Can Anaheim chief bring peace to Capo?

By SCOTT MARTINDALE
2010-05-10 18:49:17

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Joseph Farley, the superintendent of Anaheim's 33,700-student high school district for the past five years, has been named the sole finalist to become the next schools chief of the high-performing but politically fractured Capistrano Unified School District.

Farley will be responsible for managing 56 schools and an annual budget of about $372 million. He is expected to be officially hired at a school board meeting Tuesday and would assume the post July 1.

Farley declined to comment Monday, emphasizing he was a finalist for the position and has not been hired.

Farley, who lives in Newport Beach, would be paid a base salary of $275,000 annually, plus would receive retirement benefits, a portion of his health insurance costs and $600 a month for car expenses, according to his four-year contract, which was posted on Capistrano Unified's website Monday.

"The parties recognize that the demands of the superintendent, the key management position of the district, will require him to average more than eight hours a day and/or more than 40 hours per week," the 12-page contract says. "In that respect, the board hereby certifies that the duties, need for the flexibility of hours, salary, benefit structure and authority of the position are of such a nature that the position should be set apart from those other positions which are subject to the overtime provisions."

Capistrano Unified's next superintendent will have the dubious distinction of being the seventh person in the past four years to fill the district's top administrative post.

The school board fired its last permanent schools chief, Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter, in March 2009 after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure. Roberta Mahler, a retired schools administrator from the Buena Park-based Centralia School District, was hired a few months later, in June, to replace Carter on a one-year basis.

Mahler is being paid $975 a day, or $245,250 a year, assuming 14 unpaid vacation days and holidays and including a $450 monthly car allowance.

Carter received a base salary of $273,000 annually, and a total compensation package of $324,950 a year.

FIVE YEARS IN ANAHEIM

Farley is being paid a base salary of $237,400 annually as superintendent of the 21-campus Anaheim Union High School District. He has been in that role since 2005, and in 2008, received a four-year contract extension until 2012.

The district serves junior high and high school students across much of Anaheim, as well as Cypress, Buena Park, La Palma and Stanton.

Anaheim Union Trustee Thomas "Hoagy" Holguin declined to immediately comment Monday, saying he had just returned from a vacation and was unaware Farley might be leaving.

During his five-year tenure in Anaheim Union, Farley has taken the district successfully through years of painful budget cutting and gained tremendous respect in the process.

Among his many accomplishments, Farley is largely credited with turning around a school construction bond project that was facing heavy scrutiny.

An independent audit that was released just a month after Farley's hiring showed that because of earlier mismanagement, the district would be able to complete less than half of the projects planned under a $132 million bond program.

Like Capistrano, Anaheim Union has been forced to cut tens of millions of dollars from its budget in recent years. Most recently, under Farley's leadership, Anaheim Union was able to get teachers to agree to a 3.24 percent pay cut next year in the form of six furlough days.

"His integrity and dedication to doing what is right for the students and for the district – not what is expedient or political – is unparalleled," Anaheim Union Trustee Katherine Smith said in a 2008 interview.

Holguin echoed those sentiments, saying at the time that Farley had more than met the board's expectations.

"He has affirmed, time and again, that our confidence was not misplaced when we selected him," Holguin said.

NEW CHALLENGES

Capistrano will come with a special set of challenges for Farley. The South County school district – Orange County's second-largest, after Santa Ana Unified – remains embroiled in bitter, parent-driven politicking.

Last week, a group of district activists announced they have gathered enough petition signatures to force a recall election this November that could oust two district trustees. It would be the district's second recall election in as many years.

And the school district is still reeling from three days of teacher picketing last month that forced the 52,000-student district to cancel or postpone scores of programs and activities and pushed attendance rates as low as 30 percent.

The bitter standoff – over the language of a 10.1 percent pay cut imposed on teachers – laid bare Capistrano's deep community divisions and ongoing political rancor.

Even so, Capistrano has consistently affirmed its academic prowess. Last year, the district's growth Academic Performance Index score, an overall gauge of a school district's scholastic standing, shot up 21 points, to 857. The statewide benchmark is 800.

"He is very oriented to student achievements," Capistrano school board President Anna Bryson said in an interview last week, "and he is looking forward to taking a very high-achieving district to the next level."

Contact the writer: 949-454-7394 or smartindale@ocregister.com

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More information:

• Database of total superintendent pay for 2008-09 for all O.C. districts
• New Capistrano Unified superintendent will be Anaheim's Farley *Updated

Capistrano district picks schools chief finalist

Source: OC Register

By SCOTT MARTINDALE
2010-05-04 13:15:42

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Capistrano Unified's school board has tentatively selected a successor to outgoing Interim Superintendent Bobbi Mahler, but has not released the finalist's name pending a reference check and visit to his school district, school board President Anna Bryson said.

The individual, who is male and a superintendent at another school district, would be responsible for managing 56 schools and an annual budget of about $372 million. He is expected to be officially hired at a school board meeting May 11 and would assume the post by July 1, Bryson said.

"We're very proud of our choice," Bryson said of Monday night's closed-door decision. "He was notified right after our board meeting, and he was very excited and very energetic and looking forward to it. He is very oriented to student achievements, and he is looking forward to taking a very high-achieving district to the next level."

Capistrano Unified's next superintendent will have the dubious distinction of being the seventh person in the past four years to fill the district's top administrative post.

The school board fired its last permanent schools chief, Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter, in March 2009 after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure. Mahler, a retired schools administrator from the Buena Park-based Centralia School District, was hired a few months later, in June, to replace Carter on a one-year basis.

(Click here to view a timeline of the political instability surrounding Capistrano's last seven superintendents.)

NATIONWIDE SEARCH

Capistrano's superintendent finalist was chosen after an exhaustive, nationwide search that netted 46 qualified applicants.

Bryson said the school board was looking to offer him a three-year contract, although she said its length and his salary were still being hammered out.

Three district trustees will visit the finalist's school district, likely this week, and also will contact its school board to do a reference check, Bryson said.

It is unknown when his name will be released; it could be as late as May 11, Bryson said.

Bryson also declined to disclose if he works in Orange County.

Steven Fish, the superintendent of neighboring Saddleback Valley Unified, on Monday announced he will be leaving effective July 1, but Fish is retiring and is not Capistrano's finalist.

POLITICAL UNREST

Capistrano Unified – Orange County's second-largest school district, after Santa Ana Unified – remains embroiled in bitter, parent-driven politicking.

A group of district activists on Monday announced they have gathered enough petition signatures to force a recall election this November that could oust two district trustees. It would be the district's second recall election in as many years.

And the school district is still reeling from three days of teacher picketing a week ago that forced the 52,000-student district to cancel or postpone scores of programs and activities and pushed student attendance rates as low as 30 percent.

The bitter standoff – which was over the language of a 10.1 percent pay cut imposed on teachers – laid bare Capistrano's deep community divisions and ongoing political rancor.

Bryson said the superintendent finalist had "done his research" and was aware of the political challenges.

"He is very aware," Bryson said. "This is a superintendent who enjoys a challenge, and he certainly has proven it with his track record."

Bryson also said he would be in it for the long haul.

Three years ago, following a similar nationwide search, Capistrano's school board selected Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified schools chief Dennis Smith to become its next superintendent. But he walked off the job after less than a month, citing "uncertainty and instability" in the district.

"The finalist is not an interim," Bryson said. "This is not a man who thinks like an interim. He likes to see the long-term results of his work. This superintendent will create news of a different type going forward. He will bring the attention back to where it belongs – the education of 52,000 children."

Contact the writer: 949-454-7394 or smartindale@ocregister.com

Capistrano district activists collect 32,000 recall signatures

Source: Orange County Register

By SCOTT MARTINDALE
2010-05-03 13:23:04

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – A group of Capistrano Unified activists attempting to recall two district trustees from office this November has collected more than 32,000 petition signatures per trustee from community members, about 50 percent more than the minimum number required to put the issue on the ballot, organizers said.

The signatures will be submitted to the county registrar by the end of the month to be counted and verified, organizers said. If a minimum 21,850 signatures are declared valid, the politically fractured school district will face its second recall election in as many years.

"The response was just huge," said Pete Espinosa, a spokesman for the Parents for Local Control recall group. "It was very satisfying to see the amount of signatures collected in that short period of time. It shows parents really know what's best for their children."

Capistrano Unified's latest recall attempt – the third in the past five years – is the product of mounting frustration by a group of community activists angry at the school board's handling of fiscal and policy issues.

The group says it's disturbed by what it characterizes as "out-of-control spending" by Capistrano's "reform"-minded school board, purported conflicts of interest by trustees and alleged nepotism.

Parents for Local Control says it is targeting trustees Ken Lopez-Maddox and Mike Winsten because their terms aren't up until 2012 and because it is cumbersome to try to recall more trustees. Also, three different trustees will be up for re-election this November.

Lopez-Maddox and Winsten, who have adamantly defended their track record, say they are being targeted by the district's influential teachers union, which has long opposed them and the rest of Capistrano's school board.

Parents for Local Control denies any direct connections to the teachers union, but many teachers individually support the recall effort, especially in the wake of a crippling, three-day teacher strike a week ago, when many teachers blamed the school board for the bitter standoff.

Also, during the strike, many teachers helped gather recall petition signatures, including some who took time off from their picket line during the school day to assist with signature gathering.

The Orange County Republican Party's 73-member governing body, meanwhile, in February condemned the recall attempt as a "union-backed effort to remove the new regime that has brought fiscal accountability to the district."

TRUSTEES REACT

Winsten said Monday his track record spoke for itself and that voters should not be misled by the recall group.

"The unsolicited support reaching out to me has been overwhelming," Winsten said.

"I'm very confident of my record and of the increasing support for myself and my colleagues," Winsten said, referring to the school board's decision to unilaterally impose a 10.1 percent pay cut on the district's teachers. "We have taken the rights steps to ensure a sustainable future for our school district."

Lopez-Maddox said Monday he was skeptical the group has collected as many signatures as it says it has. The group collected the signatures over a two-month period, using less than half of the time it was legally allotted.

"I'm doubtful they've collected that many signatures," said Lopez-Maddox, who was brought to office in a 2008 special recall election. "I'm calling their bluff. It's time to put up or shut up. They need to turn those signatures in for qualification now."

Parents for Local Control says it intends to continue collecting signatures and submit them by the end of this month, likely by May 21.

Orange County Registrar of Voters Neal Kelley said that if the group is seeking to put the recall on the Nov. 2 ballot, organizers should submit their signatures to his Santa Ana office by June 1. This will ensure that the signatures can be counted in time for the recall to be placed on the November ballot, assuming the recall qualifies.

Parents for Local Control said the short, two-month time span it took to gather the required signatures was "unprecedented" for Capistrano Unified.

In the district's last recall election in 2008, the CUSD Recall Committee group also collected about 50 percent more signatures than required, but took a full five months to do it.

Kelley said that if the group indeed has collected 32,000 signatures per trustee in a two-month window, it would be the shortest turn-around time in Orange County that he has seen since becoming the county registrar six years ago.

YEARS OF RECALL FERVOR

Capistrano Unified's 2008 recall election has its origins in the district's "reform" movement, which was started in 2005 by a group of parents weary of what they viewed as poor planning and fiscal mismanagement by district administrators and the school board.

Although their first effort – a 2005 recall of all seven Capistrano Unified trustees – failed, the "reform" movement focused attention on facilities needs, fiscal accountability and the leadership of Superintendent James Fleming, who was eventually indicted on charges of creating "enemies lists" of the school board's political opponents.

Galvanized and popularly received, the CUSD Recall Committee, as it became known, replaced three trustees in November 2006 with candidates Ellen Addonizio, Anna Bryson and Larry Christensen, and two more in a June 2008 recall election with Lopez-Maddox and Sue Palazzo. They were joined by "reform" candidates Winsten and Jack Brick in November 2008.

If the recall qualifies for the Nov. 2 ballot, it will be the second issue Capistrano Unified's 220,000 registered voters will be asked to consider. A separate group of activists, Capistrano Unified Children First, will bring a ballot measure to voters that seeks to restrict voters to electing one trustee to represent their geographical area, instead of voting for all seven in an at-large election. The switch is intended to improve accountability and to give voters a chance to get to know the candidates better.

Contact the writer: 949-454-7394 or smartindale@ocregister.com

Capistrano Unified to hire schools chief Monday

Capistrano Unified to hire schools chief Monday

Source: OC Register

By SCOTT MARTINDALE
2010-04-30 16:25:45

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – The Capistrano Unified School District is expected to hire its next schools chief Monday to replace outgoing interim Superintendent Bobbi Mahler, just a week after a crippling teacher strike laid bare the political rancor and community unrest in Orange County's second-largest school district.

The school board will meet behind closed doors Monday night to consider hiring one of two finalists; neither of their names has been released.

"They are the most impressive candidates we've ever seen," Capistrano school board President Anna Bryson said. "They have dealt with good times and bad times, and they are very well equipped to deal with the disparate interests that we have. We are fully confident in either of these people to be able to do a good job for everyone – those who agree with us and those who disagree with us."

Capistrano Unified's next superintendent will have the dubious distinction of being the seventh person in the past four years to fill the district's top administrative post.

(Click here for a timeline of Capistrano's political instability.)

The school board fired its last permanent schools chief, Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter, in March 2009 after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure. Retired schools administrator Bobbi Mahler was hired a few months later, in June, to replace Carter on a one-year, interim basis.

Although the school board is expected to choose its next superintendent Monday night, it's unclear when the name will be released. The winning candidate must be afforded time to notify his or her current school district first, Bryson said.

Capistrano Unified is still reeling from three days of teacher picketing a week ago that forced the 52,000-student district to cancel or postpone scores of programs and activities and pushed student attendance rates as low as 30 percent.

The bitter standoff – which was over the language of a 10.1 percent pay cut imposed on teachers – exposed the deep community divisions in Capistrano Unified and forced many parents to take a side. Many in the district either aligned themselves with the teachers and their union leaders who called for the strike, or with the school board and its controversial imposed pay cut.

"In the current condition our school district is in – the strike, the budget deficit, the distrust of this school board – I have great doubts we will be able to attract the superintendent we need and want," said parent Erin Kutnick of San Juan Capistrano, a long-time critic of the current school board. "This new superintendent is going to have their work cut out for them just selling themselves to the public, because the constituents unfortunately have a great deal of distrust for this school board and therefore are going to distrust whoever this school board selects."

WALKING A FINE LINE

The ability of the next superintendent to walk a fine political line – that is, lead with conviction, but still satisfy the district's many vocal critics – could be key to his or her success.

Carter, a retired Army colonel, was celebrated upon his arrival in Capistrano Unified in September 2007 as an adept administrator who would assuage the district's raucous, parent-driven politics, yet he fell victim to it after just 18 months – and acknowledged it publicly.

In remarks to the school board the night he was fired, Carter said he was the victim of a smear campaign waged on blogs and in e-mails as the school board's composition changed over the past year.

"Get a life," Carter said at the meeting as his supporters applauded loudly. "And I mean that in the most sincere and affirming way possible."

Carter was enormously popular with union leaders, teachers and PTA leaders, but could not win over the district's many critics or weather the shifting composition of the school board. In 2008, five of seven trustee seats were reconstituted in a five-month time span.

Carter was fired in March 2009, by a unanimous school board that accused him of violating school board policies and state laws, illegally trying to sway school board elections, and deliberately working to undermine and embarrass the school board, among other charges.

MAINTAINING DIALOGUE

Meanwhile, Mahler, who has been at the helm barely 11 months, also has gained her share of critics.

Mahler has generally spoken in support of the school board's decisions, although she has always sought to have a dialogue with everyone.

"I would invite anyone in this room to please call me directly and make an appointment to come and see me if you have questions," she told about 900 angry demonstrators who showed up at a school board meeting earlier this month, at the peak of fervor over the imposed teacher pay cut. "It's very important for you to know that I do want to communicate with you."

Kutnick said Mahler's hands appeared to be tied by her interim status – and possibly by the school board that hired her.

"I don't think Dr. Mahler has been able to do much of anything, whether because she never had as much experience in a large K-12 district or whether the board has not allowed her to make any decisions," Kutnick said. "I don't think she can look back on the last year and point to any accomplishment or anything that has happened that has been positive. We've had a horrible year."

Bryson adamantly defended Mahler's track record, describing the retired administrator from the Buena Park-based Centralia School District as a capable, effective leader who has made great strides in a short time.

"She is the best superintendent we have had in the years I've been on the board," said Bryson, who was elected in 2006. "She has performed almost a miracle reorganization in our administration building, she has brought forth gifted, long-term employees to new positions where they can shine, and she has changed the format to help employees communicate. She has really helped the children get the education they need and deserve."

Regardless of how people perceive Mahler's track record, the school board appears poised to hire someone with a leadership style very similar to Mahler's.

"We are looking for someone who has wonderful skills like Dr. Mahler," Bryson said. "We want that high degree of interaction and openness continued, and we want education to be the primary focus."

Contact the writer: 949-454-7394 or smartindale@ocregister.com

Capo district violates open-meeting laws for 5th time

Source: Orange County Register

Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter addresses the school board on March 9, 2009, the day he was fired. An Orange County judge has ruled that one of the discussions leading up to Carter's termination violated the state's Brown Act open-meeting laws.

SANTA ANA – An Orange County judge has ruled that Capistrano Unified's school board violated the state's open-meeting laws in August 2008 when it held a closed-door evaluation of its then-superintendent, the fifth time the governing body had been reprimanded in the past three years for Brown Act violations.

Superior Court Judge David McEachen in Santa Ana said last week that Capistrano Unified School District did not properly prepare the agenda for the closed-door meeting and thus failed to inform the public that it was holding a discussion about whether to put then-Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter on paid administrative leave. The agenda referred only to a "performance evaluation," not disciplinary action.

The school board's decision to suspend Carter five months later, in January 2009, was met with fierce opposition from parents, teachers and other employees.

McEachen also ruled that trustees should have provided notice they were bringing in a non-district employee for the evaluation session – school-law attorney Spencer Covert – who served as a one-time, pro-bono consultant during the meeting.

"Covert's attendance either should have been on the agenda, or constituted the improper inclusion of a member of the public in the session," McEachen said in a March 16 ruling. "... The agenda did not adequately set forth closed-session topics and is in violation of the Brown Act (open-meeting laws) as to the unnoticed attendance of attorney Covert and the proposed disciplinary action against Superintendent Carter."

The judge's ruling does not impose any sanctions on Capistrano Unified, which has been ordered not to violate the Brown Act again.

Repeated violations

Capistrano Unified's school board has been sternly reprimanded five times for repeated Brown Act violations, the first four by the Orange County District Attorney's Office.

The board was reconstituted entirely between the first four violations and the most recent one, with the new "reform" trustees pledging a new era of accountability and transparency.

"This entire ("reform") school board ran on a campaign dedicated to restoring honesty, integrity, and accountability to public education," Vicki Soderberg, president of the Capistrano Unified Education Association union, said in a statement. "But if their action in this case is their definition of these qualities, I want no part of it, and thankfully, neither do the courts."

The teachers union, which was deeply critical of the school board's decision to fire Carter, initiated the lawsuit alleging the Brown Act violation in November 2008.

Trustee Mike Winsten, who was elected three months after the August 2008 violation, said he felt the judge erred in his ruling. And regardless, Winsten stressed, the violation was not of the same magnitude as in the past, when the D.A.’s office issued four consecutive stinging reports, the last of which said some former trustees had exhibited "disturbing disdain, if not outright contempt" for constituents when meeting behind closed doors.

“This was one incident 19 months ago, and there’s no hint or evidence it ever happened again,” Winsten said. “The Brown Act is so vague and ambiguous. Everyone is doing their best to comply with it.”
 

D.A.'s advice ignored

The D.A.'s office has said that ignorance of the Brown Act is not a valid excuse for elected officials, and has strongly urged Capistrano's school board to hire a full-time, in-house attorney who can provide consistency and expert advice.

But the 52,000-student district – Orange County's second largest – has yet to hire a full-time attorney, and as the district works to close an anticipated $34 million budget deficit, trustees have emphasized how much money they are saving by contracting out various jobs in the district office to part-time employees.

The school board employs about a dozen law firms that represent the district on a variety of specialized issues, from land acquisition to election law.

In its original lawsuit against the school board, Capistrano's teachers union also argued that trustees created an illegal quorum during a September 2008 school board facilities subcommittee meeting, when two trustees who were not members of the committee "began asking questions and/or making statements" at the meeting, thereby ceasing to be "mere observers."

The judge ruled there was no Brown Act violation in that instance, noting the two trustees did not engage in "substantive discussion or inquiry" at the meeting.

"The evidence submitted supports a finding that (trustee Ellen) Addonizio did not participate in the subcommittee meeting," McEachen said. "She asked the speaker to raise his voice so that she could hear and inquired as to when a topic might be discussed."

Judge dismisses ex-Capo chief's $5.5 million lawsuit

Source: Orange County Register

Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter addresses the school board on March 9, 2009, the day he was fired.

SANTA ANA – An Orange County judge has dismissed a $5.5 million breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by fired schools chief A. Woodrow Carter against the Capistrano Unified School District, his second such ruling since Carter's termination more than a year ago.

Superior Court Judge Steven Perk in Santa Ana said Friday that Carter had "no facts" to support the argument that he was wrongfully terminated under state labor laws, and no right to have been notified of performance-related issues before he was fired.

"Paragraph 10 (of Carter's employment contract) does not state termination would occur only after notice of complaints or criticism of performance, and does not provide any pre-discipline rights," Perk said in a tentative ruling he made final Friday. "Plaintiff was an at-will employee."

Capistrano Unified's attorney, Phillip Kossy, said he was pleased with the judge's decision

"The court's ruling validates that the Board of Trustees was legally able to terminate Mr. Carter and did not need to have any specified good cause, even though it specified many good causes for it," Kossy said.

Carter hung up on a reporter seeking comment Friday and did not immediately return a subsequent phone call.

Reasons for dismissal

Carter, a retired Army colonel, was fired March 9, 2009, after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure at the helm of Orange County's second-largest school district.

Capistrano's school board released a scathing, 54-page termination report that painted Carter as an insubordinate, scheming administrator who tried to sway school board elections and double bill the district for travel expenses.

In the termination report, Carter also was accused of showing "disturbing disregard" for student confidentiality matters, violating school board policies and state laws, and deliberately working to undermine and embarrass the school board.

Carter refuted the allegations in a 23-page rebuttal.

First lawsuit

Carter sued the school district in May 2009, asking for 18 months' severance pay that he said he was legally entitled to receive under the terms of his contract.

After the judge tossed out the lawsuit in December, Carter re-filed his lawsuit, this time seeking $5.5 million for future lost pay and benefits, including vacation pay, sick leave, health insurance and retirement pay.

The judge's ruling Friday was his final ruling on the matter, meaning that if Carter is still not satisfied with the verdict, he would need to appeal his case.

Most of the damages Carter was seeking in his wrongful-termination lawsuit stemmed from the future earnings he purports to have lost, although he also demanded to be compensated for lost pay and benefits under his contract.

• $4 million in future lost salary, fringe benefits and annuity payments
• $887,250 in lost salary under his contract, which was terminated prematurely
• $250,000 in lost fringe benefits
• $125,000 in annuity payments
• $107,000 in lost vacation and sick leave
• $4,700 in moving costs to relocate to Orange County
• $1,400 to seek comparable employment elsewhere

Carter also is seeking 10 percent interest on the $5.5 million, plus attorney fees.

Fired schools chief sues Capistrano Unified for $5.5 million

Source: Orange County Register

Capistrano Unified Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter addresses the school board last March, on the day he was fired. An Orange County judge tossed out his initial lawsuit against the district, but he has since refiled and is now seeking $5.5 million.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO – Fired Capistrano Unified schools chief A. Woodrow Carter has filed a $5.5 million breach-of-contract lawsuit against the school district alleging his termination has resulted in "future lost salary" and benefits, his second such attempt to be compensated since he was let go nearly a year ago.

Carter says Capistrano's school board violated the terms of his employment contract when he was fired in March 2009, according to a filing last week in Orange County Superior Court.

The school board neglected to "refer promptly all criticism, complaints and suggestions" to Carter for "his information and for study and recommendation," the lawsuit says.

"At all times herein relevant, (Carter) substantially performed his job duties except where his performance was excused or prevented by respondent's board of trustees or otherwise," the lawsuit says. "At all times herein relevant, (Carter) neither willfully breached his job duties nor continually neglected his job duties."

Carter initially argued his contract entitled him to receive 18 months' compensation if fired, but an Orange County judge tossed out that claim last month, noting there was no such provision in his contract.

Capistrano Unified's attorney, Phillip Kossy, said the school board had made Carter aware of issues related to his performance before he was fired. But regardless, Kossy said, Carter was not immune to termination, even if the school board did not specifically address all problems with him.

"I continue to believe that the lawsuit lacks merit," Kossy said. "Mr. Carter was provided feedback over a number of months on a number of items that are referenced in the termination decision. From reading the contract, I don't believe that the parties intended to mean that he couldn't be fired without the board or the district following that sentence or that section."

Carter, a retired Army colonel, was fired March 9, 2009, after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure at the helm of Orange County's second largest school district.

Capistrano's school board released a scathing, 54-page termination report that painted Carter as an insubordinate, scheming administrator who tried to sway school board elections and double-bill the district for travel expenses.

In the termination report, Carter also was accused of showing "disturbing disregard" for student confidentiality matters, violating school board policies and state laws, and deliberately working to undermine and embarrass the school board.

Carter refuted the allegations in a 23-page rebuttal.

Most of the damages Carter is seeking in his wrongful-termination lawsuit stem from the future earnings he purports to have lost.

He also demands compensation for lost pay and benefits under his contract, including vacation pay, sick leave, health insurance and retirement pay.

• $4 million in future lost salary, fringe benefits and annuity payments
• $887,250 in lost salary under his contract, which was terminated prematurely
• $250,000 in lost fringe benefits
• $125,000 in annuity payments
• $107,000 in lost vacation and sick leave
• $4,700 in moving costs to relocate to Orange County
• $1,400 to seek comparable employment elsewhere

Carter also is seeking 10 percent interest on the $5.5 million, plus attorney fees.

Capistrano Unified intends to file a written response in the coming weeks, Kossy said.

Carter's attorney, George Schaeffer, did not return a phone call Tuesday seeking comment.

Judge dismisses ex-Capo district chief's $487,425 lawsuit

Source: Orange County Register

Capistrano Unified Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter addresses the school board at a March meeting, just hours before trustees fired him.

SANTA ANA – An Orange County judge today tossed out a $487,425 breach-of-contract lawsuit filed by fired Capistrano Unified Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter asking to be paid for 18 months remaining on his three-year employment contract.

Superior Court Judge Steven Perk in Santa Ana said the former school district chief was not entitled to money under the terms of his contract. Carter was terminated in March in a unanimous school board vote.

"There is no provision in the contract for a buyout of 18 months of salary as severance," Perk said in a written decision. "The contract language is unambiguous."

Carter's lawsuit, filed in May, asked for $487,425 in damages, plus 10 percent interest and attorneys' fees.

While Perk dismissed the lawsuit, he granted Carter a 21-day window to revise and refile the lawsuit – known as a "leave to amend." Carter said Friday he hadn't decided whether to refile.

"My attorney and I have to talk about it again," he said.

The school board's attorney, Phillip Kossy, said it was common for judges to allow a plaintiff to refile in such cases.

"If we think it is still deficient, we will file another motion to dismiss," Kossy said. "If not, we will continue on with the case."

A trial date has been tentatively set for June 7, but the case would only go to trial if the judge reverses his decision based on an amended lawsuit.

The damages Carter sought were equal to half of his three-year, $974,850 contract, which was set to expire June 2011. Carter actually had two years and four months remaining on the contract, but state law prohibits him from seeking more than 18 months' compensation.

'Baffling' explanation

In his lawsuit, Carter had argued the terms of his contract, plus state law, allowed him to be paid for up to 18 months' compensation.

But Kossy, who characterized Carter's reasoning as "baffling," successfully argued that Carter was misinterpreting the law and that his contract called for no such buyout provision.

"Nowhere in the contract does it reference buyout or severance terms," Kossy said in court filings. "This fact is undeniable and dispositive. If it did contain a buyout term, the terms would be statutorily limited by (California Goverenment Code) Section 53260 – preventing plaintiff and defendant from negotiating more than a maximum of 18 months' severance."

Even before Carter was fired, his employment contract became a key issue of contention.

In spring 2008, shortly after the school board approved a permanent contract for him, Carter was accused of attempting to alter the contract by inserting a lucrative termination clause guaranteeing him 18 months' severance if fired.

The school board was forced to rescind the contract and approve a new one – without the clause. (Even so, Carter went on to claim in his lawsuit he was owed this 18 months of compensation.)

Later, after he was fired, the school district released a memo from Carter explaining how the contract was altered.

Carter said former board President Mike Darnold and a school board secretary inserted the clause because it was inadvertently omitted during the contract negotiations and Carter had "wanted" it from the beginning.

Tumultuous tenure

Carter, a retired Army colonel, was fired March 9 after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure at the helm of Orange County's second-largest school district.

Capistrano's school board released a scathing 54-page termination report that painted Carter as an insubordinate, scheming administrator who tried to sway school board elections and double-bill the district for travel expenses.

Carter also was accused of showing "disturbing disregard" for student confidentiality matters, violating school board policies and state laws and deliberately working to undermine and embarrass the school board.

Carter denied the allegations in a 23-page rebuttal.

The district, meanwhile, spent $66,758 in legal fees from December 2008 to February 2009 to fire Carter on March 9, according to invoices from the school board's law firm.

Fired Capistrano superintendent's lawsuit may go to trial

Source: Orange County Register

Capistrano Unified Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter addresses the school board at a March meeting, just hours before trustees fired him.

SANTA ANA - A jury could be asked to decide next year whether the recently fired superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District is entitled to nearly $490,000 in back pay for an alleged breach of contract.

Orange County Superior Court Judge Steven Perk today scheduled a settlement conference for May 21, 2010, and a jury trial for June 7, 2010, to resolve a lawsuit brought by former Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter that argues he should be paid for 18 months remaining on his three-year employment contract, plus 10 percent interest and attorneys' fees.

Carter was terminated in March by a unanimous school board vote.

"Defendant breached plaintiff's employment agreement on March 9, 2009, by failing to comply with the mandatory buy-out provisions … of plaintiff's employment agreement with defendant," Carter's attorney, William Schaeffer, said in court papers.

The lawsuit asks for damages equal to half of Carter's three-year, $974,850 contract, which was set to expire June 2011. Carter actually had two years and four months remaining on the contract, but state law prohibits him from seeking more than 18 months' compensation.

Carter's employment contract does not explicitly grant him any back pay if he is fired, but says he is entitled to seek up to 18 months' compensation under state law.

The school district, in its written response to the lawsuit, said it didn't breach the agreement and doesn't owe Carter any more money.

Both parties have agreed to a jury trial if necessary. Carter's attorney said in court papers he was planning to complete written discovery by October. The school district's attorney said he would finish written discovery by December and witness depositions by March 2010.

Carter, a retired Army colonel, was fired March 9 after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure at the helm of Orange County's second largest school district.

Capistrano's school board released a scathing, 54-page termination report that painted Carter as an insubordinate, scheming administrator who tried to sway school board elections and double-bill the district for travel expenses.

Carter also was accused of showing "disturbing disregard" for student confidentiality matters, violating school board policies and state laws, and deliberately working to undermine and embarrass the school board.

Carter refuted the allegations in a 23-page rebuttal.

The district, meanwhile, spent $66,758 in legal fees in December, January and February to fire Carter on March 9, according to invoices from the school board's law firm.

Six individuals have filled Capistrano's top administrative spot in the past three years. One resigned after less than a month, citing "uncertainty and instability." Another former schools chief, James Fleming, is scheduled to face a jury in October on charges he used district resources to illegally create "enemies" lists of parents who opposed the school board.

Bobbi Mahler serves as interim superintendent; no candidates have been identified to take the post permanently.

Fired schools chief sues Capistrano Unified for $487,425

Source: Orange County Register

Former Capistrano Unified Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter addresses the school board March 9, the day he was fired. Carter has sued the district for $487,425, alleging a breach of contract.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - The recently fired superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District has filed a $487,425 lawsuit against the district asking to be paid for 18 months remaining on his three-year employment contract.

Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter, who was terminated in March by a unanimous school board vote, said in court filings he was suing for "breach of contract" and also was requesting 10 percent interest and attorney's fees. The lawsuit was filed Wednesday in Orange County Superior Court.

"The lawsuit speaks for itself, and I'm still waiting for a more appropriate time to make a full statement to the public and the press," Carter said Monday.

The lawsuit asks for damages equal to half of Carter's three-year, $974,850 contract, which was set to expire June 2011. Carter actually had two years and four months remaining on the contract, but state law prohibits him from seeking more than 18 months' compensation.

"Defendant has failed to pay 18 months of plaintiff's salary, including the 15 percent annuity contribution, and to provide health care or cash equivalent for 18 months, pursuant to … plaintiff's employment agreement with defendant," the lawsuit says.

Capistrano Unified Trustee Ken Maddox, reached for comment Monday, said Carter's lawsuit was "wholly without merit."

"In fact, it's a load of bull," Maddox said. "Some of his actions (that he was fired for) were in violation of the law. We should send our findings to the district attorney's office and request a filing of charges."

Carter, a retired Army colonel, was fired March 9 after a tumultuous, 18-month tenure at the helm of Orange County's second largest school district.

Capistrano's school board released a scathing, 54-page termination report that painted Carter as an insubordinate, scheming administrator who tried to sway school board elections and double-bill the district for travel expenses.

Carter also was accused of showing "disturbing disregard" for student confidentiality matters, violating school board policies and state laws, and deliberately working to undermine and embarrass the school board. Carter refuted the allegations in a 23-page rebuttal.

"I'm saddened he's filed this lawsuit against CUSD, but the board stands by the charges for his breach of contract," Trustee Larry Christensen said Monday. "I'm not surprised he would elect to file a lawsuit against the school district, even though he is aware of the dire financial turmoil that CUSD is in right now."

Capistrano Unified is planning to cut $25.5 million from its budget this year, which would scale back scores of programs and services, from smaller class sizes to guidance counseling to sports.

The district, meanwhile, spent $66,758 in legal fees in December, January and February to fire Carter on March 9, according to invoices from the school board’s law firm.

The district has not yet appointed an interim superintendent to replace Carter. Carter's duties have been largely assumed by Deputy Superintendent Suzette Lovely.

Five individuals have filled Capistrano's top administrative spot in the past three years - with one resigning after less than a month, citing "uncertainty and instability."

Carter's lawsuit comes on the heels of a $487,425 legal claim that he filed against the district in March seeking similar reimbursement. The board unanimously rejected that claim.

Capistrano school district rejects ex-chief's claim of $487,000

Source: Orange County Register

CONTRACT CONTROVERSY: Capistrano Unified Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter is seeking $487,000 in pay and benefits from Capistrano Unified.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - The fired superintendent of the Capistrano Unified district is seeking $487,000 in pay and benefits - money he says is due him under the terms of a contract first signed in February 2008.

Trustees fired A. Woodrow Carter on March 9, saying he had materially breached his contract, which ran through June 2011.

He filed his claim on March 13, arguing that the contract entitles him to receive his monthly salary for the number of months left on the contract or 18 months, whichever is less. He also seeks interest at a rate of 10 percent annually on the amount owed, plus compensation for attorney fees and lost retirement benefits.

Carter earned $273,000 annually, meaning he would receive $409,500 over 18 months. The $487,000 he seeks includes benefits.

Trustee Jack Brick said Carter's claim was unanimously rejected by the board of trustees in closed session.

"I just think that the preponderance of material didn't indicate that he should be retained," Brick said.

Attorneys for Carter and the district were not immediately available for comment.

Carter's contract itself was surrounded by controversy. First, the initial contract was modified without the Board of Trustees' knowledge - with the following sentence added: "If the Trustees fire the Superintendent, he is entitled to 18 months compensation pay."

Trustees also adopted the contract in a Feb. 25 closed session and failed to report their action properly - actions the District Attorney's Office later said violated the state's open meeting law.

Trustees corrected both issues in June, rescinding the first contract and adopting a new one with nearly identical language and terms. The new one omitted the questionable sentence, but left in the state law language indicating the superintendent would be eligible to receive up to 18 months' compensation if his contract was terminated before its end date.

Attorney for the district, Cathie Fields, said the state law was intended to set a maximum benefit, not create an entitlement.

“The government code doesn't say you must pay this much (18 months' pay). It says the most you can pay is this much,” Fields said.

Carter’s attorney, Bill Shaeffer, said the former superintendent plans to pursue legal action once he receives legal notice that the claim has been rejected.

“We will file a complaint for breach of contract in Orange County Superior Court,” said Shaeffer.

Fields said that Carter's claim is not provided for in his employment contract.

“We do not believe that the claim has merit,” she said.

More information:

• CUSD Decision on Termination of Employment
• Superintendent Carter Rebuttal Information to Termination
• CUSD Superintendent's Contract of Employment
• A. Woodrow Carter Claim for Damages

Report: Ex-Capistrano schools chief 'insubordinate'

Source: Orange County Register

A. Woodrow Carter criticized Capistrano Unified trustees Monday, saying their "persistent, malicious actions would have tainted any staff member."

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - The recently fired superintendent of the Capistrano Unified School District is painted in a scathing, 54-page termination report as an insubordinate, scheming administrator who tried to sway school board elections and double-bill the district for travel expenses.

Former Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter also is accused of showing "disturbing disregard" for student confidentiality matters, violating school board policies and state laws, and deliberately working to undermine and embarrass the school board, according to the report, a copy of which was obtained by the Orange County Register late Thursday.

The termination report, dated March 17 and signed by board President Ellen Addonizio, lists 25 charges against Carter and examples for each charge - as many as nine per charge. The charges, not all of which are deemed significant or substantiated in the school board's findings, were presented to Carter on Feb. 26.

Carter responded with a 23-page rebuttal to all of the charges on March 9, the day he was fired.

Many of the 25 charges appear to stem from Carter's poor working relationship with Capistrano's seven-member board, including personality clashes that led to heated verbal arguments and untimely roadblocks to progress on key district affairs. But the report also contains more serious charges that Carter violated state laws.

Carter's rebuttals are incorporated into his termination report, although the report dismisses those responses for the most part, noting that "a number of statements in Carter's rebuttal are untrue or grossly misleading."

The report offers no indication that Carter will be paid for any of the 28 months remaining on his employment contract.

Phone calls to Carter and Addonizio were not immediately returned.

INFLUENCING ELECTIONS

In Capistrano's hotly contested June 2008 and November 2008 school board elections, Carter is accused of using his position as superintendent to illegally influence the outcome of the races. E-mails sent from Carter's official district e-mail address show that he worked to help certain candidates get endorsements, including from Capistrano's teachers union and Orange County's schools superintendent, and instructed a secretary to "prepare an agenda" that allowed a school board candidate "to visit 2-3 schools a day."

Carter confirmed engaging in these activities in his 23-page rebuttal, but argued they did not constitute "political activities." The school board, in its report, didn't buy into Carter's defense.

"After stating, 'I deny that I participated in political activities,' Carter admits providing Peggy Lynch (a retired superintendent from San Clemente) and county Superintendent William Habermehl with names of political candidates to support," the report says. "The denial that doing so constitutes 'political activities' is not credible.'"

The report notes that the law prohibits district employees from using school district time and resources "for the purpose of urging the support or defeat of any ballot measure or candidate."

This is the same law that indicted ex-Capistrano Unified Superintendent James Fleming is accused of violating when he purportedly created "enemies" lists of school board opponents during a failed 2005 school board recall attempt. Fleming is scheduled to be tried next month on those charges.

DOUBLE-BILLING

Carter also is accused of attending at least two conferences in which he improperly billed the district for meal expenses.

On March 9, the day he was fired, Carter attempted to correct these "errors" by handing over a personal check for $130, the report says.

For example, at the three-day Northern and Southern California Superintendents Joint Conference in Napa Valley in May 2008, Carter requested $55 per-diem meal reimbursements for a May 8 dinner and a May 9 lunch and dinner, even though the event already included these meals. Saying it was an inadvertent mistake by his secretary, Carter on March 9 refunded the district $120 for those meals.

"I admit to inadvertently not checking these two vouchers as thoroughly as I should have," Carter wrote in his rebuttal.

POOR FINANCIAL CHOICES

The report also notes that Carter "demonstrated a disregard for district funds at a time of increasing fiscal uncertainty."

At the three-day California Superintendents' Health and Wellness Institute in Temecula in October 2007, Carter was reimbursed a $200 registration fee to attend one-hour seminars on topics like "the advantage of being a green district" and participate in activities including "a day of workout sessions and health screenings" and "networking and wine tasting."

"The trustees knew I had been hospitalized for four days the first week of June with a serious health problem," Carter wrote in his rebuttal. "… This conference had excellent suggestions on how to address job pressure."

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

The report also says that one of the sponsors of the October 2007 institute was Max Medina of Rancho Cucamonga-based WLC Architects. Four months after attending the institute, Carter recommended that Capistrano Unified use WLC as the sole provider of architectural services to the district; previously, three different architectural firms had been used.

Carter denied any improper conduct, but the report said "his failure to disclose that WLC Architects was a sponsor of the Health and Wellness Institute at the time he recommended WLC … likewise demonstrated, at the very least, poor judgment and a failure to keep the board informed."

CONFIDENTIALITY BREACHES

Carter also is accused of using the blind-copy e-mail function to send copies of at least nine district e-mails to his personal friends and colleagues outside the district. This "fundamental breach of trust," the report says, allowed information about students and employees to be viewed by the wrong eyes.

The report also notes that following the district's June 2008 recall election, Carter failed to update the list of e-mail addresses he was using to correspond with trustees, resulting in communication going to some former trustees and not current trustees. Carter called it an oversight, but the report said it demonstrated his "disturbing disregard" for the proper dissemination of important information.

PREVIOUS ALLEGATIONS

Many of the other charges outlined in the report have been covered by the Register during the course of Carter's tumultuous, 18-month tenure:

• Carter attempts in spring 2008 to alter his employment contract by inserting a lucrative termination clause that was never approved by the school board. The school board, in its termination report, characterizes the act as an attempt at "fraud and deceit." In his rebuttal, Carter says former board President Mike Darnold and the school board secretary inserted the clause because it was inadvertently omitted during the contract negotiations and Carter had "wanted" it from the beginning.

• Carter pushes forward in winter 2008 with construction of a $3 million outdoor stadium at newly opened San Juan Hills High School in San Juan Capistrano on a plot of land not owned the district. The school board says it demonstrated Carter's "inadequate oversight" over the project. Carter says he relied on improper legal advice; the board says it's no excuse - it was his responsibility.

• Carter tells trustees he and his staff "dropped the ball" on installing two much-needed portable classrooms at San Clemente's Benedict Elementary School in summer 2008, forcing classes to be housed in the school library and music room. Carter cites turnover in staff in the district office as responsible for the oversight.

CAUSE OF POLITICAL STRIFE

Many in the Capistrano community have been quick to defend and praise Carter.

His supporters have said he was extraordinarily dedicated to his job and made great strides to repair the politically fractured district.

At a Dec. 18 meeting in which Carter's performance was evaluated, trustees listened to 3-1/2 hours of testimony from dozens of parents, teachers and community members; all but a handful of the speakers implored the school board not to fire Carter, as was widely believed to be his fate.

But the school board's termination report points the finger of blame for many of the district's political problems on Carter.

In one case, he was responsible for a "deliberate attempt to set up public opposition" to a district proposal in January to permanently shutter a Laguna Niguel elementary school, the report says.

ATTACK ON PERSONAL CHARACTER

Carter's personal character is also called into question in the report.

On Jan. 5, the day before the school board put him on paid administrative leave, Carter used a district-owned computer to e-mail a friend during the work day: "There are 5 trustees who are as cowardly as any group I known [sic], and they backed off trying to fire me. I hope the hell they do, then I would get a nice buy-out and go on an extended golfing vacation!"

"While Carter purports to 'love' the district and care for its students and the community, his apparent certainty that he would receive a 'nice buy-out' and 'an extended golfing vacation' at district expense is insulting and offensive to every member of that community," the report says.

Six days after he was put on leave, Carter again used a district-owned computer to e-mail a friend. At the end of the message, he wrote, "I will call you tomorrow. Where are all the white women?"

The context of that e-mail is unclear, but the board noted that Carter, in his rebuttal, did not "attempt to explain the inappropriate, racially charged language."

More information:

• CUSD Decision on Termination of Employment
• Superintendent Carter Rebuttal Information to Termination

Capistrano Unified trustees fire superintendent

Source: Orange County Register

A. Woodrow Carter speaks to the Capistrano Unified school board Monday, just hours before they voted unanimously to fire him as superintendent.

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO - Capistrano Unified Superintendent A. Woodrow Carter was fired Monday for "material breach of contract," the culmination of a rocky, 18-month tenure at the helm of Orange County's second-largest school district.

Capistrano's seven-member school board put Carter on paid leave two months ago, and it was widely believed that eventually he would be fired. No interim superintendent was appointed Monday.

School board President Ellen Addonizio announced the unanimous vote for termination about 11:45 p.m., following a closed-door meeting that lasted nearly an hour.

"The board voted for (dismissal based on) material breach of contract and requested that counsel prepare a statement consistent with its decision," Addonizio said.

She declined to elaborate further, and it wasn't immediately clear if he would be paid for any part of the 28 months remaining on his contract. The district will continue to be run without a superintendent, as has been the case since Carter was put on leave Jan. 6.

Carter, who attended Monday's meeting, said the board had presented him with more than 60 charges. He said he had submitted a written response refuting all of the charges, but declined to elaborate on them.

"It's still very much a personnel issue," he said.

However, in a 10-minute speech to the board - his first public appearance since trustees voted 6-1 to put him on leave - Carter talked in broad terms about his tenure at Capistrano, saying he had become a victim of "adult-centered" politics.

"In hindsight, I may have made some inadvertent mistakes, but the board's persistent, malicious actions would have tainted any staff member," he told trustees.

The school board's majority flipped in June 2008 in favor of those who ran on Capistrano's politically popular "reform" platform.

The "reform" movement, which grew out of a failed 2005 recall movement, had long promised to clean house, ridding the district of what it characterized as mismanagement and corruption. The "reformers" now occupy all seven school board seats.

Carter, who had led the 52,000-student district since September 2007, was working under a three-year, $974,850 employment contract approved by trustees in June 2008. Like other superintendents, he served at the pleasure of the school board and could be fired at will.

Standing before Capistrano's seven trustees and about 100 audience members, Carter said he was the victim of a smear campaign waged on blogs and in e-mails as the school board's composition changed over the past year.

"Get a life," Carter said as about 100 of his supporters in the audience applauded enthusiastically. "And I mean that in the most sincere and affirming way possible."

Carter came to the meeting accompanied by his lawyer but did not stay to hear the 11:45 p.m. decision announced.

He said he was given the list of more than 60 charges Feb. 27 detailing why he was put on paid administrative leave. He received documentation supporting the charges March 4, he said.

In an interview after his speech, he declined to elaborate on the nature of the charges, but said he had prepared a 22-page rebuttal to all of the charges.

"The only thing I can say is that we have refuted all these accusations," Carter said. "We have had very little time."

Rumors the board intended to fire Carter began swirling in August 2008. Board members held a closed-door discussion of his performance in that month and again in December.

More than 250 parents, teachers and community members attended the Dec. 18 meeting, speaking passionately about Carter for 3 1/2 hours. Carter himself gave an emotional, 10-minute speech, saying he felt his tenure would "almost assuredly" be over.

That night, trustees announced no action and Addonizio said the purported firing was a rumor spun wildly out of control.

"The board has confidence in the superintendent," she said at the time.

Then, at a Jan. 6 meeting, she said the lengthy comments in December had prevented the board from finishing their evaluation. At the end of the second meeting, he was put on paid leave.

After his speech on Monday, Carter received a standing ovation from an audience of about 100 supporters. He mingled briefly with some parents and staff members and hugged a few of them. Then he left.