Recall Campaign 2007
Message to the Fleming-era trustees of the CUSD
board: The people want you to resign
Oct 22, 2007 |
Permalink
Real-world
experience of a CUSD Recall signature
gatherer
By Michelle Russell, CUSD resident and CUSD reform volunteer
I am a CUSD resident, a CUSD Recall and ABC Reform volunteer and one of the parents whose name appears on the CUSD “enemies” list. Over the past three years I have worked as a petition gatherer in the campaigns to recall senior members of the CUSD Board of Trustees.
In that time, I have met thousands of people throughout the district who have given me a clear picture of how our communities really view CUSD – and it’s not the view that is generally portrayed by you and your staff during the many board meetings I have attended.
By Michelle Russell, CUSD resident and CUSD reform volunteer
I am a CUSD resident, a CUSD Recall and ABC Reform volunteer and one of the parents whose name appears on the CUSD “enemies” list. Over the past three years I have worked as a petition gatherer in the campaigns to recall senior members of the CUSD Board of Trustees.
In that time, I have met thousands of people throughout the district who have given me a clear picture of how our communities really view CUSD – and it’s not the view that is generally portrayed by you and your staff during the many board meetings I have attended.
People have
approached us disgusted with the conditions of their
schools and the lack of responsiveness by you.
Some have told us that they left the district or moved to private schools, and how happy they are to have finally “escaped” CUSD -- one of the worst experiences their families have endured.
Some even cried, including teachers who were too frightened to sign the recall petition for fear of retribution by you and your staff.
In three years of campaigning and petition gathering, I could count on the fingers of one hand those who were supportive of Jim Fleming. Virtually all were disgusted with this disgraced man, but many also knew that you, the Fleming-era trustees, were responsible, as well.
Most of the people we met had lost hope, but are now glad to sign the recall petitions -- glad that someone has stepped up to make positive changes for the children, parents and taxpayers of this district. They thank us all the time.
Your world in the new district headquarters isn’t real. It’s a ridiculous drama having little to do with the issues people really care about and what they really think about you. Actions speak louder than words, and when you continue to act in ways that put your interests before those of the children, the people know it, no matter what you say.
The reality is, they hate what you’ve done to this district for far too long. They are tired of hearing about, and enduring the numerous things you have done wrong. They are offended by your refusals to accept responsibility for you actions.
The people no longer trust you, and further attempts by you to conduct the people’s business in secret, rather than setting an example of openness, will only worsen the situation.
They want you to resign now, not later, to bring an end to your secrecy, dishonesty and lack of accountability. They want you to resign so that this district can heal and move on.
Please resign. It’s the best thing you can do for the children, parents and taxpayers of this district.
Some have told us that they left the district or moved to private schools, and how happy they are to have finally “escaped” CUSD -- one of the worst experiences their families have endured.
Some even cried, including teachers who were too frightened to sign the recall petition for fear of retribution by you and your staff.
In three years of campaigning and petition gathering, I could count on the fingers of one hand those who were supportive of Jim Fleming. Virtually all were disgusted with this disgraced man, but many also knew that you, the Fleming-era trustees, were responsible, as well.
Most of the people we met had lost hope, but are now glad to sign the recall petitions -- glad that someone has stepped up to make positive changes for the children, parents and taxpayers of this district. They thank us all the time.
Your world in the new district headquarters isn’t real. It’s a ridiculous drama having little to do with the issues people really care about and what they really think about you. Actions speak louder than words, and when you continue to act in ways that put your interests before those of the children, the people know it, no matter what you say.
The reality is, they hate what you’ve done to this district for far too long. They are tired of hearing about, and enduring the numerous things you have done wrong. They are offended by your refusals to accept responsibility for you actions.
The people no longer trust you, and further attempts by you to conduct the people’s business in secret, rather than setting an example of openness, will only worsen the situation.
They want you to resign now, not later, to bring an end to your secrecy, dishonesty and lack of accountability. They want you to resign so that this district can heal and move on.
Please resign. It’s the best thing you can do for the children, parents and taxpayers of this district.
|
How Southern California Parents Won Back Their School
District
Oct 05, 2007 |
Permalink
Full
Disclosure Network ® Cable TV and Internet Series on
CUSD Recall Campaign
Parents
in South Orange County successfully fought to take
back control of the Capistrano Unified School
District (CUSD). Full Disclosure Network® cable
television program has recorded the historical battle
within the school district that started back in 2005
and has taken almost two years, on its way to
completion all documented on seven DVDs to date,
including six complete shows, along with three
stimulating video news blogs. This special series, on
the CUSD grassroots Recall and School Reform
campaign, is featured on 45 cable television systems.
Also, available for viewing, via streaming video, on
the URL: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/cusd.html
This
historical series features all the parents who led
the CUSD Recall and Reform campaign who live in the
many small cities comprising the Capistrano Unified
School District. Also appearing in the series are
many local elected officials from cities within the
Capistrano Unified School District who joined the
parents campaign and are now calling for the
remaining hold-over Trustees to step aside.
The Full Disclosure Network® programs were produced by Emmy Award winning Host Leslie Dutton and Producer T. J. Johnston. As an independently produced and privately funded, non-profit, educational organization, the Full Disclosure Network® (FDN) has been following public education issues for the past 15 years.
From 2003-2005 FDN produced a comprehensive cable television series on the Los Angeles Unified School District's notorious Belmont Learning Center entitled "Belmont" The Black Hole of School Construction" featuring all the major players involved in half a Billion Dollar scandal ridden project. Watch 3 min preview here: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/flash/444-5_belmontblackhole_preview.php
In 2002 the Full Disclosure Network® Host Leslie Dutton was presented with a public affairs Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Channels and airtimes can be found on the website at the URL: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/Channels/channelsINDEX.htm
The Full Disclosure Network® programs were produced by Emmy Award winning Host Leslie Dutton and Producer T. J. Johnston. As an independently produced and privately funded, non-profit, educational organization, the Full Disclosure Network® (FDN) has been following public education issues for the past 15 years.
From 2003-2005 FDN produced a comprehensive cable television series on the Los Angeles Unified School District's notorious Belmont Learning Center entitled "Belmont" The Black Hole of School Construction" featuring all the major players involved in half a Billion Dollar scandal ridden project. Watch 3 min preview here: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/flash/444-5_belmontblackhole_preview.php
In 2002 the Full Disclosure Network® Host Leslie Dutton was presented with a public affairs Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Channels and airtimes can be found on the website at the URL: http://www.fulldisclosure.net/Channels/channelsINDEX.htm
OC Weekly assesses recall chances: "A lock. With
Fleming already indicted and a well-seasoned recall
team ready for war."
Aug 24, 2007 |
Permalink
Recall
Madness!
Sheila Benecke, Mike Darnold, Marlene Draper, Duane Stiff, Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District
Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly Opponents Accuse Them Of: Mishandling millions of dollars in school funds, gerrymandering school boundaries to ensure racial diversity, and being lackeys for former superintendent James Fleming, whom the Orange County Grand Jury indicted for misappropriating funds and creating an enemies list.
Sheila Benecke, Mike Darnold, Marlene Draper, Duane Stiff, Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District
Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly Opponents Accuse Them Of: Mishandling millions of dollars in school funds, gerrymandering school boundaries to ensure racial diversity, and being lackeys for former superintendent James Fleming, whom the Orange County Grand Jury indicted for misappropriating funds and creating an enemies list.
The
Facts:
Pretty damning—they approved a lucrative retirement
package for Fleming after he stepped down last year
in disgrace.
Recall Chances? A lock. With Fleming already indicted and a well-seasoned recall team (a previous effort was thwarted by Fleming’s dirty tricks—visit www.cusdrecall.com for more info) ready for war, Benecke, Darnold, Draper and Stiff will be gone sooner than our water supply.
Read the entire article: Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly
Recall Chances? A lock. With Fleming already indicted and a well-seasoned recall team (a previous effort was thwarted by Fleming’s dirty tricks—visit www.cusdrecall.com for more info) ready for war, Benecke, Darnold, Draper and Stiff will be gone sooner than our water supply.
Read the entire article: Gustavo Arellano, OC Weekly
CUSD Recall Petitions Approved
Aug 22, 2007 |
Permalink
Trustees
Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper to Face Recall
![Draper 15_2[1]](page26_blog_entry89_summary_2.jpg)
Santa
Ana, CA.
Today the
CUSD Recall Committee received confirmation the
Orange County Registrar of Voters had approved the
Petition to Recall Capistrano Unified School District
Trustees Sheila Benecke and Marlene Draper. Recall
Proponents may now formally begin the process of
collecting signatures from 10% of the registered
voters in the School District to qualify the recall
election. They have 160 days to circulate and submit
petitions. The grounds for the recall read as
follows:
“You
have permitted a culture of corruption to infect our
school district.
You permitted district personnel to use scarce district resources to create unlawful lists of your political “enemies” -- including children. You engaged in illegal closed session meetings where district business was conducted in secret. You and your staff repeatedly provided false information to the public regarding district finances. You failed to effectively control your staff – even giving your former superintendent (now indicted for multiple felonies) a standing ovation and lucrative retirement package just hours after police investigators armed with search warrants raided his office.
You grossly mismanaged district finances.
You are recklessly spending $52,000,000 on an administration building and over $140,000,000 for a single high school next to a dump -- while our schools are in dire need of repairs and students are crammed into substandard portable classrooms with non-functioning restrooms. Your reckless deficit spending has created a self-inflicted, multi-million dollar budget crisis that has put our children at risk and resulted in massive program cutbacks – overcrowding classrooms and severely diminishing the quality of education.
You have arrogantly disregarded the public by repeatedly ignoring problems until they become crises.
You have broken the public’s trust.”
Petitions may be obtained by contacting the CUSD Recall Committee website at www.cusdrecall.com.
The CUSD Recall Committee is the organization that has led the multi-year effort to raise public awareness about the widespread government corruption and serious financial mismanagement within the leadership of the Capistrano Unified School District.
In 2005, the CUSD Recall Committee led South Orange County residents in the unprecedented campaign to recall all seven elected Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District. More than 177,000 signatures were obtained from South Orange County residents calling for the removal of all seven CUSD Trustees.
In November 2006, the CUSD Recall Committee’s three “ABC Reform Slate” candidates (Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen) were elected to the CUSD Board of Trustees by landslide margins of victory.
In May 2007, as part of the on-going criminal investigation of the CUSD leaders, former CUSD Superintendent James Fleming was indicted on three felony counts (misappropriation of public funds, use of school funds to improperly defeat the CUSD Recall Committee’s 2005 recall campaign, and conspiracy). If convicted, Fleming could serve up to four years in prison.
To learn more about these important issues, please visit our website at www.cusdrecall.com
or contact:
Thomas K. Russell
Spokesperson, CUSD Recall Committee
Telephone: (949) 459-1220
Facsimile: (949) 459-1217 Email: cusdrecall@yahoo.com
You permitted district personnel to use scarce district resources to create unlawful lists of your political “enemies” -- including children. You engaged in illegal closed session meetings where district business was conducted in secret. You and your staff repeatedly provided false information to the public regarding district finances. You failed to effectively control your staff – even giving your former superintendent (now indicted for multiple felonies) a standing ovation and lucrative retirement package just hours after police investigators armed with search warrants raided his office.
You grossly mismanaged district finances.
You are recklessly spending $52,000,000 on an administration building and over $140,000,000 for a single high school next to a dump -- while our schools are in dire need of repairs and students are crammed into substandard portable classrooms with non-functioning restrooms. Your reckless deficit spending has created a self-inflicted, multi-million dollar budget crisis that has put our children at risk and resulted in massive program cutbacks – overcrowding classrooms and severely diminishing the quality of education.
You have arrogantly disregarded the public by repeatedly ignoring problems until they become crises.
You have broken the public’s trust.”
Petitions may be obtained by contacting the CUSD Recall Committee website at www.cusdrecall.com.
The CUSD Recall Committee is the organization that has led the multi-year effort to raise public awareness about the widespread government corruption and serious financial mismanagement within the leadership of the Capistrano Unified School District.
In 2005, the CUSD Recall Committee led South Orange County residents in the unprecedented campaign to recall all seven elected Trustees of the Capistrano Unified School District. More than 177,000 signatures were obtained from South Orange County residents calling for the removal of all seven CUSD Trustees.
In November 2006, the CUSD Recall Committee’s three “ABC Reform Slate” candidates (Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen) were elected to the CUSD Board of Trustees by landslide margins of victory.
In May 2007, as part of the on-going criminal investigation of the CUSD leaders, former CUSD Superintendent James Fleming was indicted on three felony counts (misappropriation of public funds, use of school funds to improperly defeat the CUSD Recall Committee’s 2005 recall campaign, and conspiracy). If convicted, Fleming could serve up to four years in prison.
To learn more about these important issues, please visit our website at www.cusdrecall.com
or contact:
Thomas K. Russell
Spokesperson, CUSD Recall Committee
Telephone: (949) 459-1220
Facsimile: (949) 459-1217 Email: cusdrecall@yahoo.com
It's time to take back our school district. School
board recall kick off party
Aug 15, 2007 |
Permalink
Parents
in the Capistrano Unified School District invite you
to join us for a School Board Recall Kick Off Party
Date
and Time: Wednesday, August 29,
2007, 5:30 PM to 7:30 PM
Place: Casta del Sol Golf Course, 27601 Casta del Sol, Mission Viejo
Complimentary hors d'oeurves and beverages, no host bar
R.S.V.P. to Barbara Casserly, (949) 637-4687 or bcasserly@cox.net
Recall petitions will be available
Donations needed and appreciated - Please make checks payable to Committee to Reform CUSD.
Place: Casta del Sol Golf Course, 27601 Casta del Sol, Mission Viejo
Complimentary hors d'oeurves and beverages, no host bar
R.S.V.P. to Barbara Casserly, (949) 637-4687 or bcasserly@cox.net
Recall petitions will be available
Donations needed and appreciated - Please make checks payable to Committee to Reform CUSD.
Final petition forms to recall Trustees Benecke and
Draper submitted to OC Registrar
Aug 09, 2007 |
Permalink
After consulting with the recall proponents and the three seated CUSD Reform Trustees, for strategic reasons a decision was made not to circulate petitions to recall Trustees Duane Stiff and Mike Darnold.
"For these reasons, we now serve upon you official
recall papers."
Jul 02, 2007 |
Permalink
Public
comments addressed to the CUSD trustees at the July
2, 2007 board meeting
My name
is Tom Russell. As you know, I have one child
attending school in CUSD.
My child is on the CUSD enemies list. So is my wife…and so am I.
Today, you are scheduled to meet in closed session where you are scheduled to consider who will be the next interim superintendent – the third since recently indicted former Superintendent James Fleming left in disgrace.
My child is on the CUSD enemies list. So is my wife…and so am I.
Today, you are scheduled to meet in closed session where you are scheduled to consider who will be the next interim superintendent – the third since recently indicted former Superintendent James Fleming left in disgrace.
Sadly, the
continued presence of the Four Fleming-era trustees
on this board makes it virtually impossible for this
school district to attract and retain a qualified
superintendent…someone who will come here and
immediately begin to clean up the utter chaos the
four Fleming Trustees have created.
Sadly, this school district will not begin to heal and move forward until the four Fleming-era trustees are removed from office.
Sheila Benecke, Marlene Draper, Duane Stiff and Mike Darnold – you have ignored the ever-growing chorus of elected officials and voters calling for your immediate resignations.
As a result, you now leave the voters with no choice but to remove you from office…NOW.
Therefore, the grounds for recall are as follows:
• You have permitted a culture of corruption to infect our school district.
• You permitted district personnel to use scarce district resources to create unlawful lists of your political “enemies” -- including children.
• You engaged in illegal closed session meetings where district business was conducted in secret.
• You and your staff repeatedly provided false information to the public regarding district finances.
• You failed to effectively control your staff – even giving your former superintendent (now indicted for multiple felonies) a standing ovation and a lucrative retirement package just hours after police investigators armed with search warrants raided his office.
• You grossly mismanaged district finances.
• You are recklessly spending $52,000,000 on an administration building and over $140,000,000 for a single high school next to a dump -- while our schools are in dire need of repairs and students are crammed into substandard portable classrooms.
• Your reckless deficit spending has created a self-inflicted, multi-million dollar budget crisis that has put our children at risk and resulted in massive program cutbacks – overcrowding classrooms and severely diminishing the quality of education.
• You have arrogantly disregarded the public by repeatedly ignoring problems until they become crises.
• You have broken the public’s trust.
For these reasons, we now serve upon you official recall papers.
Please, for the sake of the children and taxpayers of this school district, spare everyone the months of chaos, division and delay that a recall campaign necessarily brings.
Please -- do the right thing – put the kids first and resign immediately.
Sadly, this school district will not begin to heal and move forward until the four Fleming-era trustees are removed from office.
Sheila Benecke, Marlene Draper, Duane Stiff and Mike Darnold – you have ignored the ever-growing chorus of elected officials and voters calling for your immediate resignations.
As a result, you now leave the voters with no choice but to remove you from office…NOW.
Therefore, the grounds for recall are as follows:
• You have permitted a culture of corruption to infect our school district.
• You permitted district personnel to use scarce district resources to create unlawful lists of your political “enemies” -- including children.
• You engaged in illegal closed session meetings where district business was conducted in secret.
• You and your staff repeatedly provided false information to the public regarding district finances.
• You failed to effectively control your staff – even giving your former superintendent (now indicted for multiple felonies) a standing ovation and a lucrative retirement package just hours after police investigators armed with search warrants raided his office.
• You grossly mismanaged district finances.
• You are recklessly spending $52,000,000 on an administration building and over $140,000,000 for a single high school next to a dump -- while our schools are in dire need of repairs and students are crammed into substandard portable classrooms.
• Your reckless deficit spending has created a self-inflicted, multi-million dollar budget crisis that has put our children at risk and resulted in massive program cutbacks – overcrowding classrooms and severely diminishing the quality of education.
• You have arrogantly disregarded the public by repeatedly ignoring problems until they become crises.
• You have broken the public’s trust.
For these reasons, we now serve upon you official recall papers.
Please, for the sake of the children and taxpayers of this school district, spare everyone the months of chaos, division and delay that a recall campaign necessarily brings.
Please -- do the right thing – put the kids first and resign immediately.