Erin Kutnick’s Blog

BEYOND THE BLACKBOARD – January 11, 2009

New Year Off to a Bad Start

By Erin Kutnick

This was supposed to be a year of change and new beginnings but the Capistrano Unified school District Trustees have started things off all wrong.  Despite their many comments to the press stating they were not going to fire the Superintendent, they did indeed vote 6-1 with Trustee Bryson dissenting to place the Superintendent on Administrative leave on January 6, 2009.  The move came after the second special meeting that drew hundreds of participants in support of keeping the Superintendent in his post.

Since former Superintendent James Fleming retired two and half years ago, the district has seen five superintendents and Carter has only been on the job for about 16 months.  He was originally hired as an interim and early last year, trustees voted to make him permanent.  That’s when the first signs of trouble began as questions were raised after the trustees approved his contract in closed session rather than in the open session.  They later corrected that move but a small number of critics were still not satisfied.

The district has been a hot-bed of turmoil and controversy for the past few years and most parents, teachers and community members recognized and appreciated the calming influence of Superintendent Carter immediately after he began work in September of 2007.  He came to CUSD committed to “turning the ship around” and won the support and respect of staff, parents, community and teachers by visiting schools, being visible in the community and accessible to all parents.  By all accounts, Carter has worked very hard to rebuild the integrity and the confidence in the district.

Among the many changes he made, Carter began the sub-committee process to help restore the transparency and allow more input into important decisions.  Those meetings were highly effective until last September when three of the “reform” trustees violated the brown act at one of those meetings.  Instead of correcting their action as required by law, they cancelled them going forward leaving the community without an important informational venue.  The Brown Act violation has led to a lawsuit that is still pending against the trustees.  Carter also held a series of budget workshops last spring to inform and involve the public in the tough decisions that affected so many with last year’s cuts.

In order to keep the cuts away from the classroom, Carter reorganized much of the district staff moving many administrators back into either the classroom or to school site administration jobs.  He has hired a new deputy Superintendent of Business, Ron Lebs, who has worked very hard to make sure the financial house is in order.  Carter promoted Eamonn O’Donovan to a position in the district in charge of Special Education.  The change there has been dramatic as lawsuits against the district have been cut in half in the last year with a new attitude and approach to providing services.

His success can certainly be measured by the numbers that came to support him at both the December 18 and January 6 special meetings.  Both times the room was packed with hundreds of parents, teachers, and community members who wanted to see the district move forward with Carter at the helm.  Speaker after speaker told the trustees of personal experiences and asked why a man who is so well like and doing such a good job should be under attack.

So far Trustees have been extremely tight-lipped about their decision only defending that they believe it to be in the best interest of the district.  They have sited no reasons or any concrete evidence to substantiate their decisions and that has left the community feeling betrayed and bewildered.  Since the board majority was gained by the recall backed candidates in June, the board has had three lawsuits filed against them, and many believe this latest move could result in another one.

The term “administrative leave” is just a synonym for “you’re fired” and almost assuredly the end for Carter.  The only technicality is negotiating the buy-out of his 3-year contract which could cost the district upwards of $700,000.  State law says he would get a minimum of 18 months but the district could be responsible for the entire amount.  This large amount of money was one of the many reasons the public did not support removing the Superintendent at this time.  Stability in leadership was another one.

After waiting more than four hours for the decision on Tuesday night, parents booed and hissed at the board when they heard the announcement.  The biggest frustration is the lack of honesty and transparency exhibited by a school board that ran on a platform promising that reform.  Stay tuned for more updates on school issues in Beyond the Blackboard.

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

Parents and community members alike were stunned and horrified on Tuesday night when the school board voted 6-1 with Anna Bryson dissenting to put highly-respected and well-liked Superintendent Woodrow Carter on paid administrative leave.

The move came only 2 days into the new school year and just 2 1/2 weeks after the last special meeting in December.  Board President had told the papers that the “rumors” about firing Carter were blown out of proportion but apparently she was not telling the truth since that is exactly what they did.

The board room was packed with a crowd of over 500 people.  Parents and community members were angry and disturbed by yet another last minute meeting to “review the superintendent”.  The board limited public comments to only one hour leaving dozens of people without the opportunity to speak.  The board president also shuffled the cards making sure that the lone four speakers who came to criticize Carter all had an opportunity to speak — another move that upset audience members.

As the night wore on, the crowd numbers diminished but there were still close to 150 people waiting when they finally emerged from closed session just before midnight.  All of the recall supporters were conspicously missing but of course they knew what the outcome would be since they had orchestrated it.

After the announcement, the crowd erupted into boos and started chanting RECALL, RECALL, RECALL.

This week, I’ve had dozens of calls and emails from parents who are livid at the arrogance of the board.  People cannot believe that this board would not listen to the hundreds of parents who showed up at the two meetings, won’t answer any questions as to why Carter was placed on leave and everyone wants to know why they are so intent on items that are not about education and the children.

It’s all pretty obvious that the board president doesn’t like Carter but she was a very poor choice for President.  Her parliamentary procedures are horrible, her people skills abysmal and her communication almost nil.  Had the board done the smart thing in December, they would have appointed Trustee Bryson as board president.  She could have run a far better meeting and been able to get along with the Superintendent.  Now our entire district suffers because Ellen is on an ego trip and can’t get along with anyone.

If another recall happens, she should be the first to go!

Just when you think that our district may have turned the corner.  It’s a new year and it’s finally time to start focusing on education but the Board of Trustees won’t allow that.  President Addonizio has yet again called a last minute special board meeting to “evaluation the superintendent”.

After the December 18 meeting when hundreds showed up to support the superintendent, she had the gall to tell reporters that it was all a “big misunderstanding”.  Obviously not.  They are still looking for a way to fire Carter and get out of the legal obligations.  Never mind any ethics or what might be in the best interest of the kids, apparently it’s all about them.

Most people I know think it’s okay if the school board and the superintendent aren’t in each other’s pockets.  There’s a balance of power there if they don’t always agree and really it’s up to the constituents.

But this school board is drunk on their own power and listening to their puppeteers.  They are wasting all kinds of time and resources on things that aren’t a problem and ignoring the things that are.

And what could have possible happened in the past 18 days to warrant another special meeting?  If they want to continue to “evaluate” the superintendent surely that could have been done during closed session next Monday night.  Why the big rush?  Is there something big on the agenda for next week?  Something that they want to have total control over?  something that they want to maybe do “away from the public scrutiny”?

All I know is that the new board has done a terrible job of communicating with us (the constituents), with the local papers, the staff, the teachers, and the Superintendnet.  I give them a big fat F!