Culture of Corruption
Disgraced Marlene Draper spouted utter contempt for the voters she represented
Sep 09, 2008
The OC Register published this excerpt from a report by the OC District Attorney, dated September 2, 2008. Draper's statement was quoted from a February 25th closed session board meeting to discuss a permanent employment contract for Superintendent Carter. Draper's comment was in response to reform trustees Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen, who argued that a proposed $58,000-a-year raise was too high in light of the district's pending fiscal crisis. Their point was that such excesses were not in the best interests of the "them" in question...the constituents of CUSD. The District Attorney took issue with Draper's insulting, wrong-headed remark, concluding the report by mocking Draper with the obvious truth: "It is all about them."
Stiff drives effort to indemnify trustees; makes no distinction based on scope of employment or alleged criminal activity
Sep 11, 2007
Thanks for clearing that up for us, Duane. A lot of people have been confused about that "serving the public part" of what Fleming was doing when he got caught. Maybe you could stop thinking about protecting your own hide long enough to explain how this is good for the district and the constituents you are supposed to be "serving." Stiff is a Fleming-era CUSD trustee.
Trustee Addonizio calls Fleming trustees' failure to hold Fleming accountable, "reprehensible"
Sep 01, 2007
Ellen Addonizio and Anna Bryson, two of the newly-elected members of the CUSD Board of Trustees agreed to be interviewed by the press. Addonizio and Bryson both called for the remaining Fleming-era trustees to be held accountable.
Trustee Bryson calls for Fleming trustees to be held accountable
Sep 01, 2007
Anna Bryson and Ellen Addonizio, two of the newly-elected members of the CUSD Board of Trustees agreed to be interviewed by the press. Addonizio and Bryson both called for the remaining Fleming-era trustees to be held accountable.
RSM Councilmenber says Fleming trustees are complict in CUSD scandals and should resign
Sep 01, 2007
In response to the indictments and continuing problems in beleaguered CUSD, local officials from across South Orange County are now speaking out and demanding change. Blais is a Councilmember of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita.
RSM Mayor Pro Tem calls for Fleming trustees to step aside for the good of the community
Sep 01, 2007
In response to the indictments and continuing problems in beleaguered CUSD, local officials from across South Orange County are now speaking out and demanding change. Thompson is Mayor Pro Tem of the City of Rancho Santa Margarita.
CUSD spokesperson says CUSD is a 'full disclosure' agency, but district stonewalling tells a different story
Jul 23, 2007
Beverly DeNicola, email to The Full
Disclosure Network "When
we talked a few weeks ago you said that our
district was stonewalling. I pointed out that you
and I had never talked, and that I would be happy
to provide you with any any information any time,
just as I do with reporters and members of the
public. I have spoken to our Board President, and
Mrs. Benecke has asked me to provide you with
information on her behalf. Neither she nor I will
be available for an on-camera interview at this
time. I am looking forward to receiving the
questions that you said you would be sending to
me. I will respond completely and honestly to your
questions, except that, as I stated before, I am
unable to address questions that go to the recall,
which is a political process, or the legal process
involving our former employees. CUSD is a 'full
disclosure' agency. Give us a chance to prove that
to you."
DeNicola sent this to Full Disclosure in response to an email from Leslie Dutton, whose repeated attempts to interview the CUSD trustees and Superintendent Fleming for nearly two years had been rejected by the district. As CUSD's Director of Communications, DeNicola carries on the tradition of her predecessor, David Smollar, by spinning to cover the district's obvious stonewalling.
DeNicola sent this to Full Disclosure in response to an email from Leslie Dutton, whose repeated attempts to interview the CUSD trustees and Superintendent Fleming for nearly two years had been rejected by the district. As CUSD's Director of Communications, DeNicola carries on the tradition of her predecessor, David Smollar, by spinning to cover the district's obvious stonewalling.
Leslie Dutton recounts the details of the stonewalling district spokesperson DeNicola tries to hide
Jul 23, 2007
"In the third week of June this year (2007) Full Disclosure requested an interview with the CUSD Board President Sheila Benecke and spoke to you at length about our frustrations about how it appears that we are being stonewalled by the Trustees. At that time you told me you would get back to me in July with an answer about setting up an interview with Trustee Sheila Benecke."
"Today it is the last week in July, and when Full Disclosure called to follow up with you, you told us that you will be going on vacation stating Wednesday. We are in the final week of production of our 'CUSD Update' and have waited all this time to hear from you."
Sheila Benecke's arrogant, caustic tongue dishonors CUSD again, demonstrating she is unworthy to serve
Jun 05, 2007
Benecke made these caustic remarks at the June 4, 2007 Borad meeting. Such lack of decorum proved that Benecke, the Queen of Mean, was the real jackass, and after spewing such venom from the dais, Benecke left no doubt who the real snake was. Volzke is the publisher of The Capistrano Dispath.
Admin building controversy is just one of many to plague CUSD in recent years
May 09, 2007
Seema Mehta, The Los Angeles
Times "The
administrative center is just one of the
controversies to dog the district in recent years.
Although many of the district's 56 schools are ranked
among the state's best, other brouhahas have included
an Orange County Grand Jury probe; a raid of district
headquarters by the district attorney; the
resignation of its longtime superintendent after
accusations he kept an "enemies list"; and disputes
over attendance boundaries, a high school's location
and portable classrooms."
Mehta is a reporter for The Los Angeles Times.
Mehta is a reporter for The Los Angeles Times.
Smith seeks reason for constituents' angst, but will he really listen?
May 06, 2007
Smith asks the right question. Hopefully he won't ignore the real answer - the culture of corruption that must be changed before any of the serious issues facing CUSD can be permanently solved. Smith is the Superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District.
McCully admits CUSD still falls short on transparency
Apr 28, 2007
McCully is the former Interim Superintendent for the Capistrano Unified School District.
Trustee Bryson affirms CUSD's obligation to comply with state's open meeting law
Feb 16, 2007
Smollar believes he did right thing as whistleblower
Jan 03, 2007
David Smollar, The Orange County
Register “I have no second
thoughts about what I did ... The stress, the
disgust (of working for Fleming) have
disappeared.” Smollar
speaks bluntly about his former role as CUSD
spokesperson under former Superintendent James
Fleming.
Condescending and disrespectful, CUSD says “Trust us, we are telling the truth, this time.”
Dec 14, 2006
Dwaine Goodwin, The Capistrano
Dispatch “To the citizens
of San Juan Capistrano from the Trustees and
Superintendent of C.U.S.D. “Trust us, we are
telling the truth, this time.” This is almost like
a Shakespearean comedy, if it was not so very
serious and involves so very much money. How so
few people can cause so much angst among a
community is frightening. We elect these people
with a knowing trust only to be deceived and lied
to until such time as the truth is unavoidable.
Then they tell us to “move on.” How condescending
and disrespectful can they become? Really bad
choices on our part.” Goodwin
is a San Juan Capistrano resident.
Reader disgusted with community dissention caused by, and lack of accountability at, CUSD
Dec 14, 2006
Dwaine Goodwin, The Capistrano
Dispatch "How so few people
can cause so much angst among a community is
frightening. We elect these people with a knowing
trust only to be deceived and lied to until such
time as the truth is unavoidable. Then they tell
us to 'move on.' How condescending and
disrespectful can they become?"
A CUSD
resident expresses disgust over the district's
refusal to assign blame or demand personal
accountability for admitted lies to the public
about the funding sources of the new
administration building.
CUSD won’t regain public trust and nothing will really change without true accountability
Dec 10, 2006
Brad Goff, The Orange County
Register “... Capistrano
Unified School District officials have a long way
to go if they want to regain the public’s trust.
There is a deep culture of corruption throughout
the administrative staff and the existing board
members and until those people are held
accountable for their misdeeds and removed from
office or removed from their administrative
positions, nothing is likely to really
change.” Goff is
the Chairman of Citizens for a Safe Rancho Santa
Margarita, a local citizen action group.
It’s business as usual at CUSD, Fleming trustees appear to have learned nothing
Dec 10, 2006
Brad Goff, The Orange County
Register “We should see
fairly quickly over the next few months if the
old-guard has really learned its lesson or if it
intends to continue business as usual. The fact
that not a single board member has taken any
responsibility whatsoever for any of the mess that
the district currently finds itself in indicates
to me that they probably haven’t learned
anything.” Goff is
the Chairman of Citizens for a Safe Rancho Santa
Margarita, a local citizen action group.
No improvement at CUSD possible until those responsible are held accountable
Dec 10, 2006
Brad Goff, The Orange County
Register "The fact that not
a single board member has taken any responsibility
whatsoever for any of the mess that the district
currently finds itself in indicates to me that
they probably haven’t learned anything. In fact,
they appear to be in complete
denial..." Mr.
Goff shares the belief of many of his fellow
district residents that nothing is likely to
change at CUSD until those responsible for the
district's past wrongdoings are held accountable
by their removal from elected offices or
administrative positions at CUSD.
Reader thinks term limits would lessen divisiveness and bring accountability
Oct 22, 2006
Mary Ann Andahl, The Orange County
Register “If term limits
were set for school-board trustees, I suspect
there would be far fewer recall attempts and less
divisiveness among parents, teachers and
supporting staffs. Perhaps saying, “not this time”
to incumbents, some of whom have serves 20, 30 or
more years, would eliminate the difficulties we
read about. From my experience, those who serve
more than eight or 12 years tend to lose focus and
ignore the constituency they serve ... Let’s start
sending messages to career politicians and let
them know that we hold them accountable for their
actions even at this level.
Andahl
is a resident of the City of Cypress.
Fleming and Trustees knew or should have known Mello-Roos taxes were used for new admin building
Oct 12, 2006
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano
Dispatch “I had requested
an accounting of 87-1 Mello Roos funds in April
2004 via a legally binding California Public
Record request which resulted in 29 four inch
volumes being provided to search for answers. That
led to a meeting in June 2004 with Dave Doomey,
Assistant Superintendent where answers were still
not provided. On Sept 21, 2006 Sherry Hahn CUSD
CFO said she had been instructed by Mr. McCully to
provide the requested information. Two and one
half years after I first asked a question I
learned that $20 million dollars from the 87-1
fund had always been allocated to a new
administration building. The Trustees all knew, or
should have known that a portion of Mission
Viejo/Aliso Viejo 87-1 Mello Roos was designated
in 1990 to pay for a district office building. In
2004 the Fleming Administration was unwilling to
admit that to the public.” Casserly
is a Mission Viejo resident and PTA leader.
Trustees owe public an explanation for the lies they told or condoned
Oct 12, 2006
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano
Dispatch “Now is the time
for the CUSD Trustees to explain to the public why
they lied, or allowed lies to be promulgated
repeatedly by Jim Fleming. Time after time,
publication after publication, the public was
informed that the funds for the administration
building were restricted to bricks and mortar in
San Juan Capistrano. Prominent members of the
public continue to believe that every dime for the
new administration building could only be used for
an administration building in San Juan
Capistrano.” Casserly
is a Mission Viejo resident and PTA leader.
Fleming Trustees should be ashamed, owe public an apology
Oct 12, 2006
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano
Dispatch “The current CUSD
Trustees who allowed that environment to exist
need to be voted out of elected office because
they were responsible for the management of an out
of control superintendent, Jim Fleming. The
Trustees should be ashamed for what they allowed
to occur during the Fleming administration. The
public deserves an apology.” Casserly
is a Mission Viejo resident and PTA leader.
Fleming trustees cannot be trusted, new leaders needed to save district from mess they created
Oct 12, 2006
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano
Dispatch “As Friedrich
Nietzsche said 'I’m not upset that you lied to me,
I’m upset that from now on I can’t believe you'
... It will take new
leadership to restore credibility in CUSD and lead
this district out of this embarrassing
mess.” Casserly
is a Mission Viejo resident and PTA leader.
PTA parent was loyal to Fleming until investigated and threatened
Oct 12, 2006
Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano
Dispatch "I was a loyal
supporter of Dr. Fleming and the Trustees until I
was investigated and threatened that if I
continued to ask questions, future funding might
not come to Mission Viejo. I am ashamed that I did
not make my concerns public because of fear of
retaliation." PTA
member recounts heavy-handed tactics leveled
against her by former Superintendent Fleming and
the Trustees.
Smollar testifies that Fleming lied about consultant Mike Eggers and the funding sources for the new administration building
Sep 15, 2006
Deposition of
David J. Smollar, Lackey vs.
CUSD, p.
137 "Q There's a
sentence, and I'll read it to you, "I no longer
believe myself capable of communicating a true
picture of CUSD." Why did you write that? A
Because of what had occurred both with the lying
on Eggers, the lying about his voucher, and the
fact that the superintendent was still writing in
his -- or dictating in his documents that the
funding was redevelopment money, it could only be
used for, you know, limited purposes, I mean, we
were still trying to pedal that line."
Former
CUSD Communications Director Smollar testifies
that the district lied to cover up illegal express
advocacy in its hiring of political consultant
Mike Eggers at taxpayer expense, and to cover up
the truth about the financing of the new
administration building with its "redevelopment
funds" lies.
Volzke asks whether voters will hold SJC Councilmembers Hart and Swerdlin accountable for biased, backroom politics
Aug 24, 2006
CUSD scandals followed by DA raid and grand jury subpoenas
Aug 21, 2006
Common thread of CUSD scandals - arrogance of power
Aug 21, 2006
CUSD a poster child to warn other districts as its culture of corruption unravels
Aug 21, 2006
Fleming resignation should not deter investigations, new leadership, oversight
Aug 21, 2006
Smollar "disgruntled" due to lies - Fleming, Draper and others to blame for taking focus off teaching and learning
Aug 10, 2006
David Smollar, The Capistrano
Dispatch "Yes,
Erin Kutnick, I grew most unhappy as I learned of
the lies, hype and exaggeration from the top.
Anyone with a moral compass would be disgusted,
and there are many in the district silently
relieved at the end of the Fleming regime. For the
record, I resigned, and Fleming then gave me a
letter offering to “be of assistance in my future
endeavors.” So much for your little innuendo
hinting at something else. I’m sure Fleming would
love now to say he fired me, but that’s one lie,
if told, that would definitely have legal
consequences for him. And yes, it’s sad that the
community’s focus has been taken off teaching and
learning, but the blame lies squarely at the feet
of Fleming, Draper and the gang with their
arrogance of power." Kutnick
is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch.
Smollar is the former Director of Communications
at Capistrano Unified School District.
Greenhut emphasizes need for accountability among CUSD leadership
Jul 30, 2006
Smollar confirms Fleming's and Trustees' amoral character
Jul 18, 2006
David Smollar, The Orange County
Register "Mostly, I thought
they were white lies, exaggerations, and I'd
correct them," Smollar says. "But then with the
recall, I realized they (Fleming and the board)
would stop at nothing." Smollar,
former CUSD spokeperson, confirms the amoral,
by-any-means-necessary characters of former
Superintendent James Fleming and the CUSD Trustees
he served under.
Fears of retribution among recall supporters not surprising
Jul 12, 2006
Outside investigations in order for both CUSD and registrar
Jul 12, 2006
Benecke supports Fleming's unethical use of mole to spy on recall proponents in private home
Jul 11, 2006
At-large elections benefit incumbents, obstacle to challengers
Jun 09, 2005
