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CUSD Update After reading this, if you agree, please forward it to everyone you know who is concerned about this issue. A link is provided at the end of this letter to a recent OC Register article about CUSD Superintendent Woodrow Carter's contract. Carter first claimed he "wouldn't sign his contract” because, he said, the salary increase of $28,000 was not acceptable at a time when teachers and staff were being laid off. Makes sense, right? But Carter then altered the contract he claimed he refused to sign, not only keeping the salary increase intact, but adding a severance clause awarding himself $410,000 (a year-and-a-half's salary), even if he was "fired" (no matter the reason). Carter and Board President Mike Darnold then signed the altered contract (signed and dated Feb. 25 - before Carter claimed he didn't sign it) - WITHOUT the knowledge or approval of the full Board of Trustees. When asked about having signed the contract, Carter stated he "never said" he "wouldn't sign the contract." But a look at the memo to the Board dated Feb. 29 states otherwise: -----Original Message----- I announced last night at the DHHS Town Hall meeting that I would not sign the new contract and accept compensation at this time. It is not the time to be receiving additional money. Timing could not be worse. That may change later in the year, but not right now. A. Woodrow Carter The four Fleming-era trustees "ratified" the altered contract at a "special Board meeting" on Monday, June 2. So, in essence, they just awarded Carter an extra $410,000 (in addition to awarding raises to two assistant superintendents who are now each making $175,000 per year). No wonder we have such financial problems. Unfortunately, to complicate matters further, if what I'm hearing is true, Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke and Carter may have made a deal with Vicki Soderburg of the teachers union to "re-hire" all the teachers being laid off if the union voted to actively oppose the recall, which is what they're doing. The problem is, CUSD is still on the brink of bankruptcy with a $21-million deficit it was running even BEFORE the state cuts, and Carter has stated that CUSD's financial picture will get even worse (how that's possible, I don't know, but that's what he has stated repeatedly in public). So if this is true as I suspect, here's my prediction: after the teacher's union has served its purpose of opposing the recall, Carter will once again be forced to lay off (or not re-hire) teachers and staff - though not until AFTER the recall election, of course, because CUSD doesn't have the money. I hope I'm wrong, but CUSD administration has proven duplicitous in the past. And the lies the union is spreading about some of the recall candidates are pretty outrageous. For example, they are saying that some of the candidates running for Board seats are "puppets" of the Education Alliance and the recall group. Some of you know Sue Palazzo personally, as I do, and know that she has been actively involved in trying to foment positive change in CUSD for many years - LONG before she ever decided to run for Marlene Draper's seat. Sue is no one's puppet, most especially the Education Alliance. I guess Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke were unable to defend their record of mismanagement and violating the law, so they had to find something to try and scare the voters into keeping them in office. I don't know about you, but all of this is illustrative to me of why a change in leadership is so DESPERATELY needed; I urge you to vote "Yes" on the recall Read the article about the contract: |
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