Beyond the Blackboard

Former CUSD Administrator Sherine Smith Gets Top Job In Laguna Beach

Sherine Smith, the Capistrano Unified deputy superintendent of education until she resigned a year ago, has been tapped to lead the Laguna Beach Unified School District.

A San Clemente resident, Smith left CUSD to take a post at Fullerton Union High School District. She was hired as the superintendent in Laguna on Friday.

Smith, you might recall, was the employee who spotted Trustees Ellen Addonizio and Sue Palazzo in then-Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter's office after hours. Trustees said they were looking at his shower, after it'd been in the news during construction of the building, and then said they were looking at something on his desk. Neither ever apologized.

She'd been with CUSD for 26 years when she left. On her way out, she praised Fullerton Union and said she was looking forward to joining a district "focused on student learning."

Here's a link to the Register's story on her hiring at Laguna. 

Preliminary Stats Show Strike Cuts CUSD Deeply

The Capistrano Unified School District on Thursday afternoon released preliminary information about attendance—by students and teachers—on the first day of a teacher’s strike.

According to the district:

* 1 in 8 classroom teachers reported to work (12 percent of the district’s 2,200 teachers)

* 600 qualified and vetted substitute teachers reported for duty.

 * 48 percent of elementary students attended school

* 41 percent of middle school students attended school

* 24 percent of high school students were at school.

District negotiators and Capistrano Unified Education Association representatives were due to meet at 2 p.m. on Thursday, although union officials called the meeting a “discussion,” not negotiations. Teachers walked out over whether cuts imposed on them by the Board of Trustees were permanent or temporary, and when, if ever, their salaries and benefits could be restored.

Unions to Superintendent: The District is Not Truly United

This came across the desk a few days back. Sorry for the delay in posting. It was on a dual letterhead from the two associations that represent Capistrano Unified employees: teaching-certificated and classified. The group of employees referred to who took the pay cut, of course, is management, which is not part of a union.

I typed it in, so any mistakes are likely mine.

I've asked for a copy of Superintendent Mahler's initial letter.

September 21, 2009

 

Dr. Bobbie Mahler, Interim Superintendent

Capistrano Unified School District

33122 Valle Road

San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675

 

Dear Bobbie,

 

Thank you for your acknowledgement of the high caliber of employees here in Capistrano in your letter of September 11, 2009. We are pleased you highlighted the strong student academic achievement of Capistrano’s students and recognized the “smart” work of “talented teachers and support personnel.”

 

Your message of unity, emphasized in the section entitled “United We Stand” although an admirable one, unfortunately, does not reflect the current reality in CUSD.

 

To be truly united

 

To be truly united, we would have a school board that realizes they oversee a balanced budget for this school year – one which will be further enhanced by unexpected increases in student enrollment, as well as reduced costs in health care benefits than originally projected.

 

To be truly united, we would have a school board that would not insist that employees shoulder the burden for programs such as Class Size Reduction that are not adequately funded by the State of California by asking for a 10% pay cut.

 

To be truly united, the school board would not act in such a way to bring financial ruin to many employees now, distracting them from their mission and their passion of educating and supporting students.

 

To be truly united our school board would not have singled out one group of employees, without notice, to give them a pay cut just because they could, creating a bigger divide between management and the employees they supervise.

 

If you truly want to heal this district and unify it, as we believe you do, then the school board must be convinced to work with its employees, not against them, especially in light of the real problem looming before in 2010/11 school year. The employees are not immune to the fact that budget deficits for the upcoming 2010/11 school year present a problem to which each one of us must be part of the solution. But, we must be confident that the school board manages its funds in a fiscally responsible manner, so that personal sacrifice comes only as a last resort, after all other options for cost-saving have been exhausted.

 

Restore Pride in CUSD

What is lacking in CUSD is an atmosphere of respect and trust. Only when reasonable people work with one another to restore these qualities will Capistrano be deserving of the phase “United We Stand.”

 

When that day comes, then we will have restored the good name of Capistrano Unified, we will have restored its reputation in California for high student academic achievement; but most importantly, we have restored pride to Capistrano Unified School District.

 

Sincerely,

 

Vicki Soderberg

President, CUEA

 

Ronda Walen

President, CSEA

 

Fineberg Interviewed on His Way Out...

Kinoshita Principal Erick Fineberg, who is moving to a principal job in Tustin Unified, was interviewed by Schelden over at the Register.

The money question:

Q. Capo Unified has a mixed reputation. Now that you're leaving, what are your thoughts on the district?

A. I've loved it. The teachers, the parents, my colleagues, my fellow principals – amazing people. I've absolutely loved working with them. There are some great district-level people.

The unfortunate piece of it is so many of them are gone, and that makes it very difficult. Some of it has been retirements, some have left the district, and it's hurting the district. It certainly has had a profound impact and will continue to, but there are still great people there.

But ... I'm very sad to go. I love the district enough that I'm not moving my kids out. I still have a very strong place in my heart for Capo.

The rest of the interview here.

A Late Add: CUSD Trustees to Meet Wednesday

Trustees added a special meeting to the agenda for 6 p.m. on Wednesday. They posted the agenda under the minimum 24-hour deadline.

Two items are on the lineup:

1. Restoring four management positions, including an Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Education;

2. Developing a strategic plan for the district. That's something former Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter pushed for, but never gained any traction. The staff report points out the last strategic plan was in 2001, and that's when the economy was robust. Now, not so much. The staff report says the item is to remind everyone that remains to "educate students and help them in realizing their full potential."

Here's the agenda;

Here's staff report for item 1

Here's staff report for item 2

Different District, Same Issues

The Los Angeles Times has a blog posting that teachers there might take some concessions to save jobs. There's a multiplier in LA Unified because the district is turning away class-size reduction money, so saving some money will result in big bucks coming back to LAUSD.

The ominious paragraph, though, that fits here:

"Over the past few months, the state budget picture has worsened, and even a deal now would not spare the unions and the district from facing deep layoffs next year. "

Hmm.

Here's a link to the entire post.