As a result of the state’s budget crisis, and it’s impact on Prop 98 school funding, the Capistrano Unified School District, CUSD, made a decision to reduce bus service for students living in Mission Viejo as well as other communities served by the District.
On July 21st Bill Curley, the city attorney of the city of Mission Viejo, sent a letter to Mr. Cary Brockman, Director, Facilities Planning Department of the CUSD, that says in part that they have an obligation to comply with CEQA and the environmental impact of that action. His letter states that “although the “initial Study, IS, and Equity Busing Plan Traffic Impact Analysis provided with the IS contemplates mitigation, no Mitigation Monitoring Plan has been provided and the IS fails even to mention implementation and enforcement of the admittedly necessary mitigation.”
In the list of deficiencies he states: the project Description is confusing and inadequate, the Traffic Impact Analysis, The Air Quality Analysis, potential Public Safety and Emergency Services and Noise Analysis are each inadequate.
In discussing the plan to reduce school bus service with Trustee Ken Maddox today he asked “when did school buses become a luxury item?”
Ken strongly believes that we should consider “contracting out bus service” and believes that the Tustin School District is already doing it. He added that outsourcing this service would provide “more flexibility in adding more routes as needed.”
As one of the newest members of the CUSD Board I asked Ken to share some of his goals and objectives. He responded by saying that he would “like to review all of (CUSD’s) major Contracts” such as “construction services.” That is not to say that there is anything improper in those awards but considering their nearly half billion dollar budget it is a fiduciary responsibility of Board Members to monitor these Contracts.
Gilbert comment. As the Mission Viejo city council meeting is being held tomorrow evening I will be curious to see what follow up action the council or city attorney will take regarding the CUSD busing issue.
CORRECTION. The MV city council is dark until Monday Aug 18th
I truly hope that this does not happen in the Garden Grove School District. If it does it will effect all the children in the Santa Anita Neighborhood, they are bussed from the City of Santa Ana to Westminster to attend school. There are 3 ways to solve this problem, build schools closer to home, lower the price of gas or reinstate immigrants driver license’s, so that they can take their kids to school six miles away.
My error.
The council meeting is dark until Aug 16th, not tomorrow.
I don’t agree that CUSD’s financial problems should be blamed on the state when the district made deficit spending a standard operating procedure. Borrowing from the future works only as long as economic booms continue.
I attended a forum in which Supt. Carter talked about financial issues, and it was spin and deflecting blame. Bus drivers were at the forum, and they offered logical and thoughtful ideas to keep the bus routes, improve service and operate in a way to cut costs. Carter was so focused on his own purpose of deflecting blame that no input from anyone sunk in.
It’s way too soon to judge the new trustees or how effective the new majority will be. Their first order of business should be to get rid of
Carter. He refused to follow legal advice regarding busing. A former regime (led by Fleming) made such a mess of things that it would take a magician to fix everything quickly. Carter has taken the low road almost every time he was faced with a challenge. CUSD cannot hope to recover with unethical and incompetent high-ranking officials running the district.
I hope the new majority talks with the bus drivers and asks them to repeat what they said! The answer is not a lawsuit.
Observer. Thank you.
I agree that the funding problems at CUSD are much deeper than Prop 98 or the current state budget crisis. Simply drive down Interstate 5 and look at their $52 million “Taj Mahal” admin building south of Ortega Highway. Or perhaps the new San Juan Hills H.S., with a stadium and 30 meter pool, that is situated virtually across the street from the OC dump south of Ortega highway. Cost $150 million. The legacies of the now departed Trustee majority.
While this is why the RECALL was so successful, and that CUSD Sup. Carter’s days may be numbered, this post refers to the decision to cut back busing and it’s impacts to the communites served.
Larry:
This is amazing !!
The city of Mission Viejo has the guts to chastise the funds short school system for a matter that they have little control over. All this while the City of Mssion Viejo, has done nothing to warn the citizens of the city of Mission Viejo about the cancer zones along the Southern California Edison transmission corridor’s.
The EMF levels far exceed what Southern California Edison said they would when they applied for permission to build the Viejo System Project. Neither the city of the CPUC have the fortitude to address the issue with firm action against Southern California Edison.
Maybe Mayor Kelley and the city attorney Bill Curley should get their prioritites straight !!
Turning your bus yard to a contractor is a dangerous thing to do because it sets you up to pay whatever they want to charge a few years down the road and you lose your ability to safeguard the children with direct knowledge of personnel issues and vehicle maintenance.
Perhaps a better alternative could be one the Hemet Unified implemented more than ten years ago – contracting IN. The drivers and mechanics took control of the bus yard and made cuts where waste was unadressed and managed the bus yard better than the Superintendent and his Administration did. Given the previous Superintendent and the rempant mismanagement he allowed while building his political image as a conservative chamption (hows that working out for you?) I think contracting IN should be the first attempt not the last.
Did everyone forget that private businesses have to add on a profit margin to their operating costs and public employees do not? Private companies are able to do this and compete with public employees by cutting wages and benefits (cutting benefits means sending uninsured citizens to our emergency rooms (the most expensive/least cost effective method) for health care and passing this cost on to taxpayers. Wow what a great way to save! I have an idea. Why not hire decent managers that can run an efficient operation? Many Districts already do this. Want to know which one’s dont? Ask the Bus Drivers!