Open Letter to the Taxpayers and Residents living within the Capistrano Unified School District

Dear Taxpayers-

The Capistrano Unified School District is Going to Discuss putting an $889 Million Dollar bond on the November Ballot. This is going to be a General Obligation Bond which will be placed on top of any current existing Mello Roos. I have expressed the following concerns about what is going on in CUSD to Trustees, to the Superintendent and to City leaders. For a long time, the State of California has used our public education system to get increased tax revenues that they say "are for the kids" - but as we all learned in Prop 30- over 80% of the money really goes to public employees in the form of salaries, pensions and benefits. So before you vote to approve any more debt "for public education" please consider that the State of California's number one constitutionally mandated spending priority is Public Education" yet if you look at the State of 5 year infrastructure plan, not one penny has been allocated to K-12 Public Education. $51 billion of the $55 billion dollar plan is going to "Transportation" aka HIGH SPEED RAIL.

Do not vote to pay more for education when the State is not meeting it's Constitutional obligation to our students. For this and the following reasons Taxpayers need to take back our schools:

My e-mail to Superintendent Vital:

Hi Kristen-

The following are my specific concerns-

I. California’s new education funding law the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF).
The law limits per pupil funding to 2007-08 levels + inflation not to be reached until 2021

• Expenses are not limited to 2007-08 levels. CUSD employees have gotten across the Board compensation increases for the past 5 years. I have documentation that prove as a matter of law these contracts have been entered into illegally and are therefore not enforceable.
• Average Teacher Compensation has gone from $95,000 to $110,000 since 2012
• Unfunded liabilities have gone from $49 million to $57 million and with this new contract may be in the $60’s.

The law, if challenged, would be found to be an unconstitutional violation of Federal and State Equal Protection Laws.

see” http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/06/court-rules-that-if-kansas-legislature.html

see: Count 1: http://peopleforstudentrights.com/index.php/complaint/claim-1

see: Count 2: http://peopleforstudentrights.com/index.php/complaint/count-2

see: Count 3: http://peopleforstudentrights.com/index.php/complaint/count-3

Under Local Control Per Pupil Funding = Base Grant + Suplemental Grant + Concentration Grant

http://peopleforstudentrights.com/index.php/lcff

The "Base Grant" is universal for all students.

The "Supplemental Grant" provides additional funding to Districts based on the percentage of students in the District that are English Language Learners, Receiving Free and Reduced Lunch, or are in Foster Care.

The "Concentration Grant" provides even more funding for Districts that have large concentrations of students that are English Language Learners, Receiving Free and Reduced Lunch, or are in Foster Care.

School Districts with a low percentage of students that are ELL, receiving Free and Reduced lunch and/or are in Foster Care are funded almost entirely by the Base Grant

When the State implemented the LCFF law it set the Base Funding Grant at $6,500 per pupil.

In Dec 2006 California commissioned a study to see what it actually cost to provide a minimum cost of education was in 2007-08.

The minimum Cost was $8,932 according to 2007-08 California Study

• Average: $11,094 to $12,365
• Urban: $11,508 to $12,718
• Suburban: $10,726 to $12,077 * Capistrano Unified School District
• Towns: $8,932 to $ 9,896
• Rural: $10,615 to $11,881

The State is setting the Base Funding Grant intentionally low, knowing that wealthier districts will have the ability to equalize funding through voluntary tax increases and the passage of facilities Bonds, as well as increasing funding through fundraising and donations.

In 2007-08 State General Fund Revenues were $103 billion today they are $125 billion. The State has sufficient revenue to raise the Base Funding Grant to $8,932 but is choosing not to spend money on K-12 Public Education, the State’s #1 Constitutionally mandated spending priority.

The State is using the State’s new Public Education funding law to re-distribute wealth, not educate students.

Under this law CUSD will have flat funding of less than $8,000 for 14 years straight by 2021 and there is no guarantee that we will reach full funding by 2021.

2. State Wide Plan to Protect Public Employees and the expense of taxpayers and students

3. FEPRA

Obama's Executive Action to Rewrite No Child Left Behind Modifies Student Privacy Rights - Personally Identifiable Information Is Now Available To For Profit Companies. CUSD is spending millions of dollars on software to collect personably identifiable data on students and CUSD contracts reveal that this data is not stored with CUSD - but in the cloud held by for-profit companies. Lynn Hatton Hodson has potential conflicts of interests. CUSD is embedding Naviance into CCP and other classes that are required for graduation which will mean that no student will have the option to opt out of personality testing and the disclosure of personally identifiable data.
See: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/05/obamas-executive-action-to-rewrite-no.html

4. CA Academic Standards

Under "Local Control” the State of California is mandating that students attend school but is saying that there is no state mandated minimum curriculum anymore- instruction and content standards are now up to the individual classroom teachers.

See Board Discussion slide presentation
http://www.slideshare.net/DawnUrbanek/fundraising-for-core-educational-programs

See: Count 16: Fundraising for a Visual & Performing Arts Curriculum http://peopleforstudentrights.com/index.php/complaint/count-16

November 18 BOT Meeting - Addressed the Board - Board Audio at 42.08 http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/11-18-15/CUSDBoardMeeting11.18.15.mp3

December 9, 2015 BOT Meeting - Addressed the Board - Board Audio at 1:10:27 http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/12-9-15/12-9-15%20final.mp3

Slide Presentation for the Board published on the internet http://www.slideshare.net/DawnUrbanek/fundraising-for-core-educational-programs

BOT Meeting Agenda Item #5 - Fundraising for Core Educational Programs http://capousd.ca.schoolloop.com/file/1218998819331/1262503101751/5233370917763515617.pdf and Board Meeting Audio at 2:28:0 to 2:47:45 http://cusd.capousd.org/cusdweb/boardaudio/3-9-16/CUSDBoardMeeting3.09.16.mp3

See: California Appeals Court Rules No Minimum Education Quality Guaranteed by State Constitution http://www.publicadvocates.org/press-releases/california-appeals-court-rules-no-minimum-education-quality-guaranteed-by-state-const

5. Equity Law Suits Going Through the United States
http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/06/court-rules-that-if-kansas-legislature.html

6. Facilities Bonds

Public Education is the State’s #1 Constitutionally mandated spending priority yet the State of CA 5-year Infrastructure Plan does not allocate a single penny for K-12 Public Education infrastructure. But $51 billion of the $55 billion plan is allocated to Transportation aka High Speed Rail.

See: http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2016-Infrastructure-Plan.pdf

See: CUSD School Facilities Report $16,000 plumbing Work Orders - 3 plumbers on staff- never any Williams Complaints? $22.6 million in employee compensation increases: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/05/capistrano-unified-school-district.html

See: Governor’s Definition of “Local Control” Is Creating Statewide School Facilities Bond Crisis: http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/05/governors-definition-of-local-control.html

See; http://disclosurecusd.blogspot.com/2016/05/fact-checking-cusd-in-their-efforts-to.html

7. The June 8th Board Meeting - Attention these Items:
#1 LCAP #29 LACAP Up-date

#2 and #23 2016-17 Budget (Documentation not up yet)

#4 & #8 Contracts - IT - Software- Consulting Etc.

#12 Donations: CUSD is fundraising for Art Music Science - those schools who cannot go without instruction that align with minimum State Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks.

#25 - #28 Placing a Facilities Bond on the November Ballot - See Attorney General Kamala Harris regarding Facilities Bonds Cost - Mis-use of Taxpayer Funds https://oag.ca.gov/system/files/opinions/pdfs/13-304.pdf

#32 CISD Re-opener proposal to CUEA for 2016-17

#34 Management Compensation

Every employee received 8.67% salary increase this year

CUSD Trustees have a duty to educate taxpayers about their financial choices. The State’s continued use of our Public Education System to grow ever increasing revenues is oppressive and abusive.

It would be my sincere hope that CUSD would work with parents and the public to restore trust in the District. The current path is destructive to every student in CUSD.

I have forwarded this memo to every City Council. It is time we all work together, not just for the benefit of public employees- but for our children to ensure the quality of education they receive will provide them the opportunity to reach their academic potential, not limit them to Community College for two additional years of Free High School.