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CUSD Update Reform-minded parents in the Capistrano school district celebrated the successful recall of two old-guard trustees on June 24. Approximately 69 percent of those voting in the special election supported the recall. Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke didn’t have much of a campaign to resist being recalled. Even with the low voter turnout of 11.98 percent, the results were overwhelmingly in support of change. The Registrar of Voters has certified the election results, and Draper and Benecke are off the board. Winners of Tuesday’s election, Sue Palazzo and Ken Maddox, will be sworn in at a special CUSD meeting at 6:00 p.m. on Tues., July 1, at the administration center. The Capistrano Dispatch reported that remaining old-guard Trustees Mike Darnold and Duane Stiff and Supt. Woodrow Carter will be on vacation July 1. What motivated more than 21,500 voters to support the recall? Many parents with children in CUSD schools are aware of the turmoil. For others, a few of the issues include the Taj Mahal administration center, two former administrators facing felony charges, repeated Brown Act violations by old-guard board members, “enemies lists,” deteriorating classrooms and overcrowded schools. Supporters of the old regime should now stop calling reform-minded constituents a “vocal minority.” Margins of victory in Tuesday’s special election and the November 2006 election were impressive, and the balance on the board gives reform trustees a 5-2 majority. Some parents are predicting the two old-guard trustees will quietly serve out the remaining four months of their terms. The board will elect a new president, vice president and clerk during the July 1 meeting. Some constituents are hopeful Trustee Ellen Addonizio (Mission Viejo resident) will become the new president, as she received the highest number of votes in the 2006 election. Addonizio has led most of the attempts at reform for the past 19 months, but her ideas were voted down by the old majority. Of the 214,231 registered voters in CUSD, 25,670 participated in the recall election. Data below were copied from the Registrar of Voters Website:
SUE PALAZZO (winner) To the question of recalling Trustee Sheila Benecke as the trustee for Area Five, 69.4 percent (17,564 voters) said yes; 30.6 percent (7,730 voters) said no. Ken Maddox won by a margin of 19.3 percent. KEN MADDOX (winner) GARY V MILLER MAKAM SUBBARAO |
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