Parents Advocate League Update
by Julie Collier

Dear PALs,

I just wanted to give you a brief wrap-up of the Mon., Sept. 22, board meeting. The meeting got a bit disruptive and uncomfortable at times when emotions were running high regarding the posting of Blue Ribbon and CA Distinguished Schools signs. There were not too many speakers at the podium, but many people wanted to be heard from the audience. Several of the podium speakers made great points, but it was hard to hear over the shouting from the audience. Hopefully, the shouters will feel more confident at the next board meeting to fill out speaker cards and speak in turn. There was no vote involved in this agenda item; it was just a discussion item to inform the board/public what is involved with renewing the status of these awards. It was interesting to hear that the process was very involved and would prove difficult for teachers to do right now, given the reduced budget, decrease in staff and an increase in class size and duty. It would be great to hear more options for this in the future, such as: could parent volunteers assist in the paperwork in any way? Or could district workers do the paperwork during the summer on Fridays instead of taking the day off? You can read more in the article from the OC Register, Capo Distinguished Schools discussion dissolves into acrimony.

Item #9: New board policy voluntary drug testing in grades 7-12 was approved (6-1: Maddox voted no). Maddox believed this policy was allowing the district to assert itself into the role of the parent, and he questioned the confidentiality of it. You can read more in the Mission Viejo Dispatch article, Student Drug Testing Approved By CUSD.

There were only 10 items, and it was a brief meeting. The next board meeting will be Oct. 6 at 7 p.m. You can usually view the agenda items by Tuesday or Wednesday on the district Website. www.capousd.org

On another note, I will be sending out an email soon with introductions to PALs from every candidate running for the CUSD Board of Trustees in November. In addition, each candidate has agreed to answer weekly questions directly from PALs members. Every Monday by noon, you can visit
http://www.parentsadvocateleague.org
to view their responses. If you have a specific question to ask the candidates, please email julie@parentsadvocateleague.org

Here is another article you might find of interest.
San Juan high school 'waste' of public funds, complaint says