CUSD Update

The effort to recall two Capo school district trustees is on the November 2 ballot. Those leading the charge to recall Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Lopez-Maddox are trying to explain why the trustees should be replaced.

Union members (teachers and other district employees) can’t publicly mention their support of the recall to protect their paychecks. There’s no cause to remove trustees who cut teachers’ salaries as a last resort in balancing the budget.

A settlement of lawsuits has become a diversionary battle cry in the current recall effort. This issue resulted when the old regime of ex-Supt. James Fleming created an “Enemies List” of CUSD constituents. The list included parents who organized the 2005 effort to recall all seven of Fleming’s hand-picked trustees. Also on the list were children of the recall supporters. No one should be surprised when parents take great offense over their children becoming targets of school administrators.

Public agencies often settle with litigants to avoid costly trials, particularly when a case has merit. Is anyone suggesting the district should have gone to trial with those on the Enemies List?

The settlement payout was $653,350. First, the district’s insurance company paid 100 percent of the settlement. The district had a $100,000 deductible, which the district paid directly to the law firms defending the cases after then-Supt. Carter sent the cases to the insurance company.

Somehow, the facts have become lost in the current recall effort. The old regime acted illegally and irresponsibly, spending tax dollars on politics and targeting children. The current board of trustees demonstrated no favoritism or special treatment toward those on the list in settling lawsuits brought about by multiple families.

The attorney for the district’s insurance company stated publicly that his firm had recommended the settlement after mediation with a retired Court of Appeal Justice selected by the insurance company. The reason was the evidence showed the conduct of the defendants (school administrators) was indefensible, entitling the plaintiffs to substantial damages for violations of their civil rights. If the trustees had not agreed to the settlement negotiated by the insurance company, that would have been a breach of the insurance policy contract, meaning CUSD would have lost its insurance coverage for any judgment. If that happened, the district would be on the hook for paying for its continued attorneys’ fees to defend the case and pay any resulting judgment from the district’s General Fund.  

Ex-Supt. Jim Fleming and former CUSD Trustees Marlene Draper, Shelia Benecke, Shelia Henness, Duane Stiff, John Casabianca, Crystal Kochendorfer and Mike Darnold were the people whose conduct created this liability. They were all defendants, and they all approved of the settlements and signed the settlement agreement. 

The reason this has become part of the recall argument is because the settling plaintiffs were almost entirely politically conservatives who worked hard ousting the old Board and Fleming and electing the new Board. The plaintiffs are those who refuse to accept the continued domination and plunder of CUSD’s finances by the public employee union leaders.

A CUSD constituent added, “The union leaders breached the public trust this past spring by calling a three-day strike for the reason of collecting recall signatures to try to take over the CUSD board with their own slate of union-approved trustee candidates.”

The lawsuits were publicly explained in open session by the insurance company (ASCIP) general counsel Robert Feldhake. He stated at the 3/29/2010 meeting in open session that he personally calculated the district’s exposure on this case to be in excess of $10 million.