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Parents Speak Out for Capo Schools Barbara Casserly is a Mission Viejo resident who has become a leader and advocate for education in the Capo school district. She distributed the following message: The letter below was written by a Mission Viejo parent who is concerned about how Mission Viejo's children have been treated by CUSD. I do not know the identity of the letter writer. I was disappointed that at the Feb. 11 CUSD Board of Trustees meeting, the decision was made to do nothing about the size of Newhart. When Newhart was included in the boundary process, we hoped that the size of Newhart (CUSD's largest middle school) would finally be addressed. Mission Viejo parents have watched the tactics employed by parents from other cities to obtain what they want in terms of facilities and boundaries. I am proud to be from a city where the residents do not use obscenities, write letters about people rather than issues, and behave poorly in the face of defeat. We will not be compromised. We must continue to advocate for our children in a positive manner. Thank you for taking the time to carefully read the following letter, which reflects the frustration felt by those who have been advocating for Mission Viejo's children. Please continue to spread the word. Barbara Casserly Dear Superintendent and Trustees, I am a parent of a 3rd grader in Mission Viejo. I was in attendance at last evening's [Feb. 11] meeting, and I have to tell you how completely saddened I am at the lack of respect you (with exception of three board members) have shown toward our Mission Viejo schools. First, I would like to address your lack of preparation as it pertains to our boundary issues. I can't count how many times I heard you, Mr. Carter, make this statement, "I don't have that information in front of me." We were in front of this board in December. This was TWO months ago. I know you are all very busy, but it falls within your job description to work on a daily basis to do research and prioritize the "fires" you must put out. The Newhart fire was big in December, and you should have used your two months wisely. You should have had the information "in front of you.” Let me also clarify that the K-6 proposal was not ever formally put into consideration until we, the parents, brought the solution to the table. Is it the best solution? Not sure? You had plenty of time to find out. You should have done research on this. YOU should have been prepared to give a better reason why this doesn't work other than "there isn't room at a couple of schools.” We have already provided you information that shows that, at one time, there were up to 200 more students at all of our Mission Viejo schools than there are now. We're still waiting for details on where those students were kept at that time and why we can't fit them in now. The other "excuse" as to why K-6 won't work is that children will lose electives. This is not a reason to keep 6th graders at a crowded middle school. I was talking to a 6th grader just this morning who described the electives as "lame.” Have you considered that, although there will be fewer 8th graders next year, that there will be more than 100 additional 6th graders coming in? Do you have any recommendations on where to put these kids? Perhaps in the moldy and disgusting portables? You have well-paid staff members who should be researching options as to how to fix this problem. It is not our job, as parents and taxpayers, to come up with a fix for a mess that we did not create. Those who are paid by the district have a job to do, and we expect it to be done. We volunteer our time on this because we are passionate about the future of our children. I used to work in a very fast-paced, demanding business environment. If I ever came to a meeting as unprepared as you were last evening, I would have been fired on the spot. Did you anticipate that your "do-nothing" approach was going to be voted in and you were off the hook to come to the meeting sounding like you cared or were prepared to discuss other options? We in Mission Viejo are outraged at the attention Talega received. You were prepared for them. Is it because they had attorneys? I could not believe how quickly your staff was able to retrieve information when discussing what to do with the Talega kids. By the way, an article in today’s paper is about the Newport-Mesa School District voting to return their schools to K-6. You should do a little homework and look into why they are considering this change. Trustee Draper, you are supposed to be our Mission Viejo representative, are you not? Please correct me if I'm wrong. Listening to you speak, it is very clear that our schools are not important to you. You stated several times, and I quote, "I am very worried about this middle school.” Now, one would think that since you are the Mission Viejo representative on the board of trustees, the school you would be speaking of is our dear Newhart Middle School. Sadly, you weren't. You were referring to Vista del Mar Middle School. Not once did we hear you express concern for Newhart as you did for Vista del Mar, NOT ONCE. Our hope is that your replacement on the board actually CARES about our city schools. Mission Viejo parents walked away last night feeling very sad and defeated. Our focus really isn't on what Talega got, or what San Juan got, it's on what we aren't getting, and that's a quality education for our Mission Viejo children. It is difficult to see so much attention turned toward the other two schools at a time when our school needs so much of that attention. Trustees Addonizio, Bryson and Christensen, thank you for showing you do care about our schools and you are working hard toward some solutions. We realize it won't happen overnight and there is no "easy" solution, but we do see that you are at least trying. The rest of you should be ashamed of yourselves for putting us on the back burner and hoping we will go away. You have a responsibility to ALL students in your district, regardless of the area you represent, and it is time you start dividing up your attention and money. If K-6 isn't a good fix, then we expect you to make it a priority to find a good fix....FAST. Next year's children will suffer because of your "do-nothing-for-a-year" approach (same solution as before, longer name). We realize that the motion voted on last night is simply a way of achieving Superintendent Carter's approach of do nothing and the school will be fine by the year 2011. Do you really plan on solving the problem in the next year? Or will we be at a meeting next year watching you propose another "do-nothing-for-a-year" approach? Although I only have a 3rd grader, I am deeply concerned for the kids moving into Newhart in 2008-2009. They are being thrown into the lion's den with meat strapped to their belts. How do you expect them to survive? Would you send your 6th grader to a school that only has space for "part" of the incoming class? Wouldn't you consider your student giving up basket-weaving or cooking 101 for a chance to stay in a school that isn't crowded and below standards? I would, and I will when the time comes even if it means moving out of this district to one that cares about my child. Our generation of parents, most of us, went to 6th grade in our local elementary school. It was a proven system then, and it can be now. The reason our schools moved to a K-5 structure was not simply because the district felt it was a better educational model, as stated by one of you last evening. It was also to accommodate our growing community and changing enrollment figures. If the reason behind it was because the level of education was higher, then I can't see why Bathgate was kept as a K-5 for at least two years when the others went K-6. At any rate, there are arguments for and against all scenarios of educational structures. What you have to look at is what your needs are. We have an overcrowded middle school, and a K-6 structure that would work great in our I am embarrassed to have a school board that shows so little concern for our children. Perhaps over the next few months the dynamic will change and we will be proud of those representing us. Please understand that I, like many of my friends, do not like this conflict. We want to be united with our educators and school board so that we can work toward a solution that is best for our children. We hope that you will hold true to your word that Mission Viejo schools will be made a priority over the next few months and that we can work toward building a better environment for our children. Thank you, |
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