SRA Meets on June 21

Saddleback Republican Assembly will host Capistrano Unified School District Trustee Ellen Addonizio as its guest speaker on Thurs., June 21, at 7:00 p.m. The group meets at the Norman P. Murray Community Center, 24932 Veterans Way, Mission Viejo.

Addonizio will present information about CUSD’s financial status. Recent developments include the district’s $50-million deficit and an advance of money due from the state to pay bills for June.

A longtime Mission Viejo resident, Addonizio is a certified public accountant. She was first elected as a CUSD trustee in 2006. She and two other candidates successfully ran on a reform platform after district officials spent $50 million on a 126,000-sq.-ft. headquarters in San Juan Capistrano. The reform-minded board maintained a balanced budget until after the November 2010 election when union-backed trustees took control as the new majority.

SRA President Dale Tyler described the program for the June 21 meeting. He said, “I asked Trustee Addonizio to speak on CUSD finances, particularly the union contract.”

Tyler indicated attendees will learn how the district went so quickly from having a balanced budget to going broke. Tyler added, “CUSD is one of the largest employers in south Orange County, and the impact would be widespread if it couldn’t meet payroll.”

The union-supported board majority faces adding furlough days and other ways to cut instruction if it chooses to preserve the union’s pay schedule and pension benefits, including more than $200,000 per year for a union president.

SRA meets on the third Thursday of each month except July, August and December. Meetings are open to the public, and admission is free of charge.

For additional information, contact Tyler at (949) 360-1717 or edt@tylerent.com