How Are CUSD High Schools Really Performing?

The following information is from the Capistrano Unified School District Web Site for 2013-14
http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/sarcs.html

The full article (with charts in text) can be read at:http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2015/05/so-how-are-cusd-high-schools-really.html

Number of Students

• Aliso Niguel High School: 3,029
• Capistrano Valley High School: 2,441
• Dana Hills High School: 2,734
• San Clemente High School: 3,067
• San Juan Hills High School: 2,236
• Tessoro High School: 2,345

Facilities Maintenance Status

• Aliso Niguel High School: Good
• Capistrano Valley High School: Good
• Dana Hills High School: Good
• San Clemente High School: Good
• San Juan Hills High School: Good
• Tessoro High School: Good

* If you read the report card you will see that San Clemente High School has 6 pages of maintenance issues - so how it gets the same score as a fairly new school like San Juan Hills High School which had less than a page of maintenance issues should call into question the honesty of the facilities repair status. Many of the Districts older schools are in poor condition. The District has identified $822 million in needed repairs but only has $45 million dollars in its facilities fund account.

* It should also be noted that during the economic downturn the State allowed Districts to use Deferred Maintenance finds for general fund purposes. For five years CUSD chose to use those funds to maintain maximum compensation for employees rather than maintain our facilities.

Source: Facilities Funding Report November 6, 2013
http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/7695162819501468512.pdf

California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress / Standardized Testing and Reporting Results for All Students in Science- English Language Arts Mathematics and History/Science (Three-Year Comparison)

See attached charts:

Math

*The Math scores are really poor - some schools are below 50% the State Number. It should be noted that California is way behind the rest of the nation in math so if our students are behind the rest of California... parents should be concerned about their child’s ability to get a STEM related job of the future.

* Also of Interest- The Old California State Standards required students to have 2 years of Math Algebra I to graduate from High School. The new Common Core State Standards which California adopted required all students to have 3 years of math and the completion of Algebra II to graduate- a standard that was adopted by the State of California in 2010. It is interesting that when you look at the California’s latest standard called the California Common Core State Standard California is back to it’s old standard of 2 years of Math and the completion of Algebra 1- I am not quiet sure when this change was made- but it was done so without any transparency, and the reason is that 75% of California’s students would not be able to graduate if they were required to pass three years of High School Math and Algebra II.

See: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2015/05/california-graduation-requirements-do.html

Counselors

*More counselors would benefit student course selection and help a greater number of students meet the post high school goals. During the economic downturn CUSD eliminated a lot of counselor positions and the result is a decline in the number of students who graduate ready to attend a 4 year college or university.

UC/CSU Admissions

* What this means in English is that 3/4 of our students take classes that show they want to attend a 4- year college or University. However, those students who do not complete their A-G Requirements will have only one option after High School Graduation - Community College - According to LCAP Data only 59% of CUSD students have completed the Coursework needed to even apply for a spot on a UC or CSU Campus- 41% must attend Community College to complete required High School course work before they can apply for admission into a UC/CSU. In short 41% of students that graduate from CUSD are not prepared for College Level Coursework.

Expenditures per Pupil and School Site Teacher Salaries (Fiscal Year 2012-13)

*It is not possible to provide an adequate education to any student in this day and age for $7,000. It is also not possible to compensate the average teacher $110,000 per year if per pupil funding is limited to $7,000 per student. What parents need to understand is that throughout this economic downturn, CUSD has made budget decisions based on what is in the best interest of adults and not on what is in the best interest of students which is why maximum compensation has been maintained by increasing class sizes, cutting programs and staff such as counselors, librarians and other things like bus services.

See: The Public Disclosure of Collective Bargaining Agreements below:

Average Teacher Compensation:

• 2012-13: $ 95,673
• 2013-14: $105, 340
• and it is my belief that the new contract will push compensation to $110,000

Remember- this is for 185 days of work 6.5 hours 7 hours per day including 35 minutes for lunch.

Also consider that the goal all along is to have the most tenured teachers retire at maximum compensation so that their pensions will be at all time highs. In the next few years all of these teachers will retire leaving CUSD with new teachers that are paid 1/2 the salary but will have to teach in classrooms that are over crowded, in buildings that have not been maintained with no possibility to restore programs or staff because of the limited funds we receive.

Unfunded pension liabilities have increased from $50 million in 2011 to $57 million this year. With the new compensation increase it is estimated to increase to $62 million in the current year.

The only solution is to send a message to Sacramento that even students who live in wealthy areas are entitled to an adequate public education. Our Students deserve better.

• 2013-14: $6,500 per student
• 2014-15: $7,643 per student
• 2021: $8,500 Projected by 2021

Calculated Per Pupil Costs, including Base Costs with Special Needs Weightings are as follows:

• Average: $11,094 - $12,365
• Urban: $11,508 - $12,718 *CUSD
• Suburban: $10,726 - $12,077
• Towns: $ 8,932 - $ 9,896
• Rural: $10,615 - $11,881

Source: http://www.schoolfunding.info/states/ca/CA-AIR-3-07.pdf at xiii

To put that number into perspective CUSD is receiving $2,499 per student less then California’s current average per pupil spending of $9,501 and $4,224 per student less than the current national average of $11,226.

CUSD is one of the most underfunded school districts in the United States. The State of California is intentionally withholding $200 million dollars per year from our students.

Capistrano Unified School District Gives Teachers A $4 million Raise Paid For By Increased Class Sizes AGAIN!

At Long Last Capistrano Unified School District To Vote On Tentative Agreement With Teachers Union for Current School Year

Capistrano Teachers Contract for the Period July 2011 - June 30, 2013 - There is currently no Contract for June 30, 2013 - Present

The Public Disclosure of Collective Bargaining Agreements are in the images above