CUSD Update, July 12
Editorial staff

Summer months are quiet in some districts, but not Capistrano USD.

Former Supt. James Fleming and former administrator Susan McGill were back in court on July 11 for a pre-trial hearing. They were charged in May 2007 with multiple felonies. The trial has been delayed twice, and another pretrial hearing is set for Aug. 8. The trial is scheduled to begin Aug. 12, but the D.A. could ask for another delay to gather more evidence.

Kevin Gallagher, the attorney for McGill, mentioned the thousands of pages of evidence when he talked about the delay in a July 11 Orange County Register interview: "It really reflects the factions within the school district who seem to be going to war with each other. I'd say the D.A. has picked up on that and is prosecuting some of the parties, and in the case of my client, unjustly."

So, there’s the defense in a nutshell. Blame the warring factions for Fleming illegally using district funds to fight a ballot issue and McGill lying about the creation of “enemies lists.”

On another legal front, the D.A. is looking into Supt. Woodrow Carter’s three-year $974,850 contract. After the board of trustees approved the contract on Feb. 25, the terms were changed to give the superintendent 18-months’ salary as severance pay if he’s fired. A complaint to the D.A. indicated that old-guard Trustee Mike Darnold was involved in changing the contract after the board approved it. The board later offered Carter a new contract without the clause.

Following the successful June 24 recall of Trustees Marlene Draper and Sheila Benecke, the board now has a 5-2 majority of reform-minded trustees with the addition of Sue Palazzo and Ken Maddox. They’ll pick up discussion about the high-pressure fuel pipeline near the new high school when the final report about the pipeline is presented on July 21. The report’s author is claiming no threat exists to students at San Juan Hills High School. Palazzo and Maddox have said they’ll look at a variety of safety issues at the school, including the pipeline. The D.A. is investigating safety and other issues at the high school.

A parent, Jim Reardon, discovered the pipeline’s location and noted it’s too close to the campus to be deemed safe. He also noticed errors in a preliminary report presented to the district on June 16. The district shut down nearby sports fields when the controversy developed over the pipeline, but district officials and old-guard trustees have downplayed the dangers regardless of any discoveries or revised data.

The consultant presenting the June 16 report said damage from earthquakes or fires was very unlikely. Parents and other constituents might remember when questions arose about building the high school next to the dump. When parents asked about the dangers of dust or toxic substances being blown by the wind from the dump to the campus, a consultant responded it’s not a problem. The wind doesn’t blow in San Juan Capistrano.

The next school board meeting will be Monday, July 21.