CUSD Trustees Fire Carter

Capo school board members fired Supt. Woodrow Carter on Mar. 2 with a unanimous vote during the closed session. School board President Ellen Addonizio announced the decision at 11:35 p.m. Prior to the closed-session portion of the meeting, Carter spoke during public comments with approximately 100 people in the audience. He mixed pleas for keeping his job with jabs that trustees should “grow up” and “get a life.” His supporters applauded enthusiastically.

Contributors to this blog said the timing of the action was the only surprise. They shared the widespread belief that Carter would be fired. Trustees put him on paid leave in early January and launched an investigation, which culminated in 60 charges against him.

Carter has not revealed the charges, and the trustees are prevented from discussing personnel matters. Blog coverage and OC Weekly articles have indicated Carter performed poorly, broke laws and played up to the teachers union instead of responding to trustee directives. Particularly revealing was a Mar. 3 OC Weekly article, “In Your Facial,” describing Carter’s accepting gifts from an architectural firm. Following his getaway at a spa, Carter pushed for a lucrative contract for the business that paid for it. Ten days after the trip, Carter recommended that the firm, WLC Architects, should become the district’s facilities master planner. WLC then received contracts to design theaters at three district high schools.

OC Weekly published a follow-up article on Mar. 11, http://www.ocweekly.com/2009-03-12/news/capistrano-unified-school-district-woodrow-carter/ The article includes details of spa getaways and subsequent contracts with WLC, along with Carter’s failure to report gifts as required by law.

When some CUSD parents made public comments during recent meetings about Carter’s stormy job history and current issues in which he demonstrated poor judgment, they were shouted down by union members. Even some parents were looped in to supporting Carter, although they were unable to articulate any example of his leadership or benefit to the district. OC Register reporter Scott Martindale’s articles often looked more like reprints of CUSD press releases than investigative reporting.

As Carter’s response to being fired for material breach of contract, he indicated that he would sue the district.

A CUSD parent who has closely followed Carter’s history commended board members for having patience to gather information after putting him on leave. She said, “There’s more to come on Carter.