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CUSD Update I just started attending the general board meetings this school year (Sept. 2007). I wanted to be more involved and knowledgeable in decisions being made for the students of CUSD. I did not know how the meetings worked or what to expect. Not only did I not know how to find the board agenda online, but I didn’t even know the names of the board members or what they looked like. The board meetings were filled with emotion, a sense of chaos and at times loud and hostile. I remember my eyes filling with tears as I left the board room during the first board meeting of the new school year. I left thinking, where are the people who care about the children of this district? How can I trust some of these board members to care about my child’s education? Is what I am hearing from angry parents and concerned teachers really true? It did not take long for me to research and understand who the players were and what the general feelings were towards the longtime board members of CUSD (the majority vote for years). I found out right way that many parents and teachers were incensed that the current majority vote of CUSD trustees would make choices that did not seem to be in the best interest of all the students. I spoke at many board meetings this year asking the board to “make the right choices for all the students and teachers.” I asked the board to wait to complete the stadium, workout room and pool at San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano. One reason was due to the maintenance cost involved from the general fund. It passed 4-3 with the old board approval. I along with many other parents asked for help in alleviating the immense overcrowding at Newhart by making the five CUSD Mission Viejo schools K-6 during a boundary change. Many people throughout Mission Viejo came together to help make sure the board would vote in favor of our kids. We provided research, dollar amounts, petitions and some of us even took time to meet with a few board members to plead our case. One longtime board member even told us to not bother speaking at the board meetings and to send our husbands instead. In the end, the old majority voted (4-3) to “do nothing” to alleviate the most populated middle school in CUSD. According to them, natural attrition would bring the population down at Newhart by 400 in the year 2011 (They ignored the fact that the population would still be well above the district average.). Take some time to research this year’s board minutes at www.capousd.org. When our school district had no other choice but to give pink slips to hundreds of teachers, classified workers and custodians, parents became involved. We watched and listened as the district and longtime board members blamed the state for its current financial problems, when we all knew it was due to the many years of mismanaged funds. Parents stepped in by attending rallies, carnivals and auctions. Parents wrote letters and sent in money to help maintain the current level of education for our children. We did all of this despite the knowledge that our district had been carelessly spending money long before Supt. Woodrow Carter arrived. Parents made the right choices for our students and teachers. I am voting YES on the June 24 CUSD recall election because the current board majority has not proven to me that they put the students’ education first. It is time for a change in the current majority board. I want trustees who will vote in favor of my children and their teachers. I want trustees who will listen to me as a viable resource and not consider me a snake “slithering up to the podium.” I want trustees who believe the education of students is the most important component in our district. I want trustees to treat teachers as equally important because they are the caretakers of the most important part of our district: our children. The current majority on the CUSD Board of Trustees has proven to me throughout this year they are not the board in which I trust with the outcome of my children’s education. Why am I voting YES on the CUSD Recall Election? I want a new majority vote. My children deserve better and they trust me to be their voice. Please vote YES on the CUSD Recall Election June 24. Make the right choice for all our students and teachers. For more information, go to |
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