The summer recess is well underway for all Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) students.
It has been hard this summer for students to find summer jobs. They are in competition with unemployed experienced job seekers. It is unfortunate these students are facing the hard times due to national economic crisis.
All CUSD schools will open again on September 8, so the summer recess is half over!
CUSD Staff
On July 1 Dr. Joseph Farley joined CUSD as the permanent Superintendent. He is coming into a troubled District which he knows. I will schedule an interview with Dr. Farley in August for the Ladera Times.
The CUSD communication officer's position will be filled by Marcus Walton, who will join the District on August 9. As I wrote in my earlier column, Ms. Julie Hatchel has been appointed as Assistant Superintendent of Education Services.
School Budget
During the June 29 meeting, the CUSD Trustees approved the final budget for 2010–11 school year. The budget showed a shortfall of $34.1 million. The 2011-12 budget will have a further reduction of $5.3 million. Additionally the Trustees allowed the reserve fund to be temporarily tapped to pay the September salaries. This is a tough fiscal condition we all are in the State and the Union. The three day teachers' strike has saved the District $1.7 million which has been diverted to compensate the budget shortfall.
November Election
The CUSD Trustee recall effort has qualified for ballot, and the CUSD Board has scheduled the recall election to be held during the November 2 General Election.
The November election will have a total of five Trustees up for voters' decisions:
-- Trustees Mike Winsten and Ken Maddox-Lopez are on the ballot for an up or down recall vote;
-- The seats held by Trustees Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson, and Larry Christensen are up for election and, as of this writing, incumbents Addonizio and Christensen have pulled papers for reelection.
The November election will have another important item on the ballot – The decision by the voters to keep the current system of electing Trustees At-Large, or to elect the Trustees by District. This is a very important issue as the present at-large voting is preventing many ordinary citizens from running for election as large sums of money is required to campaign across the entire Capo School District. Electing Trustees by District will require less funds per candidate and, probably more important, the elected Trustee will be directly answerable to the voters in his or her district.
Mello-Roos Funds
During the June meeting of Ladera Ranch Civic Council, Mr. Ron Lebs, Deputy Superintendent of CUSD, attended and answered regarding the Mello-Roos funds collected from the Ladera Ranch residents.
He informed the Civic Council that no money has been spent in any other District facilities except the facilities used by Ladera students.
He also pointed out that, due to a pending litigation, the sports field and the stadium at San Juan High School have not been completed. He said construction of the swimming pool has gone out for bids.
(Ram Mukherji is a former Trustee of Tri-City L.A. County Unified School District and Past President of Ladera Ranch Maintenance Corporation.)