CUSD Update

The next Capo school board meeting will be Tues., Sept. 15.

Recent newspaper headlines include two former Capo superintendents – James Fleming and A. Woodrow Carter – who await court dates. Fleming’s criminal trial is scheduled to begin Oct. 13 after being delayed seven times. A jury trial to determine whether Carter is entitled to back pay could begin on June 7, 2010. Carter was fired in March 2009.

Fleming and former assistant superintendent Susan McGill face felony charges regarding the creation of Enemies Lists. Some litigants whose names appeared on the Enemies Lists recently settled lawsuits with the district. A participant in the recall effort commented, “At least with the lawsuits, there are results. I’m interested in seeing what will happen in the next phase, where the Registrar of Voters office and Neal Kelley are named in the lawsuits. Unless information comes out in Fleming’s trial, it might be the public’s last opportunity to find out who persuaded Kelley to break the law and allow CUSD officials to view signatures on the recall petitions.”

Regarding Carter’s lawsuit against CUSD, a Sept. 4 OC Register article stated that a jury could be asked to decide whether or not Carter should receive $490,000 in severance pay after the district fired him. The district says it owes Carter nothing, and he was dismissed as an insubordinate employee who tried to influence an election and double-bill the district for travel expenses. Carter also made “adjustments” to his contract without the full board’s approval, giving himself 18 months’ severance pay if he were fired.

For several months, the board appeared to be split over firing Carter. By the time the board voted in March, the decision to dismiss him was unanimous. The district issued a 54-page report listing the reasons for his termination.