State of the Capo School District




	State of the Capo School District Very little information reaches the public about the Capo school district’s grim situation. Here are a few financial nuggets to jolt readers about the state of the district: CUSD will have to cut $30 million for the 2012-2013 budget by June 30, 2012. CUSD will have to identify an additional $10 million in cuts (because it must plan for November taxes not passing). The total that will have to be identified is $40 million in cuts. Salary and Benefits are now 92 percent of the CUSD budget. (CUSD has declining enrollment, so this number may go even higher.) Other financial impacts that most constituents don’t know: CUSD has a $70 million TRANs loan (Tax and Revenue Anticipation Notes, the loan taken out to cover the deferments owed by the state and are due to be paid in May 2012) CUSD had to take an additional $30 million TRANs loan which will cross over fiscal years so when they go to the county for the 2012/13 TRANs loan they will still have the $30 million loan on the books. (This is uncharted territory for CUSD.) (By the way, it was on the agenda in January as $25 million and grew to $30 million without much questioning from the board except from Trustees Ellen Addonizio and Sue Palazzo.) Redevelopment Agency -- the state could send this back as General Funds, which means Mission Viejo taxes may go toward more salary and benefits for the unions and not to capital improvements. We just don't know at this point what the state will do. Mission Viejo was passing through $1.4 million per year from the MV RDA and those funds had to be spent on capital improvements for MV schools. The RDA has been dissolved and the state is taking the money. The amount or how it will be sent back to the schools is unknown, but funds are not probably going to be designated for MV school capital improvements or MV schools. Again, the MV taxpayer will be paying for school improvements in other areas. Mello-Roos (this is an Aliso Viejo-Mission Viejo Mello Roos, but Aliso Viejo got more than its share) paid for the Aliso Viejo schools and $17 million was used to fund a portion of the District Office. Measure A - Nearly 1/3 of the bond was used to pay for a portion of the San Juan Hills High School land and a portion was used to improve Arroyo Vista K-8 in RSM (a city that pays zero in Measure A). Now, apparently, our MV RDA will go to schools outside of Mission Viejo. Trustee Areas: With the redrawing of lines and the board’s approval of Map J, Trustees Sue Palazzo and Ellen Addonizio are both in Area 6. Palazzo cannot run for reelection in November because Addonizio occupies Area 6, which now extends south into San Juan Capistrano. Children First (read union) stated their primary goal was removing Palazzo from the board and they divided up cities to make it happen. (See the email below.) When Addonizio leaves in 2014, the trustee representing Capistrano Valley High School in Mission Viejo could be from SJC, so the city of Mission Viejo, with a population of nearly 100,000, will have no representative for its high school, CVHS. Map J splits Mission Viejo in two, with Trustee Lynn Hatton covering the northern area and Rancho Santa Margarita. Most of Mission Viejo is in Area 7, but the high school MV students attend is in Area 2. Mission Viejo residents should ask what kind of representation they have on the CUSD board. Following the union-driven campaign in 2010 to get a majority on the board of trustees, why should anyone expect accountability except to the union? Two trustees (Anna Bryson and John Alpay) who portray themselves as conservative Republicans generally vote with others supporting the union. Alpay (a contract attorney who also is on the Orange County Republican Central Committee) voted on a contract sight unseen. Vickie Soderberg (the teachers union president) is heard to be retiring, and Alpay voted to give her (along with certificated, non-management staff) an early retirement bonus without the staff presenting any data and with no contract to view. Addonizio had to drag the cost of this program out of the CUSD staff. The cost of the retirement bonus program is $2 million a year for five years – a total of $10 million. The board action gave administration the right to authorize the contract. Addonizio asked to see the contract, and she was told “it is just like any other contract and it would come back to the board later.” Following is an email from Chris Corpi/Children's First (read union). Read what he says about removing Trustee Palazzo. (This is political payback, and Trustees Anna Bryson and John Alpay voted in favor of preventing a conservative Republicans from running for reelection with their support for Map J.) From: chriskorpi@aim.com Date: December 30, 2011 12:33:56 PM HST To: chriskorpi@aol.com Subject: Happy New Year from Chris Korpi and your team at Children First! Greetings and Happy New Year!! There is an important election finance filing deadline tomorrow. We need to show everyone in CUSD that we continue to stand in support of our teachers, the children that attend our public schools and their parents......and that we are defenders of public education. You can be certain that people will be analyzing our election finance reports to see how prepared we are to support the re-election of CUSD Trustee President Dr. Gary Pritchard and Vice President John Alpay and that we are ready to elect two new members of the board. One of those new members will be replacing Sue Palazzo!! Removing Palazzo is my personal New Years resolution. Will you help me in this effort? Your election team is in place and our strategies are set. As a partner in our efforts I am asking you to do two things before New Years: 1) Make a donation before our filing deadline by clicking on this web site: http://capounifiedchildrenfirst.org/donate.php Any amount will help from $10 to $10,000 2) Plan to join all of your friends at Cosmos Italian Kitchen on Thursday night January 12th. Cosmos is located at: 23411 Aliso Viejo Pkwy # A Aliso Viejo, CA 92656949) 448-9040. The times for the social is from 5:30 - 8:30 and the $20 charge includes light food and one drink with all of the proceeds going to the election and Children First. I look forward to seeing all of you at Cosmos on the 12th and working with you in the upcoming election. Have a safe and awesome New Years! Your friend Chris Following is a reminder of who started the “Parents for Local Control,” which became Children First. They like to say that the union isn’t involved. Below are the proponents who signed the first document to recall conservative Trustees Ken Maddox and Mike Winsten. It is understood that Chris Corpi is the domestic partner or in a relationship with a SCHS counselor From the Proponents who signed the First Notice to Recall Kevin Murphy Frank Thomas- Larkin. His wife Gayle retired CUSD (25 years in district as of 1999) Lucille McCann, retired, her husband was a teacher for 12 years at Santa Ana College Edwin Neely, retired Bergeson Principal Ron Dempsey, retired CUSD administrator Mary Ellen Storm Pete Espinosa- former CUSD trustee, Capistrano Children's First spokesman, Saddleback College teacher Richard Broberg- CUEA Grievance committee member James R Sigafoos –his son is a former teacher at Tesoro. Wife Kathleen teaches at SCHS Robert Benson Second notice to recall proponents Truman Benedict - retired educator who moved to San Clemente in 1949 and after whom the elementary school is named, Benedict has played an integral role in establishing and building San Clemente’s schools. Pete Epinosa - former CUSD trustee, Capistrano Children First spokesman, Saddleback College teacher James Sigafoos- married to a SCHS teacher Peter H. Ditto - educator John Alpay- Republican now on the GOP Central Committee; supports union as a CUSD trustee Gail Benda- retired CUSD teacher Judy Heidel Susan M. Goggins Thomas E. Coffin Michael J. Merrifield, (age 64) Saddleback College teacher, South OC Community College Faculty Association vice president