Editorial staff

Have Capo school board majority members violated the Brown Act so often it’s become a habit? A news story in the Jan. 19 OC Register [“CUSD will ask board to rescind project vote,” Local, page 9] confirms that district officials are recommending the school board meet this week to undo a controversial vote. The board is facing claims that it took action on items in a way that avoided official public notice.

The first public statement after the controversial vote came from the Recall Committee, which currently is leading an effort to recall two CUSD Trustees, Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper.

Last October, the Orange County District Attorney found that the Fleming-era Trustees (Sheila Benecke, Marlene Draper, Mike Darnold and Duane Stiff) had repeatedly and systematically violated the state’s open meetings law (the Brown Act) by illegally conducting the public’s business behind closed doors. To avoid civil prosecution, all four admitted they had violated the law and promised not to do so again.

Astonishingly, less than two months later, the Fleming-era Trustees broke their promise and violated the Brown Act again by providing improper notice of important agenda items involving proposed expenditures of millions of taxpayer dollars on highly controversial projects. In this way, they excluded the public from the democratic process, again.

In response to this continuing disregard of the law, the Recall Committee has filed a formal complaint with the school district, demanding, among other things, the immediate resignations of Trustees Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper, who are currently under petition for recall.

The three reform-minded trustees who won seats in the November 2006 election issued a response, which was included in the Recall Committee’s press release:

In an unprecedented development, Trustees Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen (the “ABC Reform Trustees”) issued a joint statement that reads, in part, "By the issuance of this public statement, we add our names to the long list of elected officials who have called for the immediate resignations of Trustees Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper."

The board will meet Jan. 23 to rescind the vote on construction projects for the new high school, San Juan Hills High School, in San Juan Capistrano.

The Recall Committee also issued a reminder that is the last week to sign petitions to recall Benecke and Draper. Those circulating petitions have been working at storefronts throughout the district.