CUSD Reform Group Responds

The following press release was received last week regarding the union-backed effort to recall two members of the Capistrano Unified School District Board of Trustees.

The powerful public employee unions have commenced an orchestrated, multi-pronged attack against the seven Reform Trustees serving on the CUSD Board of Trustees. This attack is designed to undermine your Reform Trustees and all the progress they’ve made to restore honesty, integrity and accountability to the 9th largest school district in California. This is their plan:

First, in the middle of the nation’s worst economic crisis since the great depression, with the State of California buckling under the weight of unprecedented budget deficits that have crippled the ability of local cities and school districts to provide basic services to their constituents:

 2,200 Teachers Union members in Capistrano Unified abandoned their students and walked out on strike…and

 The powerful teachers union is backing a ballot initiative that would take away from every CUSD voter six of their seven votes (by allowing each voter to only vote in one Trustee District rather than “at large” for all seven Trustees).

Days later, the Teachers Union and other public employee unions were marching on Sacramento demanding that legislators increase your taxes.

Last week, union-backed activists turned in petition signatures seeking to recall and remove from office two of your popular and highly-successful Reform Trustees.

Excerpts from the OC Register article breaking the news:

Ploy by union: [Trustees] Lopez-Maddox and Winsten, who have adamantly defended their records, say they are being targeted by the district's influential teachers union, which has long opposed them and the rest of Capistrano's school board.

"The whole thing is just a ploy by the public employee teachers union to get the votes they want on the school board," Winsten said. "They are used to getting their way. I just wish they were honest about who they are and why they're doing this. I'm confident the voters in this district are always willing to vote to do what's right by the children and not by the union leadership."

Winsten said most of the recall leaders are teachers or are related to teachers. Parents for Local Control's treasurer, Gail Benda, is a retired Capistrano teacher, and according to the group's campaign finance filings, the single-largest contribution to the group so far this year – a loan for $2,000 – came from San Clemente resident Jim Sigafoos, whose wife is a Capistrano teacher

Other financial contributors from January to March include Capistrano teachers James Corbett, Krickette Frederick and Geno Dragovich.

[Reform Trustee Ken] Lopez-Maddox, who himself was brought to office in 2008 via a recall election, expressed doubts the recall election would qualify.

"Having been involved in signature gathering in the past, I doubt they've met the legal requirement for the number of valid signatures," Lopez-Maddox said. "I wouldn't be surprised to see that many of the signatures are fraudulent. We'll see what they turn out to be."

Read the article at: http://www.ocregister.com/news/recall-248848-capistrano-election.html

With the eyes of the nation watching to see who would prevail, the seven courageous Reform Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District in Southern California stood firm against the bullying tactics of the local teachers union, as well as the powerful California Teachers Association (CTA) and the National Education Association (NEA).

Congratulations to the seven courageous Reform Trustees on the CUSD School Board for standing firm and rejecting the unreasonable union demands. The teachers union strike is over. In the end, union leaders were forced to capitulate and end their strike without obtaining concessions on any of their principal demands. Reform leaders say it is a great victory for the students, parents and taxpayers of CUSD.