Capistrano Unified School District

[UPDATED with Schools' Rejection:] Derek Reeve, San Juan Capistrano Council's Goofball Pro Tem, Calls for Arming Teachers

See the update at the end of this post where school officials reject the idea of arming teachers.ORIGINAL POST, DEC. 20, 2:36 P.M.: As you may have noticed since the tragic shootings in Newtown, Connecticut, Navel Gazing has been overcome by this foreign feeling of public service, sharing with our m ... More >>

Behind Orange Curtain, Award-Winning Anti-Drug Doc, Screens for Its Audience

Behind the Orange Curtain, the award-winning documentary about an alarming rise in drug overdoses among South County's young, is going directly to its intended audience tonight.It screens at 7 p.m. at San Juan Hills High School, 29211 Vista Montana, San Juan Capistrano, where admission is free.

A Closer Look At OC's Anti-Vaccination Cluster

South County parents are opting out of the CDC schedule altogether

Ex-Superintendent James Fleming Sues Capistrano Unified School District For Damages

Fleming​Nearly a year after a state appeals court dropped charges against him, James Fleming is suing Capistrano Unified School District for in attorney fees and lost wages--which one of Fleming's attorneys once estimated at more than $1.6 million.The former superintendent filed a complaint in Ora ... More >>

Capistrano School Program To Teach Kids in Chinese

​Ni hao. Recognizing that China is set to become the next global superpower and that Mandarin is the most-spoken language in the world, Capistrano Unified School District trustees approved what will be the county's first Chinese-English language program.  Those in the program, which ... More >>

[UPDATED with Supt. Farley's Reaction:] Capistrano Unified School District Off the Hook for Brown Act Violations, DA Decides

When we get behind closed doors ...​UPDATE, SEPT. 20, 3:05 P.M.: Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent Joseph M. Farley, who was informed in May by the district attorney that he and his Board of Trustees violated the state's open meeting law during three of the previous six months, tod ... More >>

San Clemente High School Bus Drivers: Unsung Heroes of the Bomb Scare

​As you may have previously read, an empty bomb threat on the first day of school at San Clemente High School drew a response from the FBI, the Navy, the Marines, U.S. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, the Orange County Sheriff's Department, a regional counter-terrorism team, the Capistrano Unified S ... More >>

[UPDATED: Lights On!] Life in South Orange County; CUSD Schools Closed Friday

​UPDATE, SEPT. 9, 9:43 A.M.: While most of South Orange County was already asleep or elsewhere--seeing as how the power had been out for hours and SDG&E was expecting the blackout to extend into Friday--the lights came back on in Dana Point, San Juan Capistrano and parts of Laguna Niguel, shor ... More >>

[UPDATED: San Clemente Coach Football Coach "Removed"] CUSD Confirms Coach Kickback Scheme; Investigation Moving to Sheriff's Department

​UPDATE, AUG. 18, 6:22 P.M.: The first axe has fallen. After 11 years as the head coach of the San Clemente High football team, Eric Patton has relieved of his duties as a result of his involvement in an elaborate kickback scandal, OC Register reported.Patton remains an employee of CUSD, but it is ... More >>

[UPDATED with Charges Ditched:] OCDA Boasts First-Ever Case Against Parents of Truants

What truant?​UPDATE, JUNE 21, 4:02 P.M.: Last month, the Orange County district attorney's office announced the first OCDA case against parents of children who have been chronically truant, despite repeated warnings from schools and police.Yesterday, charges against one of those parents disappear ... More >>

[UPDATED:] OC High School and College Coaches Received "Slush Account" Kickbacks From Athletic Retailer, PBS SoCal Report Says

UPDATE, MAY 10, 1:35 P.M.: As the details of the Slush Fund controversy continue to develop, with a second report due out from PBS SoCal, the Weekly decided to follow up with the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD_, which had stressed the fact it had been investigating this issue for some time ... More >>

OC Law Enforcement Targets Parents of Truants

​Five people were arrested this morning in what the Orange County district attorney's office (OCDA) hails as its first case against the parents of children who have been chronically truant despite repeated warnings from cops and schools. The parents--who face probation, jail and/or fines if convi ... More >>

[UPDATED with District Response:] Capistrano Unified School District Board Accused by DA of Violating State Open Meeting Law

Mr. Brown​UPDATE, MAY 6, 3:14 P.M.: The Capistrano Unified School District today issued a short response to a letter from the Orange County District Attorney's office alleging the district's Board of Trustees committed "multiple violations" of the state's open-meeting law, the Ralph M. Brown Act.H ... More >>

Capistrano Unified School District Has a Problem With 'Boobies'

Loserkids.com​Busted is what kids may be if they're caught wearing an "I Love Boobies!" rubber wristband on some school campuses in OC.  The accessory, which raises funds for the Carlsbad-based nonprofit Keep a Breast Foundation, has become popular among teens across the country, but school a ... More >>

James Fleming, Ex-Capistrano Unified Superintendent, Wins Appeal in "Enemies List" Case

​Three years after James Fleming, the former superintendent of Capistrano Unified School District, was indicted for allegedly creating an "enemies" list of parents and students and then lying about it, a state appeals court has let him off the hook.All of the ex-administrator's actions were legal ... More >>

To Strike, Or Not To Strike? That Is The Question Facing La Habra School Teachers

It could happen soon in LHCSD.​If the two dueling parties can't come to some settlement in the coming days, teachers from the La Habra City School District may be on the picket lines in the very near future. So far, the La Habra Education Association, which represents the teachers, and repres ... More >>

OC's Broken School Lunches

Flickr user bookgrlAs sad as this is, it's better than CUSD's high school lunch.​Earlier this year, the Conseil régional de Bourgogne (Regional Council of Burgundy, France) released a four-year charter called "Qualité de la restauration scolaire"--the quality of school food. It states that at ... More >>

Our Shortlist of Superintendents for Capistrano Unified

Illustration by Evan YarboroughFormer CUSD Supt. Woodrow Carter, presumably resting in retirement.​The beleaguered Capistrano Unified School District has been through about, oh, 732 different superintendents in the past, say, four years. Following the firing of facial-loving supe Woodrow Carter la ... More >>

12 Life Lessons High School Students are Learning Watching "Napoleon Dynamite" While Their Teachers are on Strike

​With Capistrano Unified School District teachers on strike, the lesson for the day for students in one class at San Juan Hills High School involved viewing Napoleon Dynamite. Those who scoff at that being a wasted educational opportunity are obviously oblivious to the rich life lessons contained ... More >>

Why Can't Capistrano Unified Find Happiness?

Our CUSD cover story from 2007.​The teachers' strike at Capistrano Unified School District is grabbing a lot of news coverage, from KCAL to KPPC. Anyone who doesn't live in South County and/or who hasn't been paying attention to CUSD before this, though, doesn't appreciate the fact that the turmoi ... More >>

Traffic Report: Avoid Objects Waving Picket Signs Around Capistrano Schools

CUEA.org​While dropping kids off at Capistrano Unified School District's 55 campuses this morning, parents were forced to avoid unmovable objects:Striking teachers.

Capo Unified's Fleming Delays His Day in Court, Again

Anna, James, Maya: All reminders of a simpler time.​Remember 2007? M.I.A. released a really good album, the surge in Iraq was all the talk, Anna Nicole Smith laid to rest her gentle head and everyone assumed Hillary Clinton was going to be the next President.It was also the year in which James Fle ... More >>

Spa Getaway Bites Ex-Superintendent in the Butt

Late yesterday the Capistrano Unified School District released a 54-page termination report detailing the charges that led to ex-superintendent Woodrow Carter's firing on Monday March 9. Carter's spa getaway weekend-- paid for partially by the district and by an architectural firm which was later aw ... More >>

Former Capo Unified Superintendent Didn't Report Swanky Spa Getaway

Woodrow Carter, In Your Facial

The Temecula Creek Inn--with its views of miles of verdant, vine-covered hills, a golf course, sumptuous spa treatments and nearby wine tastings--is a splendid spot for a decadent weekend getaway. In late 2007, about a month after beginning his post as Capistrano Unified School District's newest sup ... More >>

It's a Quick Read 2

Orange County Register: Classes sizes will balloon, up to 254 teachers will lose their jobs and frogs will rain down from the sky if Capistrano Unified School District goes through with plans to slash $25 million from its budget. But deputy superintendent Ron Lebs seems more intereste ... More >>

James Fleming Gets An Extension on His Homework

FlemingTwo-and-a-half years since resigning as superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District, 21 months since being first arraigned, and more than three hours after showing up for trial on the second floor of the Santa Ana courthouse this morning, James Fleming -- along with ex-assistant- ... More >>

What Will Capistrano Unified's Rogue Trustee Say Tonight?

As mentioned in last week's Weekly story about the Capistrano Unified School District, many of the loudest critics of the new "reform" board are concerned about the Education Alliance, a conservative group that helped get the board into power. Are the recall trustees hostile to public education? Do ... More >>

Capistrano Unified Says Mum-ness is Not by Choice

When I wrote that the Capistrano Unified School District board of trustees had walked into a "public relations disaster" by not disclosing why they were suspending the district's superintendent, I may have been a little unfair to the board. Then again, following the law never guaranteed anyone good ... More >>

Is The New Capistrano Unified Board As Creepy As The Old One?

Even with June's final ousting of the remaining trustees who served under Nixon-wannabe superintendent James Fleming, the South-County shitshow that is Capistrano Unified School District hasn't been showing any less shit lately. In fact, the newly monolithic slate of "reform" trustees (the ... More >>

In San Juan Capistrano's Schools, White Kids Are Painted Into One Corner, Latino Kids Into Another

Racist Reductio ad Absurdum: Ahistoric Minutemen

**Originally posted August 6; moved up because of a funny update, which follows original post! Last week, the Campo Minutemen sent out a mass email railing about the mural shown to the left at Marco F. Foster Middle School in San Juan Capistrano. The message sent by one Cheryl Burns is so priceless ... More >>

Out With the Old (Ladies)

It was predictable that the turnout wouldn't be huge for a special recall election at the end of the month but nevertheless, two 20 year veterans of the Capistrano Unified School District board who have been clinging to their posts were effectively booted out last night after the night's tallies ... More >>

How the Minutemen Drove Mobile Mexican Consulates Out of the Capistrano Unified School District

Letters

'Normally, writers of your muckracking calibur would drop the context out of a quote, but you actually left it in. Thanks for doing half the job for me'

The Real Portables of South County

2007: A year to remember

No Pretrial (Yet) for Indicted Ex-School Superintendent

Indicted Capistrano Unified School District ex-superintendent James Fleming, and his old cohort, former assistant superintendent Susan McGill had the chance to breathe sighs of relief this morning. Lawyers for the two were granted a motion to reschedule a pretrial hearing which was scheduled for thi ... More >>

No More Illegal Secret Meetings at CUSD

Things didn't quite hit showdown tenor last night at a special Capistrano Unified School District board meeting meant to address findings by the OC DA that four of the board's current members had repeatedly violated open meeting laws by holding illegal closed meetings. The meeting was scheduled for ... More >>

Showdown in South County School District

News of a damning District Attorney report that found four current and three former trustees who served on the board of the 51,000-student Capistrano Unified School District repeatedly violated open meeting laws by holding illegal closed meetings (See, "Brown Act Blues," Oct. 18), culminated today w ... More >>

Brown Act Blues

The DA doesn’t file criminal charges against CAPO Unified School trustees, but their violations of the state open-meeting law will go on their permanent records

Letters

OC Weekly is a stupid tabloid for journalists/writers who could never make it to a real newspaper!

Caught in Violation of the Act

WEB EXCLUSIVE! DAs report finds Capistrano Unified held illegal closed meetings

Hard Knocks

Three years in the life of the Capistrano Unified School District

Letters

Add in a completely substandard produce section and meat that I could find cheaper elsewhere, and you have the perfect storm of crap

Surreal Estate

A short, strange trip up the winding road to the brand-new, landfill-adjacent San Juan Hills High

Thursday's Headlines

Long Beach Losers: In one local weight-loss challenge, participants have to pay $2 for every pound gained. Carona in the clear. Sort of: The Fair Political Practices Commission says there isn't enough evidence to prove Sheriff Michael Carona knew that a Newport Beach businessman (allegedly) funnele ... More >>

Saturday's Headlines

Bus Stop: Orange County Transportation bus drivers voted to strike this morning. KCBS/Channel 2 is reporting that 50 of 80 routes will lose service. You know what this means? Rich Newport Beach folks could be forced to retrieve their domestic help. Capo School Scamsters: The LA Times reported today ... More >>

Friday's Headlines

More meat on our story, please? There are dirty details to be had in the ongoing Great Park tale. But instead, the Register gives us stuff like this. And this. Tolls to rise: Starting July 2, they'll be taking a little more of your money at selected onramps on the Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin ... More >>

Diary of a Mad County

July 19 - July 25

Diary of a Mad County