CUSD Update

Blog readers have been asking about the outcome of a signature drive to recall two Capo school district trustees, Mike Winsten and Ken Lopez-Maddox. The signature drive began March 1.

Pete Espinosa, who appears to be a spokesman for the recall of Winsten and Lopez-Maddox, indicated the signatures were given to the Registrar of Voters on May 14. According to Espinosa’s letter to the RoV, the recall group (Parents for Local Control) submitted 32,982 signatures to recall Winsten and 32,803 signatures to recall Lopez-Maddox. The RoV has 31 business days (until June 28) to verify nearly 66,000 signatures.

To qualify for the November ballot, approximately 22,000 valid signatures are needed for each trustee. Approximately 67 percent would have to be valid – a relatively low percentage.

Observers who followed the process said they knew of only two instances in which anyone saw signature gatherers working at storefronts. In March, two signature gatherers were working in front of Trader Joe’s in Mission Viejo, and in April, two were at a storefront in Dana Point. Parents said teachers had petitions in their classrooms and were asking parents who visited the school to sign the petitions.

A CUSD constituent commented, “The signature drive was unusual. They got nearly 33,000 signatures per trustee in record time, yet no one saw them do it. If they assigned each of their union members a quota of 20 signatures per trustee, that would have been one way. However, their press releases claimed that 80 percent of the signatures were gathered by parents. They said they used no paid signature gatherers, and that alone is unusual. Before the signature drive began, their press releases said they had thousands of volunteers. After it began, the press releases said they had hundreds of volunteers. Having several hundred volunteers each get 100 signatures is still a tall order. If I knew anyone who got signatures, I would ask how they did it.”

As another topic in CUSD, the board of trustees introduced the district’s new superintendent, Dr. Joe Farley, with the following comment from Anna Bryson, who serves as board president:

“Welcome to Dr. Joe Farley. Our school board’s search for a permanent leader, which ranged across the United States and reviewed over 40 candidates, has come to a happy conclusion. Close to home, in the Anaheim Union School District, we found a Superintendent of exceptional integrity, who had walked a district through a $200-million bond issue that had been mishandled. His personal commitment led to five years of consistent growth in excellence in every level of education in the Anaheim district.”

The rest of the statement can be found at http://capistranoinsider.typepad.com/beyond_the_blackboard/2010/06/another-column-brysons-first.html