CUSD Update

On July 27, Saam Alikhani of Dana Point announced his candidacy for the Capo school board. As a resident of the district’s Area 4, he’ll be running against incumbent Anna Bryson in the November 2 election.

In a July 28 OC Register article about Alikhani’s candidacy, Dana Hills High School science teacher Norm Townsend suggests that voters should look at the depth of what Alikhani represents and what he’s done.

Saam Alikhani is 18 years old. Depth and accomplishments aside, a Capo mom responded, “I wouldn’t leave a teenager alone in the house for a weekend.”

CUSD has an operating budget of $364 million. Trustees are facing the challenges of budget deficits and deep cuts, and school board meetings are a battleground between the teachers union and reform-minded parents.

Alikhani served as the student representative on the Capo school board last year. The position provides an opportunity for one student from the district to sit on the dais with trustees. During conflicts, Alikhani has sided with union members.

The July 28 OCR article says Alikhani’s campaign will likely be bankrolled by the political organization Children First. According to the article, the teachers union was the primary source of funding for Children First candidates in the November 2008 election.

While the union might be sending a message that a child would do a better job than the incumbents, perhaps they couldn’t find anyone else to run against Bryson. The district is practically bankrupt, and more budget cuts are coming. The incumbents have balanced the budget and drawn the line with the union. They’ve endured behavior from union members who attacked them from the public microphone and marched on their homes.

Maybe no one could do a better job than the incumbents, and the union has made the job so unpleasant that almost no one else wants it.