Erin Kutnick’s Blog

The election is only one week away!

While most of the focus is on the Presidential election, it is actually your local elections that affect you the most.  That is why who you elect to your school board and your city council is very important.  Those who are elected should represent you and they should make the commitment to be available to you and listen to your concerns.  I am making that commitment to all constituents of CUSD.  I know that good governance comes from working together and I want to be part of a district that is based on the principles of a representative government.

We are at a critical cross-roads in our district and this election is very important as it will decide our leaders for the next 4 years.  Voters have a choice and they will need to decide if they want independent, caring candidates who will work on behalf of the children or do they want the “recall-backed” candidates who have shown they want to take control of our district to further personal and political agendas.

The children and their education should be the focus of our trustees!  Please support a balanced school board and vote for me, Andrea Kooiman, and Duane Stiff.

I am only one; but I am still one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something. I will not refuse to do the something I can do. ~ Helen Keller

This week I have received several e-mails and comments regarding my position on Proposition 8.  I really appreciate the open dialogue and believe that it is so important for parents to have the opportunity to share their concerns.  I want to be the kind of Trustee that is always available to listen to parents.

With regards to Proposition 8, I think that most parents are very concerned about how/what will change  in our schools should it not pass.

Any change to our curriculum would need to be approved by our school board of trustees and all parents would have the opportunity to “weigh in” prior to that.  I fully respect parent’s rights to have a say in that curriculum and that is why it’s important to elect Trustees who are respectful of parent’s rights and their opinions.

I do not think it is appropriate to teach gay marriage (pro or con) in school.  I think that our current sex education program is meeting the needs of our students and we do not need to make changes to it.  When children are old enough to be curious about different types of relationships, that is a discussion that can be had at home with families.

The battle over Proposition 8 has emotions running high on both sides of the issue.  I’ve recently received several questions on my stance on Prop. 8 and my plans as a potential school board member.

Let me first say that I don’t think any school board trustee should be imposing their personal views or agendas on public school children.  I would also like to note that I do not believe that Prop. 8 is an education-related issue and I’m disappointed that CTA has chosen to involve themselves in a non-education issue.

I am supported by CUEA, the local teacher’s association.  CUEA has not taken any stance on Prop. 8 and even though CTA has, I must make it clear that I am not endorsed by them nor do I support their agenda.

Whether Prop. 8 passes or fails, I do not see any reason to make any changes in our school district curriculum or policies.  The state Education Code will be unaffected by passage or failure of Prop. 8 and as such our local schools should remain unaffected.  It is not a K-12 issue and should not be made one.

My goal as a trustee is to provide the best possible educational experience to students in our district and that is where my focus will be.

Please support a fair and balanced school board:  Vote for Andrea Kooiman, Erin Kutnick, and Duane Stiff on November 4!

For some more information about Ed Code and Prop. 8, please read this article:http://www.ocregister.com/articles/marriage-gay-prop-2201297-school-education

Another bizarre board meeting at CUSD.  Last night there was only one item on the agenda; the response to the letter from CUEA regarding several Brown Act Violations in August and September.  The district has denied three of the claims but did admit that Trustee Addonnizio violated the brown act during the September 16 sub-committee meeting.  The “reform” trustees just couldn’t deal with it though.  They spent an hour trying to figure out how to “correct & cure” which is the remedy for violating the Brown Act without actually having to admit they violated it.  It didn’t work out well.

In the end, they just cancelled all future sub-committee meetings and that was it.  These meetings were all part of the new and improved honesty and transparency committed by the board and now they are gone.  In the space of 2 weeks, the board has gone from 6 meetings a month down to 1.

The most amazing part is that none of what they did last night actually addresses the meeting of the 16th.  They took care of the “cure” but not the “correct”.  CUEA has not come out with their response and I certainly hope that the trustees have not opened the district up to a lawsuit over this.  Kudos to Trustees Bryson and Stiff for voting no.

It’s clear that its time for some new faces on the school board and we need to have some balance of different viewpoints.  Please vote for Kooiman, Kutnick, and Stiff on November 4.

Finally the OC Register is covering the school board race.  Yes, I know there are lots of very important issues on the ballot but here we are only 2 weeks away and this is the first of their coverage.  Anyway, the three candidates endorsed by both the teachers and the support staff in CUSD (Andrea Kooiman, Erin Kutnick, and Duane Stiff) made the front page of the local section in today’s paper.

The article doesn’t really go into the depth of the issues facing our district especially the “power grab” by the recall committee to control all 7 votes on the school board, but it does bring things to the forefront.  Wasn’t the 7-0 voting record why they wanted to recall in the first place?  Hmmmm.

It’s time for some independent thinkers to start representing the interests of the children and it’s definitely time to move past all this “recall” drama.  They set the wheels in motion, but now it’s time to let the real change occur.  They need to quit trying to manipulate the public with spin and propaganda.  Parents and  teachers are way smarter than that.

If you believe in “fair and balanced” then you would have to agree that a school board with half recall-backed candidates and half independent thinkers might be just the balance and mix we need to truly address the issues and get our district back on track!

Vote for the children:  Kooiman, Kutnick, and Stiff!

I’ve been getting e-mails for days from people who attended the candidate’s forum on Thursday and I thought I would share some of them here (without their names) in case they did not want to be blogged about…

You are amazing! Thank you for running. I was very impressed with your speaking and presence at the forum on Thursday.

I couldn’t find an email address on your site - but I just wanted to tell you THANK YOU for showing up last night! (unlike 5 of the other ‘candidates’) I so appreciate the 3 of you who did the right thing - you appeared!

I was very impressed with you at the Candidate Forum. I would like to get a sign for my yard. I’d also be willing to pass out fliers. If you have something you can attach to an e-mail, I could print some to pass out to my friends. As a very involved parent, I want to make sure that everyone sees that you are definitely the most qualified candidate. I believe that you are what we need on our school board.

Thank you, and I am very excited about your candidacy, as well as Andrea’s. You both handled yourselves with poise, diplomacy and tact last night. I have known Dr. Stiff for several years and support him as well.

Erin — Just wanted to say that you did a great job last night.  All of you came off as very knowledgeable, honest, and willing to work hard.

I just returned from the League of Women’s Voter forum. I was very impressed with your responses to all the questions. YOU HAVE MY VOTE. My wife and I look forward to seeing you elected as a CUSD trustee.

 

The Candidate’s Forum was a great event.  It would have been even better if all of the candidates had shown up but it was well attended nonetheless.  There were lots of good questions and every candidate had to answer every question.  The ridiculous accusations of the league being biased were completely unfounded as all of the questions came from the audience.

Part of running a good, clean campaign is being in the public eye and available to answer questions.  Voters have a right to know where you stand on issues.  You may not always agree with the answers but it’s better to know than be in the dark.

You can rest assured that if you vote for Erin Kutnick, Andrea Kooiman, and Duane Stiff, you will have trustees that will be available to you.

Monday, October 20 is the last day to register to vote in the November 4 election.  If you have not already registered, you will need to turn in your registration no later than Monday.  Find out more at http://www.ocvote.com/vote/howtoregister.htm or there is a direct link on my website.  Make sure your voice is heard!

Don’t forget tonight is the League of Women Voter’s Candidates Forum. The forum begins at 7:00 p.m. and will be held at the community center next to Marco Forster Middle School in San Juan Capistrano. This forum is a good way to hear first-hand what the candidates for school board have to say about their qualifications and goals for the district.

Unfortunately you will not have the opportunity to hear from all of the candidates as five of them including all four recall-backed candidates will not be there. It is extremely important that voters be informed about their local candidates and this forum, which is completely non-partisan, is one of the best places to get this information.

Our local elected officials should be available to the constituents and that includes answering questions and making appearances before being elected. If candidates do not make themselves available to answer questions from the public BEFORE they are elected, where will they be AFTERWARDS?