Dear Ms Bryson:
CC: Governor Schwarzenegger
I have two students in Capo District schools. I have numerous concerns about how the Board has handled negotiations and Now the District fails our children.
Allow me to go over a few ideas:
Our state is junk bond status. All state funded school districts must cut
It makes NO sense to start at the first line of combat soldier and shoot him in the leg.
Teachers are the life line to educating, developing and leading our next generation to be great.
Teachers don't make a great deal of money and usually are in it for the vocation.
Cutting their pay is not going to balance the State wide shortfall of funds.
THE ONLY SENSIBLE SOLUTION IS:
Consolidate Districts- Centralize District offices
Lay off duplications in staff
Sell off half of the brick and mortar District offices in the state.
Put a sign on the Taj Mahal 33122 Valle Road
I know it cost more than forty two million to build but has excessive square footage for the
Number of employees who work there and a symbol of waste. Put a sign on the building for
$ 30,000,000. now and contact Saddleback and other local districts which are state funded
To start negotiations to combine with a contiguous district.
Capistrano Unified School District is the second largest school district in Orange County, California, the 12th largest in California and the 85th largest in the United States.
There are about 250 employees in the Valle building who make each more than $ 67000. and
a tiny smaller number of employees in Saddleback. All employees will be allowed to apply for the new combined district jobs without tenure and based on employment testing models, and job reviews that I pray you have completed. We don't need to hire a new superintendant- keep Steven Fish for 2011 at his same salary.
Cost savings so far $ 47 million
Legal fees, lawsuits, attorney fees, special education mediators, all the businesses that profit from taking away from students need to have caps on the costs. This is a much bigger issue which a District can not change, but can influence by holding the line and saying no to forking cash, aids and fix-its without looking at the whole.
Our population of students/ children is going to decline in the coming decade as there is no more
Open land for development. Our tax basis is going to continue to fall in the coming eight years as
Property tax revenues go down more, and more business leave the State.
Be nimble but -Don't put in junky mobile home classrooms which have a life of 5 years (after being tread on
by thousands of high school students these structures don't last and are wasteful).
Keep classrooms clean, free of vermin and safe.
There are four vacant District buildings that I am aware of, why have those not been sold?
Engage parents in volunteerism. Lead parents in fundraising that could target projects not just be
Put in a black hole. Ask parents to help you. My hand is raised asking what you need.
Get back to the bargaining table. The 2100 teachers and their families don't want a strike, but they deserve to be treated fairly in the workplace. I want my senior to be able to graduate. My younger child in Middle School needs to believe in a system that works together and creates solutions.
I pray you will find a different method.
