CUSD Update, March 15
Editorial staff

On March 10, the Registrar of Voters announced results of an effort to qualify the recall election of two CUSD trustees, Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper. A special recall election will be held this summer, sometime between June 20 and July 22. Only two of the four old-guard trustees are targeted, but their removal would end the Fleming-era majority on the school board.

After CUSD board President Mike Darnold went on a six-minute rant during the March 10 board meeting, some parents said he should have been recalled along with Benecke and Draper. Darnold seemed to be responding to news about the recall when he read a prepared statement.

Darnold’s tirade can be found on the Capistrano Dispatch Website. Go to http://thecapistranodispatch.com and access an article under Latest Headlines: “Trustees Battle During Meeting.” Darnold read his statement after several parents from the recall group spoke at the public microphone. One speaker announced the successful signature count, and another reported that the District Attorney had found another Brown Act violation when four old-guard trustees approved certain expenses at the new high school in San Juan Capistrano. The board took corrective steps after the initial accusation of the violation.

Darnold began by stating he would rather “pray for his detractors than confront them.” But he next blamed everyone else (particularly the three new trustees) for CUSD’s many woes. Some people said the attack sounded like words Benecke or Draper would write. Darnold said those people wanting reform are destroying the school district, and newspaper reporters have piled on.

It seems all those news articles – the Grand Jury indictment of two former administrators, the old guard’s Brown Act violations, revelations of Enemies Lists and landslide defeats of Fleming-era trustees in November 2006 – are pretty bothersome in a district that only likes to publish happy press releases and good news.

Darnold mentioned the good old days when former Supt. James Fleming was still around, leading the trustees in harmonious 7-0 votes. If those pesky new reform trustees and a “handful” of parents hadn’t spoiled everything, Camelot could have continued.

The board room was packed for the meeting. The recall results may have attracted a few of them, but most came to learn how CUSD would proceed with deep cuts to the budget. In keeping with CUSD tradition, a lengthy awards ceremony was staged at the beginning of a long night of controversial agenda items. Two musical performances by students were added to the mix, further delaying the beginning of the business meeting.

With regard to CUSD’s financial problems, some Mission Viejo residents have commented that the old-guard majority approved cuts causing the most pain. The effects go well beyond a highly negative impact on children, as many teachers will lose their jobs. With the reduction of bus routes, more parents will face driving their children to school, and more teenagers will be driving. Streets will be more crowded, and the traffic around schools will spill over into neighborhoods. The decline of public education affects everyone eventually, but the immediately impact of the budget cuts will also be widespread.