CUSD Update
Editorial staff

Supt. Woodrow Carter has decided not to sign the $324,950-a-year contract offered to him with a 5-2 vote on Feb. 25. He’ll instead stick with his interim contract pay of $245,000 base salary plus $11,000 in health benefits and a $10,200 car stipend.

After four days of criticism from the public, Carter rejected the contract on Thursday after accepting it on Tuesday. Some parents commented it shouldn’t have taken four days to do the right thing. Board members voted 5-2 on $27 million in budget cuts, which included layoffs of more than 400 employees, on the same night they decided to offer Carter a raise.

According to information released by the district, $27 million is the shortfall in state funding. The district was already $9 million short on its own. CUSD estimates the following year (2009-2010) will call for additional cutbacks. The old Fleming regime and the holdover trustees dug a deep hole, and the shell games finally caught up with them. Despite the financial crisis, the old trustees, Fleming loyalists and the new superintendent have tried to keep up appearances. They push papers in their partially empty Taj Mahal administration center and add amenities at San Juan Hills High School – their diamond by the dump.

CUSD just can’t stop overspending. In addition to another $8 million at SJHHS, the district is discussing hiring an architectural firm to oversee its Architectural Master Plan. The item includes no estimated costs and lacks essential parameters. Any architectural firm that would like to make a killing should get in line.

During the Feb. 27 superintendent’s presentation in Mission Viejo, a resident asked about the architectural item. The superintendent said no district employee has a background in architecture. Thus, he has recommended contracting for architectural services. Now that the district is short on funds to build anything or upgrade its current facilities, how did this become a priority? In case no one previously noticed the confusion on Feb. 27, the superintendent said classrooms might need remodeling to make room for more students as a result of having fewer teachers after layoffs. Did anyone consider that the cost of enlarging a classroom could exceed the cost of keeping a teacher on the payroll?

Cutbacks of teachers, Class Size Reduction and more than half of the bus routes are the worst possible ways to reduce spending. Why not start with eliminating nonessential administrators and support staff? The new high school doesn’t have enough students to justify keeping it open, but closing it escapes mention.

The chosen cost-cutting measures are the most painful – severely impacting the quality of education. Is the district setting up its constituents for a district-wide bond measure?

A parent posting on an Internet discussion board stated that bold and sweeping changes are needed quickly to save CUSD from its current mess. She added that parents and teachers will have to lead the way. The trustees continue to fail, and the score is now two reformers against five who refuse to get it.

Despite the lack of encouraging news, Mission Viejo residents can continue to be proud of Trustee Ellen Addonizio, a true reform advocate who is doing a stellar job for children, education and fiscal responsibility. If the recall effort succeeds in June to replace two old-guard trustees with reformers, Addonizio would be in the majority instead of losing every important battle.