Capo Tops State’s Large School Districts
by Ken Lopez Maddox, Trustee, CUSD

Capistrano Unified School District tops California’s large school districts, but powerful unions are attempting to take over the district on Election Day.

Student achievement in CUSD has soared to its highest levels. In fact, the State Superintendent of Public Education just announced CUSD was the State’s highest-achieving large school district, according to the state accountability system.

Just as impressive is our successful narrowing of the achievement gap that had existed in CUSD schools with large minority populations. San Juan Elementary increased their API 66 points, bringing them to 752. Marco Forster Middle School increased their API to 798. This is something we can all be proud of.

Our No. 1 ranking demonstrates CUSD has effective leaders.
CUSD’s API ranking is important because it provides parents, taxpayers and the state with objective proof our school district is providing a first-rate, excellent education to our 50,000 students.

CUSD’s ranking also provides voters with confirmation that your seven elected Reform Trustees have kept their promises and successfully brought positive change and reform to CUSD. Despite continuous opposition from union leaders, we have successfully:

• balanced the budget
• stopped deficit spending
• refused to increase taxes
• reduced bloated administration
• reduced union contract expenses by 10.1 percent
• enacted strong anti-nepotism policies
• created a district-wide facilities assessment
• promoted conservative fiscal policies and family values
• fought to keep smaller class sizes and to save every teacher's job

All this positive progress is now threatened.

Powerful union leaders and their supporters are campaigning to take control of our school district on Election Day – seeking to replace your existing conservative Reform Trustees with a new pro-union majority, and with their ballot initiative known as Measure H, to literally take away from every voter 6 of your 7 school board votes.

The teachers’ union and their allies do not want to be held accountable -- not to taxpayers and not to your elected Board representatives. In fact, the President of CUSD’s California School Employees Association just admitted on their union website they consider this election their chance to “elect their own bosses.”

Unions Are Seeking to Take Control of Your School District. 

Three of your Reform Trustees are up for re-election in November – the “ABC Reform Trustees” (Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen). Union sympathizers are campaigning aggressively to replace each of these well-respected trustees.

However, the union doesn’t just want to gain three seats – they want to gain control of the seven-member board in one single election. That is why they spent thousands of dollars to place an early recall election on the November ballot for two more of your Reform Trustees – CUSD Trustees Mike Winsten and myself.

As a result, if the union succeeds in electing at least four pro-union candidates to the Board, they will have effectively taken control of your school district in one election.

The teachers’ union has long controlled the district, placing their own salary, benefits and retirement packages before the best interests of our students.

You Can Help Stop the Union Takeover.

Voters will have a clear choice on Election Day – your conservative Reform Trustee incumbents or the Pro-Union challengers. We need a school board that is willing to stand up to these powerful unions. For the sake of each student and taxpayer in our district, I urge you to:

• Re-elect the “ABC Reform Trustees” (Addonizio, Bryson & Christensen).
• Vote NO on the Recall of Mike Winsten.
• Vote NO on the Recall of Ken Lopez Maddox.
• Vote NO on the Union’s “Measure H.”

Learn more: www.CUSDfacts.com

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