LETTER TO THE EDITOR: CUSD Responds

EDITOR'S NOTE: Edited to correct the number of teaching days lost because of budget cuts from one to three in Claim No. 5. 

There are a few facts that need to be clarified in Mrs. Dawn Urbanek’s . While we appreciate Mrs. Urbanek’s willingness to clarify some of her key claims, there is still a responsibility to ensure that our community receives accurate data.

Claim 1: CUSD faces fiscal insolvency for the current school year

Capistrano Unified passed a budget for the 2011-12 school year that meets its financial obligations. On March 12, the Board of Trustees certified its second interim report for 2011-12, which indicates the district has sufficient funds to meet its obligations for the current fiscal year and to maintain the required minimum 2 percent reserve. (Exhibit 1)

Claim 2: District staff suggests student body groups pay for “core programs.”

District staff plans to work with student body groups to determine if they can support some of the costs for extracurricular activities, not for core academic programs.

Claim 3: Superintendent Joe Farley received a $7,000 raise in 2011-12.

Dr. Farley’s salary has not increased since he became superintendent in July 2010.

Claim 4: Capistrano Unified teachers receive Kaiser Permanente health insurance coverage completely free and only pay 5 percent for Cadillac health plans with the district picking up 95 percent of those costs.

The district negotiated health benefit caps, and, as of January 2011, all employees pay a larger share of their health benefits. (Page 47)

Claim 5: The district only teaches the minimum number of instructional days (168).

Students in CUSD currently receive 180 days of instruction. Three days of instruction have been lost due to recent budget cuts. Those were the three days negotiated in the 2009-10 school year.

As always, if any member of the community has a question about the district, we urge them to contact their school principal or the Communications Office at (949) 234-9308.

Marcus Walton

Chief Communications Officer