Capo Talk
Marcus E. Walton
Chief Communications Officer
mewalton@capousd.org
www.capousd.org
(949) 234-9308
33122 Valle Road
San Juan Capistrano, CA 92675
Oct. 2010 Volume 1, Number 5
In This Issue
• Classified Contract Approved
• Schools Prepare for Walk to School Day Events
• San Juan Hills Boasts National Achievement Semifinalist
• Castille Elementary Parents Earn Bronze from Governor
• San Clemente H.S. Student Brings Smiles to Brazil
Board Approves Contract with Classified Workers
Agreement on a two-year contract with classified workers in the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) has helped restore a 2 percent reserve used to temporarily balance the budget while negotiations took place. The settlement with the California School Employees Association (CSEA), approved by the CUSD Board of Trustees on Tuesday night, saves the district $5.3 million and helps restore the state-mandated budget reserve at 2 percent.
“We are extremely proud of the sacrifices our classified workers have made to help us through these extraordinarily difficult budget times,” Board President Anna Bryson said. “The leadership of our new superintendent and our senior staff was critical in coming to terms with CSEA. Only with the help of all of our employees can we weather this crisis and still provide the high quality education our children deserve and our community demands.”
The District’s classified workers, who include employees such as instructional assistants, occupational therapists, food service workers and clerical staff, overwhelmingly ratified the contract on Sept. 15. They will take between five and 12.5 unpaid days, accept a 0.7 percent pay reduction effective retroactive to Sept. 1, forgo automatic pay increases for individual employees for one year and consolidate work hours and calendars. The contract runs through June 2012.
“I am happy that we came to an agreement through mediation and I am happy that we have some stability,” CSEA President Ronda Walen said. “A lot of our classified workers have been anxious not knowing their financial future, but we understood that sacrifices would have to be made.”
With the CSEA contract now ratified and approved, CUSD employees groups have contributed approximately $27 million in salary and benefit concessions, which contributed significantly toward closing the estimated $34 million shortfall the District faced for 2010-11.
“When you are negotiating the livelihood of your employees, things are never easy,” Superintendent Joseph M. Farley said. “It is my hope that we are close to the end of making difficult choices that hurt our students, our employees and our communities. Everyone is grateful to CSEA for its willingness to negotiate for the sake of our children and for proving, once again, that the education of our children is the highest priority for all of us.”
Since 2007-08, CUSD has cut approximately $100 million from its general fund budget. Officials estimate the District will need to cut an additional $10 million from its 2011-12 budget.
CUSD Urges Students, Parents to Walk to School
The Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD) is urging students and their parents to walk instead of drive to its campuses on Wednesday, Oct. 6 in celebration of International Walk to School Day. Thousands of CUSD students will be walking to school along with parents, teachers, administrators and community leaders. In the United States, International Walk to School Day is expected to include 5,000 schools from all 50 states. Walkers from the U.S. will join children and adults in 40 countries around the world. Among the scheduled events will be a march led by world champion surfer Greg Long at Concordia Elementary School, the kickoff of Samantha’s PRIDE, a neighborhood child protection program, at San Juan Elementary School and the presentation of a $5,000 technology grant at Clarence Lobo Elementary School.
SJHHS Senior Named National Semifinalist
SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO—A San Juan Hills High School senior is one of 1,600 students designated a semifinalist in the 47thAnnual National Achievement Scholarship Program, officials of the National Merit Scholarship Corporation (NMSC) announced. Sterling J. Sackey, 18, is one of nine students in Orange County and 110 in the state to be named a semifinalist in the program. He is eligible to compete for one of approximately 800 scholarships worth more than $2.5 million. The semifinalists were selected from more than 160,000 students who requested they be considered for the program when they took the 2009 Preliminary SAT/National Merit Scholarship Qualifying Test (PSAT/NMSQT).
Castille Wins Bronze in Fitness Challenge
The Castille Elementary School PTA was recently awarded a bronze medal in the 2010 Fitness Challenge Spotlight Award Parent Association division by the Governor’s Council on Physical Fitness and Sports. Parents have sponsored the school’s Marathon Club, in which 180 students met twice a week after school to run 26.2 miles over the course of three months. The final mile of the marathon takes place in January at the Keebler Kids Race at Legoland, where Castille has the highest participation of any school or youth organization.
San Clemente H.S. Student Takes Smiles to Brazil
Frannie Coxe, a co-founder of the operation Smile Club at San Clemente High School, spent her final 12 days of summer in Brazil as part of an international team helping to provide corrective facial surgery to children born with deformities. See the full story in the OC Register.
