Picture courtesy of the Beyond the Blackboard blog
The Beyond the Blackboard blog reported that as many as 400 people, including some children, showed up at last night’s meeting of the Capistrano Unified School District’s School Board. As you can see in the picture above, many of them were “carrying signs critical of the trustees.”
And even worse for the School Board, the meeting was also attended by “a lot of media, including Mike Landa of KFI radio and Fox 11 television.”
The School Board voted 4-3 to extend public comments. I wonder which Trustees voted against hearing from the public?
It was also reported that signatures were being gathered outside to recall Trustees Ken Maddox and Mike Winsten.
There are a lot of comments posted at the Beyond the Blackboard blog. Here is a typical one:
For one, I was actually at the board meeting and I can tell you that most of the people there were parents! There were a lot of people signing the recall petitions. Second, just because certain kids went to school today, do not think that they are unsupportive of their teachers. Maybe the parents could not find a babysitter. Or, maybe the parents of those children don’t support the board but still want their children in school. What we can say, though, is that the huge number of students who were absent today probably do support their teachers–and education!
The turmoil at CUSD was begun by the union, is fueled by the union and is being pumped into the media by the union. Somehow, the economic crisis doesn’t apply to union members.
Teachers, stay on the job and be thankful you have jobs! And, parents, keep your children IN SCHOOL! What kind of parents would support the union by taking their children out of school? That is the most destructive, foolish and irresponsible behavior I have heard of to date!!!
The union claims that the sentiment against the trustees is coming from parents. HAH! Look at the signs in the picture! They’re all alike, and who came up with the wording, printed them and paid for them? Not the parents!
The turmoil at CUSD has been caused by an untrained, ineffective, newbie school board and lack of stable leadership at CUSD for several years. These people are too deeply ingrained in partisan politics and ideology to see the big picture.
Parents who value a quality education for their children are fed up with CUSD being used by politicians who are not looking for reasonable solutions and instead simply want to further their “anti-union” political agenda to the detriment of kids.
By the way, to clarify, the sick out yesterday was not to “support the union.” That is ridiculous!
Parents (like me) want to see an reasonable resolution to this situation and avoid a strike in which EVERYONE LOSES. The adults need to work to a resolution that EVERYONE can live with. The trustees are leaders, not dictators, and they need to put aside personal feelings about unions or union leaders or union politics or union pensions or whatever, to do what is right for 52,000 students at CUSD, which include my own.
Interim Superintendent Mahler has a history of poor relations with parents and teachers. She was run out of Centralia School district, and made no friends with her work in Westminster School District either. She is truly the “dancing lemon” in this case.
An inexperienced school board doesn’t know any better and she is leading them around by the nose. Send her packing back to her Villa Park mansion and be done with her already!
Why do school boards keep bringing this relic back?
just…asking?
Another round of recall petitions in SJUSD. It has made such a difference in the past! (not). The community is unable, apparently, to find a leader or leaders and stand behind them when it is time to make tough choices. Winning an election in this community is about as positive as winning a free cruise on the Titanic.
The prior board of trustees wasted $, and they were corrupt (Fleming era). The current board is doing a good job (balancing the budget and drawing the line with the union). Candidates challenging the current board are nuts and/or incompetent. The worst of the challengers is a woman in SJC (who lost in 2008), and she instigates most of the mud-slinging.
Each of the current board members won by a landslide, but they do have some nasty enemies.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h7Cyxm4FvDo&sns=em