OC Register Editorial Calls On CUSD's Fleming Trustees To Resign

The OC Register ran an editorial today calling on the four remaining Fleming Trustees to resign from the Capistrano Unified School District Board. I would have included it in the News Roundup this morning, but due to a case of terminal lameness, it is no where to be found on the OC Register website. So read it here, instead:

Clouds Lifting at CUSD
Board accepts that it violated open-meeting law

The Capistrano Unified School Board’s 4-0 decision last week to accept the Orange County district attorney’s findings that the board had repeatedly violated the state’s open meetings law was perhaps the most sensible decision the board has made in quite a long time. The three newest board members – Anna Bryson, Ellen Addonizio and Larry Christensen – rightly abstained from the vote, given that they had nothing to do with the legal violations of the past board.

In accepting the report, the board has avoided further legal action. The D.A. had vowed to press civil action to force the board to “commit to cease such violations in the future.” The board also agreed to comply with the open-meetings law – the Brown Act – by audio-taping all open and closed-session meetings, seek legal counsel knowledgeable about the act and to undergo special training to comply with state law. The D.A.’s office is sending the report to elected officials throughout Orange County as a warning that the office takes such violations seriously.
   
This is a good development. We’re frequently frustrated by the shabby way local officials treat the Brown Act. The D.A.’s office got it right when it argued, in its report on the Capo board, that “the Brown Act is not a nuisance and neither keeping secrets from the public nor managing the press or public opinion should make elected officials feel ‘comfortable.’ Elected office is not a right or benefit to be jealously guarded by its holder nor does the comfort level of such officials override the public’s right to know.”
   
The Capo board wasn’t caught simply making some innocuous errors. It engaged in a long-running pattern to conceal information from the public. That board was known as a rubber-stamp for the imperious former superintendent, James Fleming, who resigned and is now under indictment on charges related to his creation of an enemies list of parents who backed a recall of his board allies.
   
Supporters of the recall have called on the four original board members to resign – a call echoed by the Orange County Republican Party Central Committee. New recall efforts are under way to remove two of the four members. Those four – Marlene M. Draper, Sheila J. Benecke, Duane E. Stiff and Mike Darnold – could make a second wise decision. They should resign and spare the county’s largest school district continued division.

Comments

[OC GOP Also Calls for Resignation of Fleming-Era Trustees]

Kudos to the OC Register editorial staff for this one. They now join the OC GOP (and many others) calling for immediate resignations. Enough is enough -- it's clear these inept and unethical Fleming-era trustees need to go.

My only question: why in the world haven't they already resigned -- don't they have any sense of shame?

So these guys agree witht he DA's findings and they still serve on the board? This is kinda wierd. I would thik that the agrement would be included with or followed by four letters of resignation.

[No remorse]

The four Fleming-era trustees "accepted" the D.A.'s findings to dodge a bullet - i.e., the civil action pointed at their heads, if they didn't, by the D.A. Their acceptance was not an act of contrition or an apology, and this was made abundantly clear by Marlene Draper during an interview with Capistrano Dispatch Editor Jonathan Volzke right after the Oct 22nd board meeting.

Volzke asked Draper if she owed her constituents an apology, to which she replied, "No." The only thing Draper was sorry for, was relying upon bad closed-session advice from counsel and past CUSD administrators. Never mind that Draper is one of the worst offenders, with a long (nearly 20-year) history on the board and years of documented Brown Act, express advocacy, financial reporting, confidential records and other violations that make any finger-pointing by her patently disingenuous and dishonest.

Draper testified before the grand jury that County Department of Education counsel Ron Wenkart had advised the board that such closed-door activities were proper. Upon questioning by an OC Weekly reporter, Wenkart denied giving any such advice. Just more of the same dishonesty from Draper, but this time, it was under oath.

Unfortunately, the other three Fleming-era trustees (Benecke, Darnold and Stiff) are taking the same position (finger-pointing), not one accepting personal responsibility for anything despite the overwhelming evidence. This is one of the the reasons this corrupt bunch should resign now. If they don't, they should be recalled ASAP or the D.A. should reconsider further action in response to their continued defiance and denials.

[GOP supporter]

Thank you to all the brave souls who have asked for these left overs to step down. 'Disgrace' is the word to best describe the actions of the Fleming four. Do the right thing and step down so this district can move forward. Shame on you if you stay.

[jill0001]

不饱和聚酯树脂设备

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