Trustees Draper, Benecke, Darnold and Stiff knew about enemies list and "mole"

Jan 11, 2007

Barbara Casserly, The Capistrano Dispatch "CUSD Trustees knew that Jim Fleming was actively involved in fighting the recall and voted to fund an investigation into matters which they knew to have occurred that cost taxpayers over $35,000! ... included in the [Waldrip] report is an April 21, 2005 memo written by James Fleming addressed to Marlene Draper and the entire CUSD Board entitled the “Report on presumed recall effort” that referred to the parent list, and included a report from a “mole” that infiltrated the recall group. The Trustees continued to support Jim Fleming until he retired in disgrace in August 2006, and subsequently voted to pay Fleming’s criminal legal defense fees. Trustees Draper, Benecke, Darnold and Stiff refuse to acknowledge that they knew Jim Fleming was illegally fighting the recall. The self-serving “independent” investigation concluded that the only crime that might have occurred was the leaking of documents by Smollar!" Casserly is a Mission Viejo resident and PTA leader.

Smollar explains enenies list facts to dispell drivel of Fleming sychophant Erin Kutnick

Aug 10, 2006

David Smollar, The Capistrano Dispatch "James Fleming denied for two weeks the existence of any hit list, even though the OC Register had three versions of such a list. He first had Asst. Supt. Susan McGill tell the Register that it must be a list from the Registrar of Voters. (Interesting that he remembered his Registrar list instantly, although he later lied to the OC Register and LA Times that he had ever received that list.) The OC Register then faxed him the first two pages of one version to “refresh his memory.” He still claimed no knowledge of the list, and then said that any such list would have been prepared by me! He had special software ordered to put on my old computer to find the list. (Sorry, Jim, I never had it.) He made available to the media various sycophants in his employ, including Dan Crawford and Jeff Bristow, to say what a miserable, disgruntled employee I was (Hmmm, I worked 4 1/2 years under Fleming, and never received any evaluation, oral or written, complaining about my performance.) The Register, fortunately, had the facts and printed the article. And then a week later—two weeks after first asked about the list—lo and behold the good Dr. Fleming issues reams of paper worthy of Rube Goldberg to explain that the list was all part of a hacking investigation. Of course! Just slipped his mind. How risible! To conduct a hacking probe, you don’t need to compile an extensive list of 150 parent names, including the schools attended by their kids and replete with special notations on 40 of the individuals. And Fleming still hasn’t said who created the list, which he now admits was in his possession. “Journalist” Kutnick conveniently glides over the fact that Fleming ordered me to withhold the list from Kevin Murphy, as well as a memo to Fleming from security director Ed Kovac, despite the fact that they were public documents from files in Fleming’s office." Kutnick is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch. Smollar is the former Director of Communications at Capistrano Unified School District.

Smollar says preparation of such lists was Fleming's modus operandi

Aug 10, 2006

David Smollar, The Capistrano Dispatch "But preparation of the list was modus operandi for Fleming. He’s not a great strategic mind; he thinks ahead about five minutes most of the time. He craves information, especially on his many detractors. And he craved information about the recall people. Just examine the raft of e-mails and memos that Fleming prepared and sent across the CUSD universe of parents, principals administrators the weekend of April 23-24, 2005, in preparation for the April 25 board meeting when recall notices were presented. He was consumed with the recall, and had just gotten the 150 names on April 21, off an intercepted Kevin Murphy e-mail. He surely wanted to know who they were. That’s his style. Fleming wrote to trustees on April 22 in a fax that the e-mail appeared to be a “veritable ‘who’s who’ list of San Juan Hills and Arroyo Vista NIMBYS as well as some of the more volatile opponents to the attendance boundary proposal.” The list could not have been done without Fleming’s express knowledge and direction, because its compilation would have required hours upon hours of tedious work using the district’s cumbersome Aeries student information system. No person in his or her right mind would otherwise have spent 10 hours-plus doing it." Kutnick is a columnist for The Capistrano Dispatch. Smollar is the former Director of Communications at Capistrano Unified School District.

Smollar says Flemings kept list of names ilegally obtained from registrar's office

Jul 12, 2006

Editorial, The Orange County Register "Then, according to the July 11 Register, the district’s former director of communications, David Smollar, and another district official viewed the petition data at the registrar’s office and Mr. Smollar wrote down many names of recall signers, and then handed them over to Superintendent James Fleming. Mr. Fleming told the newspaper that he was uncomfortable with the list of names and handed them back to Mr. Smollar. But Mr. Smollar said that Mr. Fleming kept the list."

Potential for retribution most chilling aspect of enemies lists

Jan 11, 2006

Editorial, The Orange County Register "The most chilling aspect of this case is the potential for retribution against children – something one recall supporter believes happened to her elementary school child. Public schools have a responsibility to keep politics out of the education process. Whether or not retaliation took place, it’s natural for parents to suspect the worst when the district kept tabs on them, noted where their kids went to school, and used descriptive terms such as “NIMBY” and “outspoken” on the spreadsheets compiled of recall supporters. Parents have every right to be as outspoken as they please about a recall of a school board."

OC Register says DA should investigate CUSD enemies lists