Taxpayers Need Local Oversight of the Capistrano Unified School District

Local Oversight Is The Only Way To Protect The Educational Interests Of Students, And

The Financial Interests Of TaxpayersPresentation to the City of Aliso Viejo

A Continual Lack of Adequate Per Pupil Funding From the State Is Placing a Growing Tax Burden on Local Municipalities – Other Bond Measures are already in the works.

City Mayors learned about Measure M in July 2016 (4 months prior to the election) from constituents; not in ad hoc meetings with CUSD. Most local municipalities and elected officials do not closely follow their local school board. They do not have the resources to pay staff to attend meetings and report on school board actions. Most importantly, CITIES, COUNTIES AND LOCAL BUSINESSES LEARNED THAT THEY CANNOT AFFORD TO ALLOW LOCAL SCHOOL DISTRICTS TO OPERATE WITHOUT STRICT OVERSIGHT IF THEY WANT TO ENSURE A QUALITY EDUCATION FOR STUDENTS, AND PROTECT TAXPAYERS FROM MUNICIPAL TAX OVERBURDEN.

UNDERSTANDING CALIFORNIA'S NEW EDUCATION FUNDING LAW "LOCAL CONTROL FUNDING FORMULA"

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, and/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, and/or are in Foster Care.

The State set the Base Grant at $6,500 per student when it implemented the Local Control Funding Formula.

Districts with a low percentage of students who are English Language Learners, Receiving Free and Reduced Lunch, or are in Foster Care are funded solely by the Base Grant.

LCFF Limits Per Pupil Funding to 2007-08 levels + Inflation

• California's new education funding law; "Local Control Funding Formula", limits per pupil funding to 2007-08 levels + inflation, not to be reached until 2021.

• By 2021, CUSD will have had flat funding for 14 years straight at less than $7,693.20 + inflation per pupil.

• CUSD is one of the most underfunded school districts in California; and the United States, receiving one half of what the Laguna Beach Unified School District receives (just ten miles up the road).

Average per pupil funding United States: $11,009

Average per pupil funding in California: $9,595

Average Per Pupil Funding Laguna Beach: $15,823

Average per pupil funding CUSD: < $7,693.20 + inflation

THE STATE IS CHOOSING TO UNDERFUND CERTAIN SCHOOL DISTRICTS

State Revenues Are At Record Highs

In 2007-08 State General Fund revenues were $103 billion; today they are $122 billion, an increase of $19 billion.

In 2007-08 Total State revenues were $145 billion; today they are $171 billion, an increase of $26 billion.

The State has sufficient revenues to adequately fund every student in K-12 Public Education but is Choosing not to.

The State Set the Base Funding Grant To LowIn December 2006 the State of California commissioned a study to determine the actual cost to educate a student in California in 2007-08. According to the study, the minimum cost was $8,932 per pupil. The study also showed that CUSD; a suburban school district should be receiving between $10,726 and $12,077 per pupil to provide all students with a minimum education.

The State Set the Base Grant at $6,500 per pupil knowing that the minimum cost to educate any student in California was $8,932 per pupil..

Whether it is an unintended consequence, or by design, setting the Base Grant at $6,500 deprives EVERY STUDENT who lives in a District with a low percentage of students who are English Language Learners, Receiving Free and Reduced Lunch, or are in Foster Care of the minimum funding needed to ensure that every student has an equal opportunity to obtain a minimum education, as mandated by the State Constitution and Equal Protection Clause of the United States Constitution.

Some examples of local revenue streams:

• Fundraising for Art, Music, Science – those schools that cannot fundraise go without Art, Music, or Science that aligns with minimum State Content Standards and Curriculum Frameworks, and it taught by a properly credentialed teacher. Relying on fundraising and donations to fund core educational programs creates wealth based inequities within CUSD.

• ASB funded positions $200,000 - $300,000 per month at $10 per hour. How is the increase in minimum wage going to effect funding these positions?

• Parking fees - CUSD generates over $500,000 per year in revenue.

• No on Measure M CUSD’s $889 million dollar School Facilities Bond could have cost every property owner up to $600 per year for 25 – 35 years

CUSD lacks transparency and has already demonstrated that it was willing to hide an $889 million dollar bond from local agencies. CUSD has chosen to give employees 4 consecutive year of across the board compensation increases totaling over $120 million, while refusing to spend $10 million to fix every leaky roof and HVAC system in the District.

CUSD cannot be trusted to take care of students, or be a good steward of taxpayer money.

Despite record high revenues, the State of California's 5-year Infrastructure Plan does not allocate a single penny to K-12 Public Education. $51 billion of the $55 billion dollar plan is allocated to Transportation aka "High Speed Rail". Because the State is CHOOSING not to allocate funding for K-12 facilities, every school District in the State will be forced to take on massive local debt to fund school facilities. That has already begun to happen with the passage of 162 new Prop 39 Bonds in November 2016.

The State takes tax money that should be spent on education and uses “excess revenueto start new programs and entitlements that are not constitutionally mandated.

Finding Solutions Starts with KnowledgeKNOWLEDGE IS POWER

I created CUSDWatch (a paid subscription service) to provide local municipalities with a fast effective way to digest a 500 – 1000 page Board Agenda so that Cities could force CUSD to be more transparent in order to ensure that the educational interest of students and the financial interest taxpayers will be represented in all matters before the Board.

The CUSDWatch subscription service will provide elected officials and other interested parties with the following:

• I will read the Board agenda when it is posted 72 hours prior to a meeting and provide an overview of the upcoming meeting. I will flag items of interest to particular Cities or groups so that they may comment on the item BEFORE the Board votes and post the preview on CUSDWatch.

• I will continue to attend board meetings; pull appropriate items, and speak on the record as an individual.

• After each Board meeting, when the board audio is posted, I will summarize the vote on each agenda item, and mark the corresponding board audio so that items of particular interest can easily be found and listened to. The review of each meeting will be posted on CUSDWatch.

• I will continue to publish articles online, and in the local Patch. I will send articles to the local press so that the Public will be able to gain greater awareness of CUSD Board policies and actions.

• A sample of the December 14, 2016 CUSD Board meeting review is available for preview online at CUSDWatch at the following link: http://cusdwatch.com/index.php/december-14-2016

The first Board Meeting is January 25, 2017. Subscription services will begin with the January 25, 2017 board meeting.

The subscription cost is $250.00 per meeting. There are about 20 regular board meetings, and 4 optional dates for special meetings. One subscription will cover an entire City Council, City Manager and City attorney at an annual cost of approximately $5,000.

I am requesting that that this Item be put on Aliso Viejo’s next Agenda for Board Approval.

School Board Agenda Items That Should be of Concern to the City of Aliso Viejo:

Paint contract at Wood Canyon Disposed of paint by dumping it down the drain causing financial damage. CUSD did not report Contractor to EPA.

CITIES MUST FOLLOW SCHOOL DISTRICT PLANNING AND SPENDING TO ENSURE THAT RESIDENTS PAYING THE TAX WILL RECEIVE A BENEFIT.

ARE CITIES EXPOSED TO LIABILITY WHEN CUSD FAILES TO GET BOARD APPROVAL FOR CONTRACTS UNTIL AFTER THE WORK HAS BEEN COMPLETED.

WOOD CANYON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IS A SMALL SCHOOL AT RISK FOR CLOSURE – CUSD is spending a lot of money to “rebrand” 7 schools

On Wednesday January 18, 2017CUSD is having Conflict of Interest Training at 6:00 pmAlso included is Asset Management planning-Cities may want to know what plans CUSD has for land assets in their township.CUSD no longer records “special board meetings” you would have to attend to hear what is said.

In California, education is a fundamental right that belongs to all — not some — of our students.

Depriving a student of their fundamental right to achieve equality of educational opportunity; simply because of where they happen to live, and irrespective of their individual wealth, race or ethnicity, constitutes invidious discrimination.

All students are entitled to the Equal Protection of our Laws.

The continued lack of adequate funding has resulted in a notable decline in the academic performance of students across all demographics. Our children are no longer receiving the minimum education that the State is mandated to provide.

Local municipalities can not raise enough local taxes to meet the needs of students.