CUSD Update

A popular economic plan, “kicking the can down the road,” is being applied by Capo Unified School District. The district is facing a $26 million shortfall. Buying time isn’t the best solution, but the board’s majority members decided to do what’s best for the union instead of what’s best for students, parents and taxpayers.

Pro-union emails circulated recently, trying to raise money to add another union-backed trustee in the November 2012 election. Apparently, it isn’t enough for the union to have only three guaranteed votes on the board, plus the votes of two others who generally support the union in a 5-2 split.

Patch.com does an excellent job of covering Capo school district issues. Patch reporter Penny Arevalo’s articles about CUSD generally appear in the San Juan Capistrano edition of Patch. Even when CUSD’s administrators try to hide the bad news, Arevalo finds it.

For example, a Patch article describes how majority members on the board voted during closed session, rewarding the teachers union $9 million with a “giveback” following the election last November of the three new pro-union trustees to the board. Arevalo’s search of public records shows how a district official attempted to tamp down publicity, as Patch reported: http://sanjuancapistrano.patch.com/articles/capo-had-wanted-to-minimize-publicity-about-teacher-pay

Information provided by the two reader comments below show the great disservice by the new board members. How many people in CUSD are aware of what took place?

Reader response:

 “It appears CUSD wanted to keep the union givebacks quiet because it doesn't have the money to pay for the givebacks. CUSD has tacitly admitted that the additional funding that allegedly triggered contract restoration has been deferred to the next fiscal year (assuming Brown & demos don't defer the payment longer). Simply put, CUSD gave union givebacks without first having received the money to do so and while facing having to cut millions. It is now in the absurd position of having to cut its budget by the dollar amount of union givebacks it has provided. In other words, CUSD's deficit has been increased by the dollar amount (roughly $9,000,000) of the Union givebacks even though CUSD was already facing having to cut millions from its budget. Now CUSD is scrambling to obtain bridge financing to cover the gaping hole in its budget. In the real world, the CUSD administration and the Board members who conspired to give back millions that CUSD didn"t need to give back and that it doesn't have would have been promptly removed. Instead, they remain and approximate 350 employees, a large majority of which are teachers, will be laid off. As a consequence, programs will be slashed and class sizes will be increased dramatically. Of course, taking money out of the classroom and giving it to the unions is really ‘all about our kids.’ Maybe our kids would get a better shake if it wasn't ‘always about them.’”

The second reader comment provides an insightful summary:

• CUEA poured hundreds of thousands of dollars into the last election to get their candidates elected.
• At the very first meeting of the union board, in closed session they violated the Brown Act to restore salaries as a payoff for their campaign contributions.
• The union board then denied that they voted to restore salaries.
• Walton [CUSD staff member] sought to hide this action with his "confidential press release". He also facilitated secret deliberations between board members by bcc-ing the board (more Brown Act violations).
• When asked by Patch for public documents to clarify the situation, CUSD said this public information came with a $270,000 price tag.
• The board held another meeting (that was probably also a violation of the Brown Act) to reaffirm a vote it supposedly never took
• In the face of millions of dollars of further cuts, the union board is continuing to pay off special interest groups in CUSD.
• There is definitely a strategy in play here and it doesn't favor the students or the community.

Voters became confused last November over a popular slogan, “throw the bums out.” The union spent more than $300,000 to get its candidates elected, and the voters “threw the bums in.” Whether or not constituents have children in CUSD, nearly everyone knows something is wrong with the district.