Erin Kutnick’s Blog

Today several hundred people showed up for the last minute special meeting where the evaluation of Superintendent Carter was on the agenda.  There were approximately 50 speakers and the public comments took 3 hours.  The overwhelming majority of those speakers spoke in favor and support of the Superintendent and his work in the district.

After sweating it out for about an hour and a half, trustees finally emerged from closed session to state that no action had been taken.  Good news for all involved.  We keep our superintendent.

Of course today was supposed to be a Trustee training with roles and responsibilities.  do the trustees really want to get out of learning what they are supposed to do????  Probably not but they never did get to that business.

Those words have been spoken more than once by recall leader Tom Russell and were reiterated last week at the swearing in of the four new trustees.  But whose agenda?  Clearly not that of the parents and those who care deeply about public education.  The Recall Committee has an agenda and the first part is about to go down today.

Yesterday, board president Addonizzio, who is tightly controlled by the recall committee, called a special board meeting to evaluate the Superintendent.  Also on the agenda is potential dismissal of public employee.  The last time this was on the agenda, they tried to fire the Superintendent with no cause.  And because they had not given him warning, it was a violation of the brown act.  This time, they sent him the letter, but they still have no cause.

The last thing our district needs right now is another superintendent.  We have had too much instability over the past three years and with seven trustees that don’t know what they are doing and the huge turn-over at the administration building, we need to have someone in charge who knows what is going on.

But that’s not part of the recall committee’s agenda.  They want the superintendent out of their way.  He has the best interest of children in the forefront and they do not.

We are facing a huge financial crisis and to have to go to the expense and trouble of hiring a new superintendent right now is not the best use of time or money.  Not to mention if they fire the Superintendent with no cause, they will have to buy out his contract or face yet another lawsuit that we can’t afford.

The meeting is at 1:00 today and all members of the public are encouraged to attend and watch our new school board in action.

BEYOND THE BLACKBOARD – December 14, 2008

New Board; New Era?

By Erin Kutnick

December 8, 2008 marked the swearing in of two new and two re-elected trustees in Capistrano Unified and now the work begins.  The seven-member board, all supported by the Recall Committee, will have some tough decisions to make in the coming months as the state continues to grapple with a billion dollar per month deficit.  These trustees have promised fiscal responsibility along with operating under openness and transparency.

Trustees had their first taste of the budget cuts on Monday when they had to approve $12.5 million in cuts for the 2009/2010 and 2010/2011 budgets to satisfy an Orange County Department of Education mandate for a three-year balanced budget.

These cuts were mostly symbolic though as the future budget years are not finalized until the actual money is allocated from the state.  The bulk of the cuts were accomplished by freezing salaries for all staff for the next two years.  Salaries and benefits make up about 85% of the over $400 million budget.

The real work will begin next month when the Governor announces his proposed budget for the 2009/2010 year.  All projections are that next year’s budget will be even worse than this year’s and that education, making up over 40% of the state’s budget, will take their share of the cuts.  In addition to next year’s dismal budget news, the legislature is still grappling with how to meet current budget shortfalls and the Governor’s call for mid-year cuts is still being negotiated.

Meetings among the “Big 5” however are not going well.  The Big 5 is the leadership in the legislature that is made up of the Governor, the majority and minority leaders from the Assembly, and the majority and minority leaders from the Senate.  They cannot seem to come to any agreement on what is needed to get the state’s finances in order.  Democrats are calling for tax increases and Republicans are holding out for “business-friendly” changes and spending cuts.  Until Sacramento comes to a consensus, our local municipalities can only begin to prepare for the impending cuts but no final decisions can be made.

Another important item was on the agenda Monday night: a strategic plan.  Our district has not had a strategic plan or vision for quite a while.  Years ago in December, trustees would approve the Major District Objectives for the upcoming year thereby setting the goals and ideals for the Superintendent and staff to follow.  That has not been done lately and our district is in need of that type of direction.  Superintendent Carter has been advocating for such a plan since he arrived some fifteen months ago.

The plan would involve all parents, teachers, and stakeholders in formulating the vision of our district and where we need to go.  This plan will become critical in the upcoming budget crisis.  Having the district’s plan and objectives clearly stated will help keep the focus of our limited resources on achieving those goals.  Several of the trustees voted against the plan on Monday and it almost did not pass.  Fortunately, it did pass and will move forward.

2009 promises to be an interesting year for all involved.  We will all be watching this new board to see if they can deliver on their campaign promises and waiting to see how the budget “gloom and doom” will impact us locally.  Join me next time for more Beyond the Blackboard as we continue to watch the budget and other important issues within CUSD.

Erin Kutnick is the mother of three children, active in PTA, Athletic Boosters and other community organizations.

I attended the CUSD board meeting on Monday night where the new trustees and the 7-member recall board were all in power for the first time since the election.  I spoke during oral communications asking the newly elected trustees about the promises that they made on their ballot statements to the voters.  None of the four trustees who were elected attended any public events prior to the election and did not answer questions regarding their plans, goals, or ideas.  I felt it only appropriate that they share those plans now that they are elected.

Unfortunately, they did not agree and not one of them answered a single question.  Part of honestly, transparency and integrity is answering questions from the public and so far…NOTHING!  I will continue to ask the tough questions and I encourage all members of the public to attend board meetings and hold our trustees accountable to the students of our district.

The latest word on the street that is undoubtedly tied to the recall committee’s agenda has to do with boundaries.  But this time it’s not just moving kids from one school to another, no it’s much bigger than that.   This time they want to move an entire city.   A recently re-elected councilman in Mission Viejo is actively petitioning Saddleback Valley Unified to agree to incorporate all of the city of Mission Viejo into their school district.  This would annex them out of Capistrano Unified taking several thousand students, school sites, and budget dollars.  While not an easy process, it is one that is quite possible and would mean a devastating loss in ADA dollars to CUSD.

The fact that he is working on Saddleback trustees first gives a definite impression that he believes CUSD trustees are already on board with the idea.  If both school boards agree, then it’s just a matter of hammering out the details.  The change does not require any vote of the electorate.  Stay tuned for more information as it becomes available.