Schools
Trustees have come and gone. Superintendents have come and gone. What has remained consistent has been District Staff.
CUSD Staff Is Approving Contracts Without Board Approval- District Paying Exorbitant Prices For Legal Services With Little Trustee Oversight
Trustees have come and gone. Superintendents have come and gone. What has remained consistent has been District Staff. It appears that Staff is making decisions about employment contracts and purchasing without Board Approval.
April 22, 2015 CUSD Board of Trustees Agenda Item #35 ADVERTISE REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS NO. 1-1516 – LEGAL SERVICES:
Find out what's happening in Mission Viejofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
It should be noted, no documentation was posted on the Board Agenda. The Board voted 7-0 to approve Staff’s recommendation to advertise for legal services.
Source April 22nd, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda Item #35:http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/4316232143675230130.pdf
Find out what's happening in Mission Viejofor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Source: May 13, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Minutes Consent Calendar at page 39:http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/5374391862597108770.pdf
Staff retained the legal services of Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth to review Public Records Request without Board Approval. There is no contract without Board Approval. Rate is excessive $525 per hour. Trustee Alpay asked Staff to go back to the firm and negotiate a lower price.
July 22, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda Item #19 INDEPENDENT CONTRACTOR, PROFESSIONAL SERVICES, FIELD SERVICE, AND MASTER CONTRACT AGREEMENT
Source: July 22, 2015 Board of Trustees Meetinghttp://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/7212058085985400810.pdf
Page 245 Professional Services Agreement with Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth effective July 23, 2015. However- services were rendered May 18, 2015 without Board Approval. Trustee John Alpay questioned the billing rate of $525 per hour. Listen to discussion of this item at the following link:
Source: Board Audio at 3 hours 21 Minutes and 9 Seconds.http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/7-22-15/CUSDBoardMeeting7.22.15.mp3
Trustee Alpay also pulled Agenda Item #22 - Stating that the Attorneys Contracts are not being posted to Board Agenda. Trustees cannot vote on contracts they do not have access to.
Source: Board Audio starting at 3 hours 26 Minutes.http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/7-22-15/CUSDBoardMeeting7.22.15.mp3
Lynh Rust, Director Executive Director, Contracts and Purchasing was brought up to discuss the Attorney contracts- Item was originally brought up at June 24, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting
June 24, 2015 Board of Trustees Meeting Agenda Item #37 AWARD REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS NO-1-1516,GENERAL LEGAL SERVICES - MULTIPLE FIRMS:
No contracts were attached to the Board Agenda for Trustee Approval.
Employee Contracts: Trustee Gila Jones pulled Agenda Item # 40 commenting that staff is asking Trustees to approve an alarming number of employee contracts retroactively. This has to stop. There are contracts that go back as far as November 22, 2013. There are pages and pages of employment contracts that are being retroactively approved.
Source: Board Audio starting at 3 hours 51 Minutes 57 Seconds.
http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/7-22-15/CUSDBoardMeeting7.22.15.mp3
Source: Board Agenda July 22, 2015 Exhibit 40 Page 617http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1229223560406/1218998864154/7212058085985400810.pdf
