Greater Orange News Service

OUSD Staff recommends new cuts

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 18:34:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

As California Budget crisis continues….
OUSD Staff recommends new cuts

The Orange Unified School District continues to deal with the $32 million three year budget shortfall caused by the current California Budget Crisis. Dealing with the continued state driven budgetary crisis that will cause a projected 9 million dollar budget shortfall in the 2010-2011 school year, at the October 29th Orange Unified School District School Board Meeting, OUSD Assistant Superintendent of Administrative Services Mike Christensen presented a laundry list of possible cuts that the OUSD Administration is currently studying. Those further needed cuts included the following possibilities: the elimination of district busing support funds for high sports programs and the GATE program: class size increases in elementary and high school levels; elimination of the Elementary Instrumental Music Program and elementary summer school; and the closing of 1 of the remaining 4 small schools-Riverdale Elementary. Staff reductions also under consideration are high school assistant principal secretaries; the third high school assistant principal; elementary library media technicians and custodial staffing cuts; and increasing class size ratios.

Unlike past less severe budget crisis, current OUSD Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier has actively sought input from administrators, teachers, employees, students, parents and community members in addressing the crisis. Her solution oriented approach has paid off in big buy-ins from the community at-large and the local teachers and used the budget crisis to forge an almost unified community front to the crisis. Taking the lead to model cuts, she has slashed her own offices workers, budget, and frills and amended her own contract for a two percent cut that she asked all district employees take. In her short time as OUSD Superintendent, Dreier single handedly has created an atmosphere of shared sacrifice after years of out-of-control spending by former OUSD Superintendent Dr. Thomas Godley who retired in controversy by taking a retirement package after boosting his own pay several times.

Needing to cut $ 4.5 million in additional cuts over the coming two budget years, items form the October 29th possible cuts list will be presented as real figures for the OUSD Board at the November 12, 2009 OUSD School Board Meeting when staff presents recommended cuts with budget figures attached as Information Item 13 A (Agenda Page 4). Final consideration and a vote on the staff recommended cuts will take place at the December 10, 2009 OUSD Board Meeting.

Canyon Transfer Impact Report at the November 12, 2009 Meeting
The OUSD Staff will present an Information Report (13 B agenda page 5) on the impact of the proposed territory transfer of the Inter-Canyon Leagues request for transfer of the canyon communities to the Saddleback Unified School District. Parents of students at the now closed Silverado Elementary School are spearheading the transfer of the canyon communities to Saddleback Unified despite the fact that all inter-district student transfers to Saddleback Unified have been approved by OUSD since the closing of Silverado Elementary School.

Another Charter School Petition
Just after the OUSD Board rejected a “spam” charter attempt at the October 29, 2009 OUSD Board Meeting, the district has received another application for a charter school and will be required to again hold a public hearing and spend valuable staff time investigating the application. Action Item 12 A (agenda page 3) is a vote to hold a public hearing on the Barack H. Obama Leadership Academy Charter School application at the December 10, 2009 Board Meeting.

INSIDE Community Donations to OUSD Schools
Canyon H.S. ASB- $4000 in pay stipends for Girls Tennis and Water Polo; Serrano PFO- $851 in floor savers; Tustin Lexus-$3,650 in supplies to Serrano Elementary; Chapman Hills PTA-$347 paint and timers; Office Max - $1,000 in school supplies to California Elementary; Orange Education Foundation- 1,200 hand Avant Hand 16 oz hand sanitizers to all OUSD classrooms. (for a complete list of the $14,600in donations see page 7-8 of the Agenda).

INSIDE the OUSD Budget
INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $1,041,000
2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
Total $1,038,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008):
$18,150.00*
* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:

Next OUSD Board Meeting Thursday November 12, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM
For AGENDA-CLICK ON NOV 12

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015
ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/

“Independent Local Insight”

OUSD to deny Global Tides “Spam” Charter School

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:23:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

OUSD to deny Global Tides “Spam” Charter School

In a scathing 14 page Board of Education Resolution, the Orange Unified School Board will reject the Charter School Petition of Global Tides for the Orange County Charter School at their October 29, 2009 regular OUSD Board Meeting. Action Agenda Item 12 A (pages 3-21) on the OUSD Board of Education October 29 Agenda has a staff recommendation denying the application on three of five legally required areas and notes that at the September 9 OUSD Board Meeting at a legally required Public Hearing no speakers, including anyone from any of the organizations involved in the proposal, spoke at the hearing. The unprecedented Agenda recommendation also noted that five OUSD administrative offices spent time working on the legally required review of the application: Administrative Services; Educational Services; Human Resources; Pupil Services; and the Superintendent’s Office.

The Resolution, which reads more like an indictment of facts, cites the fact that Charter School Development Systems, one of a web of players involved in application that are named in the Resolution, has filed 91 similar petitions across the state. The “partner” of Charter Schools Development Systems is named in the Resolution as Ed Futures Inc., a for-profit California corporation. The Resolution reveals the investigations about both entities claims and cites experiences with the firms from other school districts across the state including Long Beach Unified. Following the Resolution in the Agenda are four pages of a 16 page report on the Ed Futures charter schools in Oakland Unified. In an emailed review of the Resolution for its members the local watchdog group the Greater Orange Communities Organization praised the OUSD staff report for its veracity as it blasted the “spam application” tactics used by the Ed Futures Inc. and its partners:

“…again valuable local resources are being targeted by Edu-businesses intent on spending local educational tax dollars to line their for-profit pockets without regards to the educational missions of our schools. The GoCo directors applaud the Dreier Administration’s local quick and effective response to the spam application from Charter School Development Systems’ latest example of educational funding waste and fraud. We can only hope that the Dreier Administration diligence on taxpayer asset protection is as vigorous and their research is as diligent when state funds return to the district and educational consultants again line up to feed at the educational tax fund coffers.”
-Greater Orange Communities Organization email 9/26/09

Located in Newport Beach, Charter School Development Systems filed charter school petitions for an "internet" based charter school with all of the unified school districts in 14 carefully selected California counties: Alameda, Calaveras, Kern, Madera, Orange, Placer, Plumas, Riverside, San Benito, San Diego, Siskiyou, Sonoma, Tehama and Yolo. Under state law, an approved charter school can accept students from the county in which the charter was granted, as well as from adjacent counties. The Charter School Development Systems website offers this example: “If one of the eight districts in Kern County were to charter our online, K-12 charter school, then we would have the ability to enroll students from Kern, San Luis Obispo, Kings, Tulare, Inyo, San Bernardino, Los Angeles, Ventura, and Santa Barbara counties” because all of those counties share a border with Kern County. The Charter School Development Systems petitions which were filed with 91 different school districts were signed by the same six teachers and in each case contain identical language describing the proposed charter school program. The goal of Charter School Development Systems is to establish an online K-12 charter school program that could enroll students in any part of the state. If Charter School Development Systems is successful in getting a charter from at least one school district in each of the 14 counties where it has filed petitions, they could then enroll a student anywhere in California.

To receive a statewide benefit charter from the California State Board of Education, Charter School Development Systems needs to establish a three-year track record and prove that students across California would benefit from their schools. Charter School Development Systems is the first group to ever try this tactic and nothing in state law currently prevents groups from filing so many applications at once. The tactic will cost hundreds of thousands of dollars in educational tax dollars in school district's staff time alone across the state.

For more information CLICK ON: Charter School Development Systems
and Ed Futures Inc

OUSD Budget Update on October 29, 2009
At the October 15, 2009 OUSD Board Meeting staff presented a bleak report on the district’s future budget outlooks due to the continuing fiscal crisis (see link to presentation below). The multi-year budget predictions identify $16 million reductions in the fiscal years of 2010-2011 and 2011-2012. Potential budget cuts will be presented in a staff report Budget Update as Informational Item 13 B. A preliminary budget with cuts will be voted on at the OUSD December 10th Meeting. For more information CLICK ON: OCTOBER OUSD BUDGET

INSIDE Community Donations
Target Corporation $56.27 for supplies-Fairhaven E.S.; Mc Pherson ASB $1,800 for drama stipend-Mc Pherson Magnet; Serrano PFO $872 for Carnival rubbish cans- Serrano E.S.; El Modena Cheer Boosters $3,760 for stipends- El Modena H.S.; Canyon Band Boosters $7,945 for stipends- Canyon H.S. (for a complete list of the $96,000 in donations see page 25 of the Agenda).

INSIDE the OUSD Budget
INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009: Total $1,041,000
2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
Total $1,038,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008): $16,940.00*

* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
TOTAL $750,000

2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Next OUSD Board Meeting Thursday October 29, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM
For AGENDA-CLICK ON: OCT 29 AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm
For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD

OUSD to Study Canyons Secession Bid to Saddleback Unified

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Tue, 13 Oct 2009 23:31:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

OUSD to Study Canyons Secession Bid
to Saddleback Unified

Orange Unified will study the possibility of letting the Canyon communities that fed into the now closed Santiago Elementary School leave Orange Unified and join Saddleback Unified. The secession bid was presented as Information Item 13 B at the September 24, 2009 Orange Unified School Board Meeting. Speaking for the Inter-Canyon League, Dr. Deborah Johnson outlined reasons for the Canyon communities to secede from OUSD and join Saddleback Unified. After Johnson, several Canyon community speakers followed her presentation with more emotional appeals including threatening political and electoral retributions if OUSD Trustees tried to stop what many speakers said was an inevitable secession by the Canyons.

In response to a question about the timing of the of a possible move by OUSD Trustee Dr. Alexia Deligianni, OUSD Superintendent Renae Dreier stated that the move could not take place this school year, and because she has approved every student transfer request to Saddleback Unified from the Canyon communities, she did not see the item as urgent. Among the needed steps was contacting the Orange County Committee on School District Organization for their expertise as well as researching all the needed facts of the proposal. OUSD Trustee Kathy Moffat asked for more information in two areas. First, what is Saddleback Unified’s view on the issue and second a more complete view on the positions of the Canyon community. Moffat wanted assurances of the validity of a survey taken by the Canyons that had a small reply in the sampling. Furthermore, Moffat noted that budget cuts in Saddleback Unified do not guarantee the Canyon communities would do better in seceding.

Follow-up stories by the Orange County Register after Orange Net News broke the story last month had Saddleback Unified spokesperson stating the proposal was an OUSD matter and that the Saddleback Unified Board of Education has not considered or discussed the matter. Saddleback Unified closed two schools last year in response to the current fiscal crisis.

OUSD Board hears staff report on OUSD State Testing Scores
OUSD Administrators put their best spin on the OUSD State Testing Scores despite dire implications in the yearly score card. Dr. Marsha Brown, OUSD Assistant Superintendent of Educational Services stayed positive by emphasizing what she called “bright spots” of Science and Math scores as well as emphasizing OUSD schools that scored over the 900 and 800 test benchmarks. Characterizing OUSD’s growth as “slow steady growth” the report focused on OUSD scores being “about the same as the county” and “outperforming the state by a long shot”. Of course those characterizations while technically true, they are really mischaracterizations when looked at in context.

OUSD has spent millions of dollars on educational consultants for no real return in test scores as evident by the same “slow steady growth” that most Orange County and California school districts have also seen since testing was implemented at the end of the 1990’s. Yet the vast majority of school districts have not fallen prey to the educational consultant merry-go-round of failed programs at great taxpayer expense that OUSD squandered millions of educational tax dollars on. In addition, Orange County scores as a whole are influenced by the dismal scores of Santa Ana Unified. When that district is taken out of the statistics, the county scores are farther ahead of OUSD. Likewise, the scores of California districts as a whole are skewed by major urban districts like Los Angeles Unified and perennially low scoring districts like Oakland and Compton that statistically bring the total state scores down.

The OUSD presentation also included the information on how OUSD became a first year Program Improvement District. Using a multi-colored chart showing the increasingly impossible Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) benchmarks required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, the OUSD staff explained how OUSD missed growth in enough AYP sub-groups to become a first year Program Improvement District. This presentation shows OUSD’s future under No Child Left Behind is bleak. The chart showed that the OUSD Hispanic/Latino subgroup failed to meet the AYP benchmarks that translate to an ever dismal testing future for OUSD. With 23,200 total OUSD students taking the state tests in 2009, 10,600 of the OUSD students (46%) are identified in the subgroup of Hispanic/Latino, making them by far the largest single student population in OUSD followed by (Whites at 37% and Asians at 11%). This fact, combined with the unrealistic expectation under the current version of No Child Left Behind that EVERY student (100%) are to score at least “Proficient” by the year 2014 means years of bad testing news ahead of OUSD.

Dr. Brown’s gaffs on the state tests also were of concern to longtime Board watchers. Among her gaffs Brown identified the California CST 8th Grade History Test given as a U.S. History test (the test covers history standards of three grades-6th, 7th and 8th- with only a portion devoted to U.S. History). At another point in the report, Trustee Moffat asked Brown to identify the value of the breakdown of the five scoring levels (Advanced, Proficient, Basic, Below Basic and Far Below Basic). Unable to come up with the simple scoring (i.e. in elementary tests 350 out of the 600 possible equals the “proficient” level ) Brown was forced to pull a Sarah Palin (as in the infamous Katie Couric interview) and said she’d be glad to get back to Moffat with the answer.

Dr. Brown was also quick to point out that eleven Orange County school districts are now classified as Program Improvement as she compared OUSD with Buena Park (elementary) and Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified. The full list of both Program Improvement and Non-Program Improvement districts in Orange County was not in the staff report, but here they are. The 12 Orange County Program Improvement Districts are: Anaheim City; Anaheim Union; Buena Park Elementary; Fullerton Elementary; Fullerton Joint Union; Garden Grove Unified; Huntington Beach Union; Orange Unified; Ocean View Elementary; La Habra City; Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified; and Santa Ana Unified. The 14 Orange County districts that are not Program Improvement are: Brea-Olinda Unified; Capistrano Unified; Centralia Elementary; Cypress Elementary; Fountain Valley Elementary; Irvine Unified; Magnolia Elementary; Saddleback Unified; Savanna Elementary; Tustin Unified; Los Alamitos Unified; Laguna Beach Unified; Newport-Mesa Unified and Westminster Elementary.

Also while OUSD increased their Program Improvement designated schools, some of their existing Program Improvement schools were given a “pass” under a special statistical “rule” adeptly named “safe harbor” by educrat statisticians. An example of this statistical abnormally can be found in OUSD Portola Middle School. Under “safe harbor” statistical wild card, Portola was given a pass on its failing scores because it met the “safe harbor” wild card criteria. Under the “safe harbor” statistical rule exception, a school will qualify when a subgroup shows “a decrease of students below proficient by 10 percent over the prior year” despite failing in the regular statistical requirements. Thus proving that statistics still mean what politicians want them to and that No Child Left Behind is a statistical joke that has some very unfunny consequences for communities across America, including the Greater Orange Communities.

Inside the September 24th , 2009 Meeting
Where’s Waldo?
Trustee John Ortega reported that he had been absent from recent OUSD Board meetings because he had been selected for peace offer training at the FBI National Academy in Virginia. Ortega is a Deputy Orange County Sherriff.
For more information on the FBI Academy CLICK ON: FBI

Minute student responses hit the spot
For years getting all the SCABEE representatives (the student representatives to the OUSD Board) more involved at meetings has been an ongoing challenge. At the September 24th meeting a simple change has accomplished that long sought after goal. At that meeting, instead of one high school presenting a year’s overview of the school, the SACBEE representative give quick updates on each high school’s activities. That was a big improvement over the once a term all encompassing one high school highlighted format that will allow the student representatives not only to actively participate in the meeting, but also highlight up to date relative highlights and information to the Board and community. Unfortunately, it appears that change was not an orchestrated ongoing change because the old all encompassing one SACBEE representative Power Point on one high school returns at the October 15th OUSD Board Meeting. Maybe it’s time for a “hybrid” model.

OUSD Teachers take pay cut, staff employees at impasse
The OUSD Board approved a change in the contract between OUSD and the teacher’s association – the Orange Unified Education Association resulting in a 2% pay cut. The new agreement includes eliminating four scheduled teacher training days saving the district around 2% of the teacher’s payroll costs. Trustee Melissa Smith called the cut to teacher’s pay “no small matter” as she emphasized that the current state financial situation is to blame. Negotiations between the Classified staff union, the CSEA, and OUSD have not been settled and are currently in impasse and are meeting with a state appointed mediator. The many outstanding issues included pay and healthcare cost increases and how long an agreement will cover. While the negotiations are on-going, Classified employees are paying the full cost of health benefit increases. In addition to those cuts, OUSD is also asking Classified employees to take a 2% pay cut for three years.

Moffat utters “R” Word…again
The bastardization of the English language by Educrats reared its ugly head at the September 24th OUSD Meeting as Trustee Kathy Moffat spoke the “R” word that the discredited Education Consultant, known as “He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named” (you know Willard Daggett) made infamous. That’s right Moffat said “rigor”. Speaking the “R” word in an educational sense is so more than just clearly 1990’s… it is an out-of-touch gaff that shows the ignorance of the speaker and their dependence on buzzwords (perhaps Buzzword Anonymous is needed for such serial offenders). Apparently as Trustee Kathy Moffat utters the “R” word, she takes the Dark Lord’s (Voldemort) words to heart, words that could have easily been said by the Educational Dark Lord Willard Daggett- “there have always been those willing to let me into their hearts and minds”. Of course Daggett would add “wallets”.
For more information CLICK ON: RIGOR and DAGGETT-The Dark Lord

INSIDE the October 15, 2009 OUSD Board Meeting
Information Item 13A – The OUSD Legislative Coalition will give an update on legislation and actives of the committee.
Information Item 13B Budget Update- the latest doom and gloom on how bad it will be with the figures on the impact of the July state budget on the districts budget. Well, there are those small schools…

INSIDE the OUSD Budget
INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $1,041,000
2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
Total $1,038,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008):
$16,940.00*
* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *

* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Next OUSD Board Meeting Thursday October 15, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM
For AGENDA-CLICK ON: AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/

Metro TALK: It’s….OKTOBERFEST Time

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 02:25:00 +0000

Metro TALK
A community service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/

It’s….OKTOBERFEST Time
The Anaheim Hills Rotary Club presents OKTOBERFEST III 2009 Saturday October 3rd from 12 Noon to 5:00 pm at the Oak Canyon Nature Center. This year’s annual October Party in the Hills features live bands (of course Oompah!) lots of food including German favorites like-bratwurst, sauerkraut and soft pretzels. Beer, wine and a talent show full of local residents will be just part of the fun activities for the entire family are scheduled throughout the day. Plus every want-a-be German’s favorite- THE CHICKEN DANCE! All this and admission is FREE!

Oktoberfest III 2009
Oak Canyon Nature Center
6700 Walnut Canyon
Anaheim Hills

MAP AT:OKTOBERFEST

IRVINE RAILROAD PUMPKIN PATCH OPENS FOR FALL
The always fun Irvine Park Railroad has opened it’s Pumpkin Patch until November 1st seven days a week (weather permitting) from 10 am- 5 pm weekdays 10-6 pm on weekends). The Pumpkin Patch is located behind the Irvine Park Railroad Station and entrance is free with the normal park entry fee and prices of pumpkins vary with size. The Pumpkin Patch has a farm house feel and is decorated with Halloween décor perfect for holiday pictures

Other family fun ticket attractions included the 12 min. Irvine Railroad ride, a tractor hayride, a Pumpkin Patch Photo Booth ($7.00 for 1st photo $5 additional ones-cash only), a John Deer Tractor Races (age 4-7), a Halloween Bounce Jumper and Halloween carnival booths. But that’s not all- free attractions include a spooky Haunted House, a Hay Maze, and always memorable Picture Stands (you know you stick your head in a hole and your whole face is on another body and Dad takes your goofy picture). Plus, for those with email addresses a guess the Pumpkin Weight Contest-yes the winner gets the Giant Pumpkin as the prize (notified by email). Food for purchase or covered picnic areas for picnics are also available. All this is in addition to the regular Irvine Park attractions like the paddle boats, the pony rides (closed Mondays) and the Orange County Zoo.

Discount Tickets are Available here: IRVINE COUPONS

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State tests results make OUSD a Program Improvement district

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Tue, 22 Sep 2009 01:36:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

New AYP scores mean
State designates Orange Unified a Program Improvement District

The Greater Orange Communities 55 Freeway Divide became more apparent in the latest release of the state Accountability Progress Reporting (APR) figures last week (September 15, 2009). The reports show that while Orange Unified’s state Academic Performance Index (API) scores grew 11 points (California as a whole saw a 14 point statewide increase in scores) the bad news far outweighs the good news for OUSD and other districts with similar socio-economic factors that exist in the sprawling district west of the 55 Freeway Divide that everyone familiar with Greater Orange knows, but rarely mentions. However, reading the September 21, 2009 Press Release from OUSD Administrative Director of Communications Larry Hausner and you would imagine everything in OUSD-land is as squeaky clean as the Magic Kingdom. While the success in OUSD should be acknowledged, to ignore or gloss over the problems does not meet OUSD Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier's “knowledge is power” mantra.

The state tests show that OUSD failed to meet 8 of the 40 federal criteria for the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) mandates under No Child Left Behind student subgroups and is now officially designated as a first year Program Improvement district for the first time since California started assigning designation to underperforming districts. In addition three new schools also joined the district’s nine other Program Improvement designated schools ranks- Orange High School, Cambridge E.S. and Jordan E.S.- bringing the district total of Program Improvement schools to an all time high of 12. Schools failing to meet the AYP requirements two years in a row are designated as Program Improvement. The new designations mean more work for overworked staff at both the district and school levels and possible eventual state takeovers. None of this news was in the Hausner’s Press Release.

The released state reports show that 24, or 63% of OUSD’s schools met or exceeded their “growth targets” or the number of targeted points for “growth” in student scores on standardized tests given at the end of the 2008-2009 school year. Nearly a quarter (24%) of OUSD schools scores stayed the same or had declines in the targeted growth. The scores are greatly influenced by Language Arts and Math standardized testing scores.

OUSD Graduation rates fall 3.1%
Another item missing from the Hausner Press Release was that graduation rates also fell in OUSD last year from the 2008 graduation rate by 3.1% (from 93.5% in 2008 to 90.4% in 2009). El Modena H.S. showed the largest decline in graduation rates posting a 6.5% decline (from 98.3% to 91.8%). Orange H.S. posted a 2.2% drop; Villa Park H.S. a 1.4% drop and Canyon H.S. a .03% drop.

Villa Park H.S. falls below magic 800 with 26 point API score drop
Nine OUSD schools posted declining API scores from a -2 point drop at Palmyra E.S. to a -29 point drop at Lampson E.S. At the secondary level, Santiago Charter and Yorba M.S. had scores drop, while Cerro Villa M.S., El Rancho M.S. and Portola M.S. saw scores increase. Portola M.S.( in its fifth year as a Program Improvement school) apparently reaped huge benefits from funding for small class sizes. The school posted a 38 point increase, the highest of any OUSD secondary school.

At the district’s high schools, only Villa Park H.S. posted declining API scores with a -26 point drop. That drop brings Villa Park H.S. below the magic 800 score that the state expects all schools to rise above. Villa Park H.S. API score is now at 776. This is the second time Villa Park has risen above the sought after 800 mark and then fallen back below. In addition, Villa Park H.S. was one of 11 OUSD schools to fail to meet the federal AYP criteria. If Villa Park fails a second year to meet the AYP criteria, it will become the second OUSD high school to become a Program Improvement school. Any Program Improvement school in Villa Park, let alone the tight-knit community’s name-sake high school would be a bitter pill for the politically active community to deal with.

On the other hand, 19 OUSD schools surpassed the magic 800 state number. The Hausner Press Release lead off reporting that 6 schools climbing over the 900 score, three for the first time. The six schools ( all east of the 55 Divide) are Anaheim Hills E.S. (first time-902); Chapman Hills E.S. (930); Nohl Canyon E.S. (930); Panorama E.S. (927); Serrano E.S. (first time-914); Villa Park E.S. (first time 908). Also in the Hausner Press Release was a list of the highest API increases led by Canyon Hills at 83 points. The Hausner Press Release also failed to mention that Canyon Hills 90 students are students who have moderate to severe disabilities and do not take the state standardized tests. Those students take the California Alternative Performance Assessment (CAPA) Test. The test is administered by on site teachers who interpret the student answers and write them down in the test.

To see a sample of a CAPA test question and how a teacher is suppose to score
CLICK ON: CAPA TEST

Handy E.S. increases 25 points- 13 points below 2008 level
In 2008, Handy E.S. increased testing scores by 38 points. On July 24th 2008, despite a California fiscal emergency, the Orange Unified School Board Trustees approved spending $10,000 of educational tax dollars to hire consultant Dr. Dennis Parker from the Orange County Department of Education to conduct workshops at Handy E.S. in a program called the Strategic Schooling Initiative. The Orange County Department of Education website promised that the Strategic Schooling Initiative will increase a schools API score by 30-40 points. The web-link to that claim was publicized by Orange Net News and has since been removed.

That said, the year before hiring the $10,000 consultant Handy had a 38 point increase. So logically based on the OCDE website claims, this year the school’s scores should be increasing by an unprecedented 78 points with the Dr. Dennis Parker’s $10,000 “Magic Pill” consultant program (the 38 points the school did without the program last year, plus 30 points promised by the consultant program). Of course when the district can least afford to spend money on another snake-oil consultant, they did. You know the rest of the story, not only did Handy not significantly raise scores above what they did before the consultant- they actually failed to match their pervious year’s scores by 13 points. And yes for the sake of argument-even failed to reach a 30 point improvement by 5 points. Another Consultant Fable bites the dust with what edu-cats like to point to: “data”.

To view the Hausner Press Release CLICK ON: Hausner Press Release

Inside the September 10, 2009 OUSD Board Agenda
The OUSD Trustees voted to adopt the 2008/09 Unaudited Actuals and of Revised Budget 2009/10. Staff reported that Sacramento lawmakers had lowered the required reserves from 3% of the budget to 1.7% freeing up extra money for school districts. However, the fix (as with most fixes from Sacramento) is temporary and district staff warned that more cuts may be needed in the December revisiting of the budget and they are compiling options for further proposed cuts.

Also at the September 10 meeting, Trustee Mark Wayland continued his digging for answers in the Consent Item. Not content to just be a rubber stamp. Wayland refuses to vote on items he needs more clarification on- believe it or not…an elected official who continues to carry out campaign promises!

Former OUSD Superintendent Dr. Godley front page news
In a front page article on Sunday September 20, 2009 Biggest Pensions Tax State Fund, the Orange County Register‘s OC Watchdog writes about the 3,000 plus retired educators who make over $100,000 a year in retirement from the State Teacher’s Retirement Fund (STRS). Former OUSD Superintendent Dr. Godley’s retirement pay is $210,211 a year according to records cited by the article. The article does not mention the Retirement Bonus Godley received from OUSD after only 5 years as Superintendent. Even a motion by long-time Godley supporter Trustee Kathy Moffat who made a motion to amend the retirement buy-out plan to remove Godley from the Retirement Bonus would not convince the other OUSD Trustees.

Mofatt’s amendment failed by a 4-3 vote as Trustees Wes Poutsma, Kim Nichols, Melissa Smith and John Ortega on record voting against the Moffat Amendment to exclude the superintendent from the buyout with Moffat, Rick Ledesma and Steve Rocco voting to exclude Godley.

The OC Register article begins its section on Godley with:
“Another member of the "100,000-plus" club, former Orange Unified School District Superintendent Thomas Godley collects $210,211 a year. He was the budget chief for Newport-Mesa Unified when a finance worker siphoned $3.7 million to buy such things as full-length fur coats in 1992”.

To read the full OC Register article CLICK ON:GODLEY

To read about Kathy Moffat’s attempt to exclude Godley
CLICK ON:GODLEY AMENDMENT

INSIDE the September 24th OUSD Board Agenda
Canyons want to secede – Charter School wants approval
Having failed in its bid to get OUSD to keep Silverado E.S. open, the newest plan is to leave OUSD and join Saddleback Valley Unified School District. The Inter-Canyon League will be presenting Information Item 13 B (Agenda page 36). If the Board lets the Canyons go will Anaheim Hills be far behind?

An unknown entity called Global Tides Inc. has petitioned OUSD to open a charter school. Agenda Item 13 C (Agenda page 37) the Board will hear about a report from the staff on the fiscal impact of the proposal and decide to hold a public hearing on the charter proposal on October 29, 2009.
For more information on the Inter-Canyon League
CLICK ON: Inter-Canyon League

INSIDE the OUSD Budget
INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $1,041,000
2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
Total $1,038,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008):
$15,730.00*
* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:

Next OUSD Board Meeting Thursday September 24, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM
For AGENDA-CLICK ON: SEPT 24 AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD

is an independent news service of /O/N/N/

News from the Real OC- A Blog Star is Born!

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Wed, 16 Sep 2009 21:11:00 +0000

Metro TALK
a community service of the
Greater Orange Communities Organization

News from the Real OC-
A Blog Star is Born!
Orange resident, mural artist, and mom-about-town Kim Harman’s blog is our newest favorite local blog. Far removed from the constant deluge of daily reality from Washington or Sacramento, and far removed from the reality world of the many spoiled “Housewives” given their own cable shows, Harman’s blog is remarkably down-to-earth and fun. Called “Notes from the Real OC”, the blogs information mast declares:

“Though you might not know it from TV, OC is more than beaches, blonds and Botox. The Real OC is made of people of all incomes, ethnicities, interests, and political persuasions. The Real OC is a great place to live. Lots of remarkable things happen here and some of them happen to me. That's what this blog is about. Life in the Real OC, from the perspective of a not-quite-young-definitely-not-old mom/wife/friend/writer. Check it out--Notes from the Real OC.”

From running marathons, to parenting and school, houseplants and growing old (gracefully!!!) the Harman’s blog is what it promises “Lots of remarkable things happen here and some of them happen to me”. Move over Julia and Julie, Greater Orange has its own blog star!

Check it out with the link below and the link on the Greater Orange News Service main page. For Harman's Blog-Notes from the Real OC-CLICK ON:
Notes from the Real OC

All Canyons Clean-up September 19, 2009
The All Canyon Clean-up of Silverado, Modjeska, and Williams Canyon will take place in conjunction with the 13th Annual Inter-coastal Watershed Clean-up Day will take place this Saturday September 19, 2009 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Large bins and a chipper will be available for canyon residents at Santiago Canyon Road and Modjeska Canyon Road. Residents are urged to use the day to remove brush to create a defensible fire safe perimeter around homes. No haz-mat or electronic waste will be accepted.

Volunteers are needed to help with the clean-up of the canyons. For more information call Phil at 949-463-4592.

Orange Park Acres Western Fall BBQ and Dance
Orange Park Acres Western Fall BBQ and Dance will be held Saturday September 19, 2009 at the Davidson’s OPA residence, 6122 Santiago Canyon Drive. Live music and dancing, live and silent actions, raffles and of course-Barbeque! The fun starts at 5:30. The $30 per person tickets are available at the Hitch ‘n Post Feed and Tack 4921 E Chapman in Orange. Have a raffle or auction prize? Contact Sandy Forkert at 714-997-9135.

OUSD Technology and budget woes stress-out district
While Orange Unified Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier made a splash with her first day of school podcast, she maybe remembered more for her cuts to the OUSD Technology Department this year after citing that those jobs cut were basically people who turn computers off and on. Strapped with a nasty virus, the OUSD website had been a mess for the first month of school as frustrated students and teachers find the technology useless for most of the day. The overworked and significantly smaller OUSD Technology Department is outgunned and working on a shoestring. All this while a number of schools have idle technology needed for classes. Reading programs, math programs and computer classes are unable to function. At least one school has no functioning computer lab, while students sit in “computer classes” with nothing to do for a month.

Meanwhile, OUSD principals across the district have told staff that supplies will be running out soon. Scantrons, copying paper, testing pencils and so forth are expected at many school sites to be gone before the Winter Break. While some parent groups in the well-off schools have been tapped for help, students in less affluent areas (i.e. Program Improvement Schools) are more vulnerable. Without access to supplies and school based technology, next-year’s state testing scores at these high profile schools may take a big hit. Dr. Dreier's podcast on next year’s scores should be interesting-if anyone can turn on a computer to view it!

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OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Fri, 11 Sep 2009 23:07:00 +0000

OUSD Board fails to pass own pay cut again

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Mon, 07 Sep 2009 21:56:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

OUSD Board fails to pass own pay cut again
After quickly and without debate voting to decrease all Orange Unified Administrators pay by 2%, then again voting without comment or debate to amend the OUSD Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier's contract to cut her pay by 2%, the OUSD Board then failed to vote to cut their own monthly stipend (pay) by 2% or $15.00 at their August 20, 2009 Meeting. This is the second time the OUSD Board had failed to cut their pay, but this time the votes were reversed in the voting blocks.

In May the OUSD Board defeated a proposal to take a $75 cut (10%) to their $750 per month stipend. That May proposal failed in a tie 3-3 vote with the OUSD Trustees voting with their political allied blocks. Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat voted for the 10% reduction which was proposed to show what the trio called “leadership” on the issue of asking employees to take a pay cut due to the current state fiscal crisis. The 10% also represented a symbolic “cut” of an OUSD Trustees $750 per month stipend for a year spread over the seven trustees to show solidarity with the staff jobs that the district was forced to eliminate. Voting against the reduction was Ledesma Coalition allies -Trustees Rick Ledesma, John Ortega, and Alexia Deligianni. Trustee Mark Wayland was absent from the meeting. Board President Rick Ledesma at the May vote had called the proposal “political hay” which Trustee Melissa Smith publicly took offense to causing a terse exchange of words between her and Board President Rick Ledesma.

It was Smith at the August 20th who brought up Ledesma’s May “political hay” comment by commenting that now she would be making “political hay” by pointing out that she and others on the Board had already taking the 10% cut they had supported in May and any other Board members were welcome to voluntarily take a pay cut. After the vote in May, Kim Nichols directed the Superintendent to supply her with the needed paper work to take the cut on her own (Nichols stated at the August 20th meeting she has made those arrangements). In June Trustee Kathy Moffat began donating $75.00 representing the 10% a month back to the district, while OUSD Trustee Smith donated 10% back for a whole year in one $900 lump sum. One-by-one at the August meeting, Smith, Moffat, and Nichols cited those 10% give-back donations as their reasons for voting against the now proposed 2% cut promoted by Ledesma Coalition ally Trustee Alexia Deligianni. In the end, with Trustee John Ortega absent this time, the Deligianni proposal also ended up defeated in a 3-3 tie with the Ledesma Coalition voting for the 2% cut without comment (Ledesma, Deligianni and Mark Wayland-Yes) and Nichols, Moffat and Smith voting No after noting they are already donating 10% back to the district.

Davis Demographics Report:
“District may need to consolidate some of its smaller schools”
At its August 20, 2009 meeting, the OUSD Board heard a report from its demographic firm Davis Demographics about the continued district-wide declining enrollment and the impact on the district. Citing numerous trends from the economic (foreclosures and housing start projects put on hold) to birthrates and population mobility, the firm projected elementary school rates declining for at least 7 years. The report had been in district hands since March of this year.

The report cited 8 elementary school attendance areas with populations of less than 450 students and 6 of those school attendance areas below 400 students. Citing a continued decline for the next 7 years at Imperial, Panorama, Riverdale, Serrano, Olive and Nohl Canyon elementary schools, the report stated the “District may need to consolidate some of its smaller schools”. In response to the current fiscal crisis, the OUSD Board had closed its smallest school, Silverado Elementary amid fierce opposition from the small school’s canyon community. Some of the Trustees noted the difficulty of consolidating schools for communities. Kathy Moffat noted that the district’s smaller schools performed better (Editors’ Note: state demographic data attributes those achievements to racial and economic factors beyond school size). Trustee Melissa Smith noted that no one likes closing schools, but that as a Board they had to look at the good of all the district’s students.

OUSD Staff stated that the district would be starting a small study group to start conversations on “consolidation opportunities”. Those conversations would be with school principals, school staffs and PTA’s seeking input. Former OUSD Assistant Superintendent Jon Archibald had recommended that OUSD consider closing several schools in response to the current fiscal crisis. Only Silverado Elementary was ultimately closed. Class-size increases, program cuts and eliminations, reduction of high school counselors, across the board pay-cuts, and staff reductions were all used to off-set the financial crisis this year. However, the financial crisis is far from over and projected to continue to hamper OUSD’s budget for at least three more years.

OUSD Board discusses Surplus Property options
OUSD Staff also presented a report on OUSD’s surplus property options. Reporting that only two of the properties were producing income and that some inquires into purchasing some of the properties had been received, the staff looked for direction from Board on how to proceed. The OUSD Board appeared to want to hold onto the properties in case they were needed in the future, noting that while the demographic report showed declining enrollment for the next several years, but that the current schools are maxed out should more space ever be needed in the future and no more land is readily available. Leasing options to make some money off the land while retaining ownership seemed to be an option most preferred among the Trustees commenting on the report.

Drier continues to live up to her Knowledge is Power mantra
Far removed from the From Good to Great empty buzzwords of the former Godley Administration, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier continued to show she lives by her mantra Knowledge is Power. Facing a meeting full of retired teachers and administrators in the audience concerned over district proposals in health care negotiations, Drier addressed the elephant in the room and tried to calm fears by reporting during her Superintendent’s Report at the beginning of the August 20th Board meeting that an agreement on next year’s district health benefits had been reached and that a letter with the information was being prepared for mailing at that very moment. Then in addition to her reporting on receiving the room at Santiago Canyon College for the OUSD Administrative retreat for free ( the college is an educational partner of OUSD), Dreier reported she sent out the district’s first official “podcast” ever to all staff on the first day of school. The Superintendent also admitting that up until 6 months ago she did not even know what a podcast was, while reviews are that the popular Superintendent clearly shined on the first ever opening day school podcast that catapulted OUSD’s communication into the 21st Century using what Dreier described as capabilities the district already possessed. Perhaps this may be the beginning of a new career for the Superintendent who appeared every bit as telegenic as any professional broadcaster.

The Superintendent also reported that she had visited schools early in the day including welcoming former Silverado Elementary students and parents to Chapman Hills, visiting the newly remodeled Sycamore Elementary School, and visiting the now demolished and portable housed Yorba Middle School as they start their remodel project.

To view OUSD’s first Superintendent PODCAST CLICK ON: Dreier PODCAST.

Deligianni and Wayland question expenditures on Consent Items
Trustees Mark Wayland and Dr. Alexia Deligianni continued to use their power to pull items from the Consent Item instead of voting blindly to approve expenditures. Wayland pulled the $120,000 August 20th Consent Item agenda contract for BrainX tutorial program, while Deligianni pulled for more information the district’s fees for membership in the California School Boards Association. Staff answered questions regarding the expenditures and then the OUSD voted to approve both.

Inside the September 10, 2009 OUSD Board Agenda
Action Item 12 A- (Agenda page 2-10) Adoption of 2008/09 Unaudited Actuals and of Revised Budget 2009/10
Action Item 13 A – (Agenda page 11-15) Proposed Board Policy Revisions covering complaints against employees

INSIDE the OUSD Budget

INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $1,041,000

2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
Total $1,038,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008): $15,730.00*

* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Next OUSD Board Meeting Thursday September 10, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM

For AGENDA-CLICK ON: SEPT 10 AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/“Independent Local Insight”

Orange International Street Fair ends Summer 2009

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Wed, 02 Sep 2009 01:53:00 +0000

Metro TALK
A community service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/

Summer ends with the
Orange International Street Fair this weekend

The Orange International Street Fair’s 2009 theme is “Music Makes the World Go Round”. The annual end-of–summer Labor Day Weekend (September 4-September 6) bash celebrates its’ 36th year since being the centerpiece of the City of Orange centennial celebration in 1972 as a recreation of a 1910 Orange International Fair. True to this year’s theme, dozen’s of bands will perform on nine stages thought the four block downtown Old Towne Orange Plaza traffic circle center representing music from around the globe. More than 50 community organizations dedicated to serving the Greater Orange Communities rely on the Orange International Street Fair as one of their biggest fundraisers of the year. The event draws half a million visitors over its three days.

Visitors from out-of- town are encouraged to avoid the parking crunch by taking the Metrolink (at reduced weekend rates) to the historic Orange Santa Fe (Metrolink/Amtrak) Depot conveniently located adjacent to the street fair. As always no pets are allowed and wristbands for public alcohol consumption are required. Those wishing to brave the parking drama may try the Chapman University lots.

Hours:
Friday, September 4, 2009 5:00 p.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Saturday, September 5, 2009 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.
Sunday, September 6, 2009 10:00 a.m. - 10:00 p.m.

For more information CLICK ON:
METROLINK
ORANGE TRAIN STATION
ORANGE INTERNATIONAL STREET FAIR

All Canyons Clean-up September 19th , 2009
The All Canyon Clean-up of Silverado, Modjeska, and Williams Canyon will take place in conjunction with the 13th Annual Inter-coastal Watershed Clean-up Day will take place on Saturday September 19, 2009 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm. Large bins and a chipper will be available for canyon residents at Santiago Canyon Road and Modjeska Canyon Road. Residents are urged to use the day to remove brush to create a defensible fire safe perimeter around homes. No haz-mat or electronic waste will be accepted.

Volunteers are needed to help with the clean-up of the canyons. For more information call Phil at 949-463-4592.

Metro TALK
is a community service of ORANGE NET NEWS /O/N/N/

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OUSD principal's husband adds to fairytale

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Mon, 31 Aug 2009 00:45:00 +0000

Once upon a time continues…
OUSD Principal’s husband adds to fairytale

Even as Orange Unified Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier continues to move OUSD into the twenty first century and skillfully sheds the stodgy image created by former OUSD Superintendent Dr. Thomas Godley of a censorship-ridden self-serving Consultant Culture, many of Godley’s former administrators continue the self-serving philosophy of the former superintendent. In the past, OUSD politicians have sought to use the taxpayer paid communication tools for self-serving agendas. Today self-serving educrats seek to use those communication tools for self-serving career advancement and it is again the responsibility of the community to reveal the real story.

Again we turn our attention to Michelle Moore, Principal of Panorama Elementary School in OUSD and her school’s section in the School News Roll Call OUSD edition (page 14). During the Godley Administration, Moore in the past has used this publication for self-serving cheerleading for the Godley Consultant Culture boondoggle, the multi-million dollar failed Focus on Results program. Moore’s public cheerleading of crediting that failed consultant program with her small private-like upper middle class school’s testing successes was not only an affront to the parents of the students, but false in the face of the clear demographic data based on race, wealth and other empirical data cited by educators and policy makers since standardized testing was begun under No Child Left Behind. It is that demographic data that clearly explains why the scores of the “fairy tale” school Moore works at is not a product of her leadership or a taxpayer money guzzling consultant program (see links below). After debunking Moore’s self-serving Consultant hugging hogwash she wrote in the past OUSD edition of School News Roll Call we now turn to the latest August/September 2009 OUSD Issue of School News Roll Call and the Panorama Elementary School’s section piece written by Principal Michelle Moore’s husband, Dr. Rock Moore.

Dr. Rock Moore (with his name as the writer) pens a lavish tribute to his wife Michelle in the latest School News Roll Call and only identifies himself as her husband in one line buried in the article that states: “Mrs. Moore has asked me to include that she has been happily married to fellow educator, Dr. Rock Moore…”. It is interesting to note what a “fellow educator” means in the Moore family. Currently Dr. Moore is a pastor of a storefront-like church called His House in the Canyons which meets Sundays in the theater of Rancho Santa Margarita Middle School. He also leads a Men’s Study Group on Saturdays that meets at the Ruby Diner restaurant in Rancho Santa Margarita and according to his bio is “instructing a class at the local Christian College”

Dr. Moore’s degree is in Theology. Dr. Moore writes in his church’s website biography that he “left full time ministry to pursue educational interest until God led him back to this area in 1999”. Those educational interests included being the assistant superintendent for the Stockton Gospel Rescue Mission in Stockton and later as an administrator for a short time with Adelanto ESD in San Bernardino and he taught a class at Chapman University.

Dr. Moore also writes about his wife Principal Moore that “she is a successful author, with several publications centered on high student expectations and data driven instruction”. Being always leery of educational buzzwords being bantered around by Educrats and people we see as pseudo-educators, the only publication of the supposedly “several publications” that Dr. Moore writes in OUSD’s School News Roll Call that we could find attributed to "successful author" Michelle Moore is as a “co-author” of a 150 page paperback two chapter syllabus-like “book” called Active Teaching and Active Learning Strategies: Creating a Blueprint for Success. The “book” is a collection of long established teaching techniques and lists of state-standards teaching lessons and contains no real original educational thought one would expect from being touted as an educational publication. Who did "successful author" Moore co-author the book with? None other than husband Dr Rock Moore. The “book” is self-published by the pair as Rock and Michelle Moore MiRoc Publishing using an AOL Publishing Program and self-publishing Trafford Publishing. Trafford specializes in “on-demand” boutique self- publishing used by those who want to tell the world they are “authors”. The “book” was edited by Adrian Ober, Office manage at OUSD’s McPherson Middle School.

In the August/September 2009 OUSD Issue of School News Roll Dr. Moore also writes about Principal Michelle Moore “Moore has enjoyed speaking on both the national and international levels on contemporary educational themes”. However, again the only records we could find of Principal Moore “speaking” was with her husband presenting workshops together. The workshops for the National Social Studies Association include presenting a workshop at the 2003 National Social Studies Conference in Las Vegas and in 2002 in Toronto, Canada, not exactly an international educational stage.

Unlike his "successful author" wife however, we did find some independent writings from Rock Moore. Aside from a mediocre uninspiring education article during his doctorial work called School Leadership that Promotes a Dynamic School Culture (for National University) Dr. Rock Moore wrote a 396 page evangelical Christian book called Living Obedient in a Disobedient World. Published in 2009 by Revival Nation Publishing, a Christian boutique publishing company that lists 25 Christian evangelistic “authors’ they publish.
The publisher writes on its website what its publishing goals are:
"Our goal is to give authors who have a great writing style, a dynamic message and whose desire is to see the body of Christ edified in their work, and ultimately see lost souls won for the Kingdom, an opportunity to have their work published".

Moore advertises his book for sale on the His House in the Canyons website ($20.00) and also has a “commercial” for it on Tangle, an online community for Christians (you can buy it for $13.00 on the internet or read it for free from Google Books).

Ironically in their joint self-publication the Moores write about truth and trust:

“To clarify, trust derives from the word trost, and embraces the notions associated with comfort. Trust implies instinctive, unquestionable belief in another person or agency. Thusly, in a tandem relationship, trust exists when one fully believes in the integrity or character of another. Hence, when there is a high level of trust, the questioning of others motives or hidden agendas are diminished.”

Perhaps the Dr. Rock Moore and "successful author" Michelle Moore should take this part of their own writing to heart and perhaps Dr. Drier needs to remember that the Greater Orange Communities have an "instinctive, unquestionable belief" in her as the OUSD Superintendent to make sure that what is in the OUSD Issue of School News Roll Call is above reproach and far beyond fairytales of the past.

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
August/September 2009 OUSD Issue of School News Roll(see page 14):
Click on FAIRYTALE

Information on the Moore families book: SUCESSFUL AUTHORS

Information on Trafford Publishing: WEB PUBLISH

Trafford Publishing Costs from website: COST

His House in the Canyons Church website STOREFRONT CHURCH

Revival Publishing

Panorama Elementary School- Michele Moore’s Fairytale School : Moore's Fairytale

OUSD Board to vote on own $15 pay cut

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 04:43:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

While Smith and Moffat put their money where their mouth is…
OUSD Board to vote on own $15 pay cut

The Orange Unified School Board at their August 20, 2009 meeting will again take up a proposal to reduce their stipend after defeating a similar move in May. The latest proposal is for a $15 cut (2% reduction) to their pay. In May they defeated a proposal to take a $75 cut (10%) to their $750 per month stipend. The new proposed $15 cut is being put forth by Trustee Dr. Alexia Deligianni who voted against the originally proposed $75 cut in May.

The May proposal failed in a tie 3-3 vote with the OUSD Trustees voting with their political allied blocks. Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat voted for the 10% reduction. Voting against the reduction was Ledesma Coalition allies -Trustees Rick Ledesma, John Ortega, and Alexia Deligianni. Trustee Mark Wayland was absent from the meeting. Board President Rick Ledesma at the May vote had called the proposal “political hay” which Trustee Melissa Smith publicly took offense to. At the tense May exchange, Kim Nichols directed the Superintendent to supply her with the needed paper work to take the cut on her own. In June Trustee Kathy Moffat’s name appeared on the DONATION page as donating $75.00 (10% of her stipend) to OUSD. This month in addition to another $75.00 donation from Moffat, Trustee Melissa Smith is listed as donating $900 on the DONATION page of the August 20th Agenda (Agenda page 8) which is listed as “DONATION of STIPEND”. The two month donations from Moffat and Smith total $1,050. Deligianni’s proposed $15 stipend cut will amount to a $1,260 total annual savings for OUSD.

OUSD Superintendent Dreier to take 2% pay cut
Orange Unified Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier will amend her Employment Contract to take a 2% pay cut. Dreier had stated earlier in the year that she would volunteer to take part in a pay cut. Dreieris in the second year of her $750,000 ($250,000 per year) salary contract. The August 20, 2009 OUSD Agenda Item 12 B (page 3) will authorized the OUSD Board to enter the agreement with the Superintendent.

Superintendents across the country have taken pay-cuts to off set huge budget deficits that have plagued school districts nation-wide. High profile voluntary superintendent pay-cuts in Broward Schools, Florida, Las Vegas, Nevada, Peninsula Schools in Tacoma, Washington have all made news. Also news worthy have been examples of school boards cutting superintendent’s pay like in Lodi Unified where the Lodi School Board cut $15,000 off Superintendent Dr. Nichols-Washer’s annual pay. In other places in lieu of classroom cuts taxpayers are demanding pay cuts for local superintendents like the successful taxpayer revolt in Utah’s Jordan School District that forced Superintendent Barry Newbold to “volunteer” to take a 10% pay cut. Close to home, Long Beach Unified Superintendent Dr. Chris Steinhauser volunteered in January to take a 10% pay cut ($23,000) for two years and donated the money to a special fund to assist district employees in financial need because of budget cuts to hours or employment. In addition, Steinhauser also has agreed to new language in his contract that applies any further pay cut percentages imposed on employees not covered by employee unions to his annual salary.

2% Pay Reduction for Teachers, Substitutes and Administrators
The Orange Unified School District and the teachers’ association, the Orange Unified Educators Association, reached a tentative pay deal to eliminate four teacher staff days, thus reducing teachers’ annual salaries by approximately 2 percent. The agreement (which needs approval) between the teachers and the district to cut all ready scheduled non-student staff development days means that the agreement will not affect student schedules. The recently passed state budget does make provisions for cutting back on student days. OUSD administrators (known as Leadership) will take a retroactive 2% pay-cut to July 1, 2009 under a vote by the Board on August 20th, 2009 Agenda Item 12 A (page 2). In that agenda, Consent Agenda Item 14 K (page 32) has the Board voting to cut OUSD Substitute teacher pay by 2% to a $119 per day.

OUSD must still reach agreements with the classified support staff on cutting wages for the current budget.

INSIDE the JULY 23 OUSD BOARD MEETING

OUSD lost millions of dollars on Bond while Moffat looses credibility
At the July 23rd OUSD Board Meeting, the OUSD Staff reported on the financial losses of the $93 million dollar 2008 OPED Bonds that were issued just as the current financial meltdown was becoming very evident. Staff reported that the OUSD Board hastily approved OPED Bonds had at their worst lost $20 million dollars and were still $10 million dollars in the hole from the original investment and would now cost the OUSD General Fund this year approximately $5 million dollars just to service the 2008 OPED Bonds plus another $8 million to cover the health insurance payments the now non-existing OPED Bond profits were suppose to pay. The total $13 million dollar loss will come out of the OUSD General Fund at a time when OUSD can least afford it as the district slashed programs, closed a school, tries to cut high school guidance counselors, and now asks employee groups to take wage cuts.

Immediately, after the staff report, OUSD Trustee Kathy Moffat chose to take on the “information put out to the community via our local blogs” regarding a statement she had made in 2008 regarding her questioning the wisdom of the issuance of the $93 million dollar OPED Bonds. Moffat’s attempt to blur her recorded words and “set the record straight” from last year’s discussions to approve the OPED Bonds was the first comment by any Board member in response to the staff report about the loosing investments and the $13 million cost to the OUSD General Fund. Moffat took exception to the Orange Net News’ July 20th 2009 edition of ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE that reviewed the March 20th, 2008 Board Meeting trustee discussions that lead to the approval of two resolutions to approve the OPED Bond contracts. The July 20, 2009 ONN Report had a short statement summarizing Moffat’s comments she made in 2008 as she and other Board members struggled to understand the high-stakes financial game they were undertaking under a one day deadline to sell bonds at a negotiated rate. That ONN summary stated:

“Moffat revealed that she had consulted three educational financial experts who all had advised her against the bond issuance at this time because of the continued economic upheavals.”

That was a summary of Moffat’s March 2008 public comments when Moffat publicly stated she had spoken with three financial experts about the proposed OPED Bond and “to a person, they all said this is very complicated, very uncertain and they all said don’t do this”.

That 2008 Moffat statement is in direct conflict with her July 23, 2009 meeting “set the record straight” Board Meeting statement about the Orange Net News report on her 2008 on-the-record comments. At that July 2009 meeting she publicly contradicted her earlier 2008 statement about what her financial advisors advised. At the July 2009 meeting Moffat said:

“One of the people I consulted with urged caution, two of the people I consulted with said this sounded like a reasonable plan and a creative way to deal with a very difficult financial situation”.

Orange Net News issued an editorial report with the full content of both of Moffat’s conflicting statements on what her advisors stated.
CLICK ON: MOFFAT WRONG AGAIN

OUSD FAILS TO APPROVE $30,000 to Miller, Brown, Dannis
OUSD Board Trustee Rick Ledesma made his customary parliamentary move to separate the vote on the $30,000 payment to Santiago Revocation law firm Miller, Brown, Dannis at the July 23 meeting and for the first time the motion to approve failed for lack of a majority in a 3-2 vote. Ledesma was joined by Deligianni in voting No and Trustees Ortega and Wayland were absent. Moffat, Smith and Nichols voted to approve the payment. It takes a 4 vote majority to approve. The long time coming victory appeared to even catch Ledesma by surprise.

OUSD Re-FLAGS Schools
In an aside comment by OUSD Trustee Mark Wayland at the July 23 Board Meeting, he commented that some teachers had told him that they do not have American flags in their rooms. That comment resulted in a mandatory inventory and flag inspection from the district of every classroom with new flags being delivered all over OUSD.

INSIDE the AUGUST 20th OUSD BOARD MEETING

Information Item 13 B- Sale of Surplus property- The four identified surplus sites known as Killefer, Parkside, Peralta and Walnut already processed through the 7/11 Surplus Committee may have buyers

Consent Item 14 P (page 38-39) - 23 programs are identified that will be receiving funds from OUSD’s $9.4 million share in California’s portion of Federal Stimulus monies called State Fiscal Stabilization Funds. The identified programs listed in the Agenda on pages 38-39 include G.A.T.E, Art and Music and “Counselors 7-12”. However, each OUSD high school that had 6 guidance counselors last year will be starting the school year with just 4 as the Drier Administration that fired counselors at the end of last year tries to make that shocking number permanent which balloons ratios of students to counselors in OUSD high schools to close to 600 to 1 and makes her administration on par with the number of counselors not seen since the Barbara Van Otterloo administration.

INSIDE the OUSD Budget
INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $1,041,000
2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
Total $1,038,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total
(beginning 8/2008): $14,520.00*
* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Consultant Fee Tally: Total $176,400
2006 Attorney Fee Tally: Total Approved $655,000
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Total 2005 Conference Administrator/Board Fees: $ 7,500.00
2005 Attorney Fee Tally: $730,600.00
Total Watched 2005 OUSD Consultant spending: $ 270,200.00

Next OUSD Board Meeting August 20, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM
For AGENDA-CLICK ON: AUGUST 20 AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/
“Independent Local Insight”

Orange Net News is still here

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 06:14:00 +0000

The botnet attacks on Twitter and Facebook were also tried against Google. Google has successfully defended itself but continues to have intermittent problems. The Orange Communication Systems' Greater Orange News Service has been knocked off occasionally with a message stating that Greater Orange News Service no longer exists. If you receive that message during this period please check back at a later time. The Orange Communication System continues to monitor the blog to insure access.

For More Information CLICK ON:
Hit Search news

BBC TECHNOLOGY

SPECIAL REPORT: OUSD and Teachers reach pay cut agreement

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 20:59:00 +0000

SPECIAL REPORT
A news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/

OUSD and Teachers reach pay cut agreement

The Orange Unified School District and the teachers’ association, the Orange Unified Educators Association, have reached a tentative pay deal to eliminate four teacher staff days, thus reducing teachers’ annual salaries by approximately 2 percent. The Orange Unified School Board had approved a 2009-2010 in the black budget using the 2% pay cut for employees. Last month, OUSD Superintendent Dr. Renae Dreier announced that she had initiated a 2% pay cut for district administrators to take effect next month. It is unknown whether the Superintendent (who had stated earlier in the year that she would take a pay cut) included herself in the 2% pay cut. Dreier is in the second year of her $750,000 ($250,000 per year) salary contract.

The agreement between the teachers and the district to cut all ready scheduled non-student staff development days means that the agreement will not affect student schedules. The recently passed state budget does make provisions for cutting back on student days.

Sources in the OUSD District office report that no agreement has been reached yet between the district and the teachers on the proposed cut back of OUSD high school guidance counselors. Community members have opposed those cut backs. California and OUSD lag behind the nation in student-counselor ratios. In a recent reorganization during boom budget times, an extra high school vice principal was added to each of the OUSD high schools. Those positions and consolidation of the three remaining “small schools” have been seen as targets of parents in the community looking to avoid cuts that impact student services.

OUSD must still reach agreements with the classified support staff on cutting wages for the current budget. OUSD Board Trustee Dr. Alexia Deligianni has submitted another proposal to cut OUSD Trustee compensation. The first proposal to cut the Trustee pay by 10% was defeated along a political alliances vote. Deligianni (who votes with the block that defeated the first proposal) has proposed a 2% cut that is being asked of all the OUSD employee groups.

SPECIAL REPORT
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INSIDE UPDATE: KATHY MOFFAT WRONG (AGAIN)!

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Wed, 05 Aug 2009 19:29:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE UPDATE
a news service of
Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

“So I just wanted to correct that very serious error”
KATHY MOFFAT WRONG (AGAIN)!

Orange Unified School Board Trustee Kathy Moffat took on the “information put out to the community via our local blogs” regarding a statement she had made in 2008 regarding the issuance of the $93 million dollar OPED Bonds. Those OPED Bonds have lost money during the current financial crisis costing the OUSD General Fund around $13 million dollars. The loss comes at a time when OUSD can least afford it as the district slashed programs, closed a school and now asks employee groups to take wage cuts. Moffat’s attempt to blur her recorded words and “set the record straight” from last year’s discussions to approve the OPED Bonds was the first comment by any Board member at the July 23rd Board Meeting after hearing a report about the losing investments in the $93 million dollar OPED Bond. The OUSD Staff reported that those losses will cost the OUSD General Fund approximately $5 million dollars just to service the Bond this year on top of an addition $8 million dollars to pay for the benefits that the now non-existing OPED Bond profits were suppose to cover.

The Orange Net News’ July 20th 2009 edition of ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE reviewed the March 20th, 2008 Board meeting discussions that lead to the approval of two resolutions to approve the OPED Bond contracts. The July 20th ONN Report stated:

Moffat revealed that she had consulted three educational financial experts who all had advised her against the bond issuance at this time because of the continued economic upheavals.

That short statement was a summary of Moffat’s comments she made in 2008 as she and other Board members struggled to understand the high-stakes financial game they were undertaking under a one day deadline to sell bonds at a negotiated rate as Dr. Godley and the slick presenter said (using that age-old car dealer sales pitch) act now or loose the great deal. Capitalizing on the fearful financial news of the day, they told the board they had 1 day to accept the negotiated rate or risk selling the Bonds at a competitive rate to firms like “Bears Sterns, JP Morgan or Goldman Sacks”.

At last month’s July 23, 2009 OUSD Board Meeting the OUSD Staff reported that the hastily approved Board OPED Bond had at its worst lost $20 million dollars and was still $10 million dollars in the hole from the original investment and would now cost the OUSD General Fund $13 million. After that report, Moffat chose to immediately challenge the ONN report of what she had stated at the March 2008 meeting to approve the Bond Resolutions. Moffat said:

“Recently, there was information put out to the community via our local blogs about, kind of a retrospect about this program and when we adopted it and the questioning done by different Board members and that kind of thing. In the blog it specifically said I had sought out expertise from financial experts that I knew, and that’s true.

However, the blog said that all three advised against this, that’s not true. So, I want to set that record straight. One of the people I consulted with urged caution, two of the people I consulted with said this sounded like a reasonable plan and a creative way to deal with a very difficult financial situation which we would have to deal with in profound ways if we did nothing.

So I just want to correct that very serious error”

Well, Kathy we would like to correct your very serious error.
That is NOT what you said at the March 20, 2008 meeting.

The following is what Moffat stated verbatim in 2008:

“The reasons for my questions is this; ever since last Thursday when everything started to go pretty crazy in the financial markets, I started to have more questions about this.

This is obviously a very big investment and I consulted with three people who I consider to be experts in the financial world. One of them is a career international banker, and one is a person who works in the field of public agency investment and finance, and another one is a former banker and currently president of a real estate development firm. And to a person, they all said this is very complicated, very uncertain and they all said don’t do this”.

As you can see Moffat’s 2008 statement “And to a person, they all said this is very complicated, very uncertain and they all said don’t do this” is very different from Moffat’s 2009 the blog is wrong and setting the record straight statement:
“One of the people I consulted with urged caution, two of the people I consulted with said this sounded like a reasonable plan and a creative way to deal with a very difficult financial situation”.

We wanted to “just correct that very serious error” and point out that our 2008 and 2009 reports were accurate and Moffat’s re-creation of what she publicly stated at the March 20 meeting is not true, which again makes Kathy Moffat’s version of events wrong and Orange Net News right again.

RENAE DRIER RIGHT (AGAIN)!
What was the problem in Greely, Colorado? Local polls and emails from Greely showed that for many in the community then Greely Superintendent Dr. Renae Drier was not universally admired. And while many in the Greater Orange Communities still take exception to the interview junket that three OUSD Board members took to Greely at taxpayer expense to “interview” the community, we don’t blame Drier for their move. In fact if she were OUSD Superintendent then, we have a feeling she would of seen the junket as a waste of money.

Since becoming Orange Unified Superintendent over a year ago, Drier has moved to end the Consultant Culture of OUSD that over the years dumped millions upon millions of taxpayer educational dollars into the black hole of education-consultants (pay attention Michelle Moore and Larry Hausner). She has moved to end the “who-you-know” gets you the job culture and reached out with an open door policy to the community and staff as she has confidently lived by her “Knowledge is Power” mantra and led by example.

Symbolism aside, she has cut-out needless frills (like that “art muralists” for the strategic initiative workshops) and solicited the community for funding. Drier has favored OUSD personnel to provide expertise services that in the past had been expensively outsourced. Drier has moved on a long sought-out consolidation of the district’s three employee groups into one money-saving health plan.

Drier’s new pronouncement for the annual Administrative Retreat on August 12 is a no-frills 1 day down to business event where the participants (not the taxpayers) will pay for their own lunches. Dr. Drier is right again!

ADELIGIANNI TO TRY BOARD PAY CUTS (AGAIN)
OUSD Trustee Dr. Deligianni has submitted an item for the August 20th , 2009 OUSD Board meeting to roll back OUSD Board compensation by 2%, the same as the Leadership cuts and proposed cuts to OUSD employee groups.

OUSD Trustee Melissa Smith had proposed in May to cut OUSD Board stipends by 10% because of the current fiscal crisis. After a terse exchange between political allied fractions on the OUSD Board, the motion failed in a tie 3-3 vote with the OUSD Trustees voting with their political allied blocks. Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat voted for the reduction. Voting against the 10% reduction was Ledesma Coalition allies -Trustees Rick Ledesma, John Ortega, and Alexia Deligianni. Trustee Mark Wayland was absent from the meeting.

Before the original vote OUSD President Rick Ledesma dismissed the minority members’ pay cut proposal as “wonderful political hay” noting that he agrees cuts are needed, but questioning the sincerity of the move by the three co-sponsors stating: “Where were these heroes when they were voting for millions and millions of dollars for consultants not long ago”. Ledesma also cited past votes for “pay increases to superintendents” and “me too pay increases for administrators”. Adding his belief that “symbolism works both ways” he questioned the timing and the relative small total savings to the district.

Trustee Melissa Smith responded to Ledesma by taking exception to Ledesma’s characterization of the proposal as “political hay” stating “ I have nothing to gain politically” citing that her residence has been moved from her trustee area (this was done in the Nichols Rocco Realignment) and she will not be running again. Smith also took exception to Ledesma’s comments about the timing of the proposal noting that she had been working on the proposed cuts since February. Smith defended past salary increase votes by stating that “market is what determines” the pay needed to offer and attract qualified people with competitive salaries. Ledesma retorted that competitiveness can be measured in many ways.

During the pre-vote discussion other Trustees explained their votes. Trustee Kim Nichols while acknowledging that the total savings were small, said the proposal would show that the Board was “participating in the crisis” and was a symbolic way to tell the community and employees that “we are in it with you” with the gesture. Later in the meeting Nichols directed the Superintendent to provide Nichols with any paperwork that was needed for Nichols to take the 10% pay cut individually. Smith added to Nichols' reasons for voting for the pay cut reasoning that it was more than symbolic, but a way for the Trustees to “share the burden”.
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Metro VIEWS: A commentary by John Rossmann

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 18:05:00 +0000

Metro VIEWS
A community service of the
Greater Orange Communities Organization
Giving voice to the Greater Orange Communities

“99.99% of taxpayers never look at source documents”
By John Rossmann

You [Orange Net News] reported in your July 20 newsletters that the OUSD’s budget shows $342,000 in “unappropriated funds”.

The July 14 issue of The Sentry reported to the OUSD community that the OUSD’s 2009-2010 budget shows a $12 million shortfall.

Who’s right?

None of you.

That "unappropriated funds" figure first: Take a clue from the 2008-09 budget figures reported on the same page of the Board Agenda as the 2009-10 budget figures. Section F, Line 2 Ending Balance shows that OUSD ended fiscal 2008-09 on June 30 with a cash surplus of $20.5 million, $17 million of which was Unrestricted funds. Below the Ending Balance figures one finds a long list of so-called "designations" which make it appear as if that Ending Balance was nearly all allocated to existing expenses...but...

Check out the Beginning Fund Balance for 2009-10: You find that all of the 2008-09 Ending Balance is carried over unspent into 2009-10. None of the so-called "designations" were actually spent.

Now, check the budget reports for as far back as you care to: You'll find that none of the "designated" money is ever actually spent. It's an accounting shell game designed to do just what it did to you --- to make you think that the surplus cash was actually accounted for by expenditures. Sure worked on you.

Then there's The Sentry. The Section C "deficit" figure provides anti-union media with just what it wants: Ammunition to claim that any attempt by the teachers' union to ask for raises and better benefits is an atrocity, and what teachers should be doing is willingly accepting cuts "for the good of the children." Remember that back in 2000 the Sorenson Report tried to make clear to the public that sections A, B, and C of a school district budget --- especially that of OUSD --- are fiction and that the true Bottom Line is always Section F, Line 2 which reports the Ending Balance. The Sorenson Report failed to get reported on because The Register, The Times, and The Sentry are all rabidly anti-union and reporting any hint that there is really surplus cash in the OUSD (or any district's) budget they see as playing into the hands of the unions and "greedy teachers."

Unfortunately, 99.99% of taxpayers never look at source documents or understand them if they did. Folks "only know what they read in the newspapers" (or on the Internet).

Folks deserve truly analytical reporting.
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Editor’ note: John Rossmann is a retired teacher from OUSD and was President of the Orange Unified Educators Association during the successful Orange Recall.

The Orange Net News’ ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE July 20th reported on the OUSD School Board’s June 18, 2009 budget presentation by OUSD staff that projected a $342,000 in unappropriated funds for the 2009-2010 budget year. CLICK ON: ONN July 20

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Opinions expressed in Metro VIEWS are not necessarily the opinion of the networks that post it.
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Metro VIEWS
is a community service of the
Greater Orange Communities Organization

National Night Out in Orange, the Renaissance comes to Greater Orange and Concerts in the Park

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Tue, 28 Jul 2009 17:49:00 +0000

Metro TALK
A community service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/

National Night Out in Orange on August 4th
The City of Orange and the Orange Police Department will host the local 26th Annual National Night Out on August 4, 2009 from 6:00 pm to 9:00 pm at the Target Center, 2191 N Tustin Ave in Orange.

National Night Out is the communities chance to get to know their local police department, learn about local crime, and get information on drug and violence prevention in a fun family atmosphere. The thousands of local events generate support for, and participation in, local anti-crime programs. The international event is designed to send a message to criminals letting them know neighborhoods are organized and fighting back.

In addition to free hourly drawings, the Orange event will include: police and fire vehicles on display; children’s fingerprinting; a martial arts demonstration by Hidden Tigers, refreshments and entertainment. Guests are encouraged to bring their own lawn chairs. For more information contact the local Orange National Night Out co-coordinators: Brad Beyer 714-744-7327 and Michelle Micallef 714-744-7464.

National Night Out, ‘America’s Night Out Against Crime,’ was introduced by the nonprofit crime prevention National Association of Town Watch (NATW) in 1984. The program was the brainchild of NATW Executive Director Matt A. Peskin as an effort to heighten awareness and strengthen participation in local anticrime efforts, Peskin felt that a high-profile, high-impact type of crime prevention event was needed nationally. At that time, he noted that in a typical ‘crime watch community’, only 5 to 7% of the residents were participating actively. Feeling that the percentage of participation was too low, he proposed a national program which would be coordinated by local crime prevention agencies and organizations, but that would involve entire communities at one time. The first National Night Out was introduced early in 1984 - with 400 communities in 23 states participating in National Night Out. Nationwide, 2.5 million Americans took part in 1984. The seed had been planted and participation has grown steadily. The 25th Annual National Night Out last August involved 37 million people in 15,449 communities from all 50 states, U.S. territories, Canadian cities, and military bases worldwide.

For more information, CLICK ON: National Night Out

The Renaissance comes to Irvine Lake
The “World Renaissance Faire” will take place at Irvine Lake on August 8 and 9th. Billed as “Renaissance by Day and Fantasy Faire at Night” the faire is a fundraiser for The Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, True Innocence Equine Rescue (T.I.E.R.), and the Ambassadors of St. Peter Actors Guilde.

The event will include jousting and archery and all types of old age games for the kids, plus the always interesting Renaissance merchants and food vendors. Running until 10 p.m. on Saturday August 8th, that evening will feature the “Glow Parade”. The festivities will be overseen by Queen Elizabeth I, Queen of England, France and Ireland, this year played by actress Tara Pool of the San Diego Shakespeare Society. Entertainment includes: electric guitar instrumentalists James Blues who blends elements of progressive rock, modern jazz and electric blues, with an infusion of ambient sounds; Z-Nova billed as a blues-rock and jazz fusion band; acrobatic Veronika "Kit" Petra performing her aerial skills, fire spinning, and of course her award winning hula during the Glow Parade; and Alysia Michelle James, a professional dancer, composer, artist and aerialist direct from Las Vegas.

Tickets are tax deductable and are $15 at the door for adults or $13 online (see link below).

For More Information CLICK ON:
Orange County Society for the Prevention of Cruelty

True Innocence Equine Rescue

Ambassadors of St. Peter Actors

For discount tickets and more information CLICK ON:
World Renaissance Faire TICKETS

Still time for Orange’s Concerts in the Park
The City of Orange Community Services Department’s Concerts in the Park series still has weeks of free music in Hart Park left. So pack your picnic baskets and enjoy a free concert under the stars. Bring your lawn chairs, but please leave pets at home. Bring a blanket or lawn chairs and if you’d rather have someone else provide the food, the Kiwanis of Orange will be selling food at the concerts. All concerts are on Wednesday night 7 pm – 8:30 pm at the Hart Park Bandstand, 701 S. Glassell Street in Orange.
The scheduled bands are:
July 29, Open Wide - Classic rock
August 5, Crashdance - Top 40 dance favorites
August 12, The Sam Morrison Band - southern classic rock
August 19, The Hodads - 50's and 60's rock-n-roll
August 26, Film at Eleven - Motown and R & B classics

Metro TALK
is a community service of ORANGE NET NEWS /O/N/N/
OrangeNet.News@gmail.com

Report on OUSD OPEB Retirement Bonds: OUSD General Fund payments continue because of “Lack of Profitability in the Portfolio”

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 22:49:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

Report on OUSD OPEB Retirement Bonds...
OUSD General Fund payments continue because of
“Lack of Profitability in the Portfolio”

On the Orange Unified School Board’s July 23rd, 2009 Agenda (Informational Item 13 A) is a report on the district’s OPEB (Other Post Employment Benefits Bond) investment that states the “equity investments have greatly underperformed”. The Fiscal Impact section of the report states because of that underperformance “the District is continuing to make retiree heath benefits payments on a pay-as-you go- basis from the General Fund”. The purpose of the OUSD OPEB investment was to pay for the unfunded liability of OUSD’s once offered lifetime health benefits and save the district money over the life of the liability by shifting the liability of the health benefits payment from the OUSD General Fund pay-as-you-go to using funds generated by the investments to pay for the benefits. The total OUSD invested in the underperforming Futuris Public Entity Investment Trust is $95,763,635.

In the Fall of 2007, just months before the beginning of the worst American financial meltdown since the Great Depression, then OUSD Assistant Superintendent Jon Archibald introduced OUSD Trustees to a creative cutting edge financial plan to save the OUSD General Fund from paying for the closed retiree health benefits on a pay-as-you-go basis. A member of the Keenan Financial Services consulting financial team brought by Archibald to the school board to explain the new plan to the OUSD Board characterized the plan as part of the “interest earnings game”.

Archibald and the Superintendent Godley’s Administration presented a series of informational items for a plan to issue financial bonds to save $102 million dollars on projected health benefit costs from the closed OUSD lifetime health benefits program to those retirees who still have them. Liking the plan to a “refinance”, the OPEB bond funding idea won over the OUSD Board with the promised savings of over $100 million dollars compared to the current plan to pay for the benefits as a pay-as-you-go. When the plan was initially presented, despite OUSD Trustees Rick Ledesma, Kim Nichols, Kathy Moffat and Wes Poutsma questioning the complex plan, the new funding measure was given a consensus-go-ahead by the Board to proceed with the bond issuance planning.

Then months later, just days after the shock wave of the Bear Stearns financial meltdown signaled the beginning of the current financial mess, the Orange Unified School Board at their meeting on March 20th, 2008 discussed and voted to approve a private sale placement of the Orange Unified School District Taxable Retirement Health Benefits Funding Bonds to fund its OPEB liability and to appoint a bond interest Swap Advisor. The Bear-Sterns news weighed in several times during the Board discussions as a candid Trustee Kathy Moffat sought to be reassured and convinced from the bond services presenters that the OUSD Board was making the right decision in issuing the bonds during the growing current financial upheavals. Moffat revealed that she had consulted three educational financial experts who all had advised her against the bond issuance at this time because of the continued economic upheavals. Also of concern was the timing of the private placement which the Board was told had to be approved at that Board meeting in a now or never manner. Trustee Rick Ledesma focused his concerns with the plan on the variable rate and the interest rate Swap Advisor. With a Swap Advisor watching out for the best rates, Ledesma sought to be assured that the Swap Advisor would be watching the fixed rate market and be able to “swap” rates when it became more favorable to the district.

The proposed private buyer of all the bonds was the Dexea Group, a Belgian-French bank. In May 2009 the Dexea Group’s American subsidiary FSA Holdings suffered credit downgrades from Moody’s because of the current financial crisis, but was kept afloat by the European parent company. Two months later Dexea Group sold FSA Holdings to Bermuda based municipal bond company Assured Guaranty Ltd. That sale resulted as the Dexea press release stated “Dexia has significantly reduced its exposure to the US monoline industry, whilst retaining the Financial Products business” (to follow the continued international financial intrigue see below).

The OUSD Board became one of the first California schools districts to approve an OPEB financial plan and become involved in the world of international bond gamesmanship or the so called “interest earnings game”. Apparently OUSD along with millions of other investors have for now lost at the “interest earnings game”. Meanwhile the architect of the OUSD OPEB bonds, Orange Unified Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Jon Archibald, left OUSD for a similar job in the Huntington Beach City School District at the beginning of 2009. Hindsight now shows that the three financial advisors Moffat consulted were right and the district consultants who answered Moffat’s concerns were not correct. The current scenario of what if the Bonds fail to perform was never asked by any of the Board members, but the district now knows the answer as OUSD continues, despite its $95 million investment, to use the General Fund to pay-as-you-go.

For more information(CLICK ON):
Keenan Financial Services press release

For more information on International Market intrigue (CLICK ON):
Dexia on Moody's Downgrade
Dexia on selling FSA
Assured Guaranty on delisting FSA bonds

INSIDE the JUNE 18th
At the last OUSD Board Meeting on June 18, 2009 the packed audience included OUSD certificated employees and OUSD retired teachers. A parade of former well known OUSD teachers (with combined teaching experience of hundreds of years) spoke to the OUSD Board during public communications about a district proposal related to retiree health benefits and information they received regarding proposals they believe the district and insurance carriers have discussed including: to “unbundle” retirees insurance from other OUSD employees; move toward a medical “Advantage” plan; and remove retiree dependent coverage. The teacher retiree speakers included former teacher association leaders who reviewed the whole history of how the long ago promised OUSD Lifetime Benefits were negotiated in good faith by OUSD in lieu of increasing pay hikes. Remarkably, they related the now sorted story without once mentioning recalled former OUSD Trustee Marty Jacobson or unelected but essentially recalled insurance gadfly Kathy Moran.

Also present were the OUSD non-teaching (Classified) support staff who showed up to support their negotiating team in newly reopened talks with the school district. Before the federal stimulus monies were received, OUSD administrators had called for across the board wage concessions of 3.75% plus furlough days for a total of 4.25%. In the budget presentation, the OUSD Administration is now asking for a 2% across the board pay concession.

During the June 18, 2009 the OUSD School Board held a public hearing and approved an in the black 2008-2009 Budget (Action Agenda Item 12 B agenda page 5). Avoiding a widely expected Qualified Certification (indicating that a district may not be able to meet its financial obligations) the proposed budget leaves a total of $345,000 in unappropriated funds. Asst. Superintendent Mike Christensen explained that using the one time Federal Stimulus funds, and with the suspension of the requirement of a three year budget projection, the 2008-2009 budget was in the black. He noted that the district has dropped its 4.25% concession requests from employees (3.75% in wage and .50 in furlough days) to 2% in wage concessions.

Strategic Planning Workshop: More on Moore Mumbo Jumbo
Action Item 12 C of the July 23, 2009 Agenda (page 28) is the Board approval of the 3 Year Strategic Plan. At the June 18, 2009 OUSD Board meeting, the Trustees received a report on the work done at the second 3 year Strategic Planning Workshop. Superintendent Renae Drier got the workshop done as stripped down no-frills 1 day event that used donated money to pay for a good portion of the event. Drier received widespread kudos for her move to dump the mural artist “consultant” (saving OUSD taxpayers $6,600) that was approved under the Godley administration for the event. However, while some of the administrators who lead the workshops and presented their reports at the June 18th Board meeting were able to work in the new Post-Consultant Culture Drier seems to have in-store for OUSD, for others mumbo-jumbo consultant edu-fads die hard.

Cerro Villa Principal Arleen Sterling presented her report on the workshop’s Goal #1 Student Achievement by confidently declaring something the Greater Orange Community Group has promoted for years- the homegrown expertise of OUSD can replace expensive fly-by-night wasteful edu-fad consultants. Sterling stated; that OUSD could train staff on student achievement by “Using our in-house expertise” and added “[using] many experts right at our sites won’t cost any money”. While Sterling seems to have gotten Drier’s marching orders on a Post-Consultant OUSD, apparently not all OUSD Administrators have.

Panorama Principal Michelle Moore also presented her workshop results at the June 18, 2009 school board meeting. In 2006, Moore was criticized for publicly attributing her small school’s (then only 207 students) 902 Academic Performance Index score to the infamous Focus on Results OUSD consultant disaster. Moore was criticized for attributing her “fairy-tale school” scores on the expensive mumbo-jumbo Focus on Results consultant program when her upscale “private” school-like demographics, and cultural attributions are far removed from main stream public school reality (CLICK ON MOORE). It appears that Moore cannot seem to step beyond the consultant fairytale and into reality in anything she publicly does in OUSD. This time taking a page from the controversial and often called dishonest edu-fad consultant Willard Daggett, Moore presenting the report on the workshop’s Goal # 2 Student Engagement by summing up her area with more (no pun intended) consultant mumbo-jumbo. Her Power Point slide summed up “student engagement” as: “Students challenged with academic rigor and engaged with relevance” Ah yes, the Daggett Rigor and Relevance edu-fad lingo. Edu-lingo, like a siren’s call lures less than confident small minds into meaningless repeating of its empty words and phases as they bastardize the English language to re-invent meaningless words to tell the Emperor his new clothes look great! What is this educationally meaningless Rigor and Relevance in the Moore playbook of edu-lingo? Moore explained Rigor and Relevance of student engagement as three targets: A) Publicity (publicizing school programs to students); B) Program Personalization (another controversial edu-fad to be left for another time) and giving students a voice in offered programs and C) Partnerships of Parents and Business. Now perhaps if Moore ever studied Daggett she would realize that her linguistic contortion linking of the statistically immeasurable targets with the meaning of her edu-lingo has no bases in the reality of Daggett’s consultant copyrighted Rigor/Relevance Framework. But then the best thing about living in a fairy-tale is-nothing needs to make sense because as Moore keeps publicly proving, it’s all make-believe. The education profession, the Greater Orange Communities, OUSD students, the OUSD Board and the Drier Administration deserve better than theatrical regurgitation of costly fairy-tale consultant edu-lingo by well paid and purportedly well educated district administrators.

Edu-fad fantasy not withstanding, expect a quick vote on Agenda Item 12 C at the July 23, 2009 meeting. As for Moore…Once upon a time continues….

For more information CLICK ON:
Is it Rigor or Rigor Mortis?

The Controversial William Daggett

Inside the July 24th Agenda
Closed Session- the Coordinator of Special Education, three newly appointed elementary Principals, 2 middle school assistant principals, 1 high school assistant principal and the Richland High School principal assignments will be announced.
Action Item 12 A- a Board Proclamation supporting the OUSD LegCo inspired AB 837 giving ADA money for online classes
Action Item 12 B- Board policy revisions 6000 series
Consent Agenda 14 D- $30,000 contract to law firm Miller Brown & Dannis; will Trustee Rick Ledesma keep up his 100% voting record against the firm involved in the infamous Santiago Revocation debacle?
Consent Agenda 14 G- OUSD will apply for $25 million in Federal Stimulus monies up for grabs for school construction

Community Donations
Panorama PTA-$2,000 Smart Board; Anaheim Hills PTA-$5,000 computer lab; Villa Park Women’s League $3,000- supplies Serrano E.S.; Cambridge Fathers Club $5,215- Smartboards; Kathy Moffat support donation- $75; Nohl Canyon S.A.-$14,549.26 Stipends.

For a complete list of the $89,251 in community donations see Agenda page 31.

INSIDE the OUSD Budget

INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $1,071,000

2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
7/23/09 Miller Brown & Dannis $ 30,000

Total $1,068,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,071,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008):
$13310.00*
* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.Total for

Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Consultant Fee Tally: Total $176,400
2006 Attorney Fee Tally: Total Approved $655,000
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *
* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Total 2005 Conference Administrator/Board Fees: $ 7,500.00
2005 Attorney Fee Tally: $730,600.00
Total Watched 2005 OUSD Consultant spending: $ 270,200.00

Next OUSD Board Meeting July 23, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM
For AGENDA-CLICK ON:
JULY 23 AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/

Censorship again becomes a national story in OUSD

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Fri, 10 Jul 2009 15:31:00 +0000

Metro VIEWS
A community service of the Greater Orange Communities Organization
Giving voice to the Greater Orange Communities

Orange High School Principal S.K. Johnson becomes new King of Censorship
Censorship again becomes a national story in OUSD

An editorial by Orange Net News /O/N/N/

It seems that some educated people never learn. Americans love the First Amendment and hate censorship. Yes, this is true even of young Americans as witnessed by the Greater Orange Communities newest bout of censorship. Unfortunately, educational administrators in Orange Unified continue to seem not to understand that basic American foundations taught in their schools on censorship, nor understand the lessons of history regarding censorship.

OUSD continues to have administrators make a big deal over little things that become BIG news and keep a story alive much longer than if they just ignored it, thus creating an even bigger problem. Former Orange Unified School Superintendent Dr. Godley learned that lesson the hard way when he censored the public broadcasts of the goings on at OUSD School Meetings concerning statements from former OUSD Trustee Steve Rocco and angry exchanges toward Rocco from other Board members. The transcripts and photo’s of the censored exchanges were then e-cast by Orange Net News and became a local sensation, as did Godley’s continued local censorship. Without the Godley censorship, those Rocco exchanges just would be forgotten with most of his other rantings.

Apparently, at least one more OUSD administrator did not learned the lesson from that and other OUSD PR nightmares. Orange High School Principal S.K. Johnson found himself becoming a national lighting rod for free speech and student advocacy groups. Principal S.K. Johnson, who has done much to re-build the Orange High School image on many levels in his productive years as Principal, but now he has led his school onto the national radar screen as a bastion of censorship, and brought attention to the schools “gang” fears that he was trying to downplay. Plus, he was forced into a situation no good leader ever wants to be in, he had to publicly reverse a controversial very public decision.

If you missed the story in the newspapers (because of all the “King of Pop” coverage), on the blogs, or seeing the story on television, Johnson confiscated the end of the year Orange High School journalism magazine called PULP. In the ensuing story his reasons seemed as clear as an explanation from Sahara Palin.

The story was first reported by the Orange County Register, on Monday June 29th, the article stated that Principal S.K. Johnson confiscated the magazine after deciding the tattoo on the cover was "gang-looking" and an article inside was inappropriate. The Register story of course features a picture of the offending cover for all to see and quotes Johnson as commenting "It was not an easy decision. But we have an image of our school that I want to uphold. I don't think that (cover) was promoting what we want to promote at our school." The article also reports that "Johnson also took issue with the magazine's list of 10 things seniors should do before they graduate. It included cutting school to go to the beach and sneaking in a swim at the school pool – "clothing optional."

Reportedly, the students offered to tear the offending list out of the magazine in order to gain permission to distribute the magazine. The offer was reportedly rebuked by Principal S.K. Johnson. Until now.

After the national attention Johnson is quoted in the Orange County Register July 7th article titled Orange High’s principal offers to release mag if a controversial list is removed as stating. Johnson in this article states “I still believe the cover is inappropriate, I also believe in freedom and the First Amendment, and I can’t take away that right. … (But) I cannot allow something that suggests skipping school.” So… a week later the “gang cover” (which can now thanks to Johnson can be found on the internet) is OK, but the top ten ”skip town list” satire, which now has made the rounds of all in-the-know-Panthers, are now well know (probably by heart) and the solution to tear them out Johnson makes is proposing the same solution originally offered by the students, taking the noe well know list out of the magazine, plus eliminating those pesky spelling and grammar mistakes in future issues.

Orange Superintendent Renae Drier has repeatedly stated “Knowledge is power”. Yet we continue to wonder how could knowledgeable people handle their power differently? Simple, if they would of let the magazine be distributed (all 300 copies) and like most end of the year school stuff, a few laughs, then most would be filed and forgotten in the “round file”. Then during school next year ( out of the national limelight) make sure the problems were addressed that led to the concern. Instead, Principal S.K. Johnson has fathered a national story that will forever be linked to Orange High School in search engines world-wide.

From the El Modena High School, GLSEN club, to the Rocco Censorship, to Orange High School’s Pulp Magazine, Orange Unified administrators and leaders continue to learn the lessons of censorship the hard way. A high school education in history shows that since the invention of the printing press censorship has failed, from the Reformation, to Thomas Paine’s Common Sense, to Tiananmen Square and now the Iranian election protests, the lesson is clear: Censorship does not work. Instead censorship just focuses attention like a laser beam on the thing you want people not to see. Not a bad lesson for a high school principal to learn.

So now the OUSD Crown of Censorship can be handed off once again, first from former OUSD Trustee Marty Jacobson to former Superintendent Dr. Godley, and now from Godley to OUSD Principal S.K. Johnson the new OUSD King of Censorship.

All hail the King!

So OUSD, who’s next?

For more information on the censorship just Google and choose from the hundreds of thousands of hits. (Welcome to the Internet Mr. Johnson).

For the Orange High School Pulp Magazine now WORLD FAMOUS Tattoo Cover CLICK ON: PULP TATTOO COVER

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For more information on the current issues of defending media freedom in the electronic world visit The ELECTRONIC FRONTIER FOUNDATION link: www.eff.org.

Metro TALK: Villa Park, Orange and Anaheim Hills celebrate the 4th of July

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 21:28:00 +0000

5th Annual Villa Park Run/Walk Saturday June 27th, 2009
The City of Villa Park’s 5th Annual 5K Run/Walk to benefit the Friends of the Villa Park Library will be this Saturday June 27, 2009. The annual race will start at the Villa Park High School track at exactly 7:45 a.m.

The race will run east on Santiago to Sycamore, left on Sycamore to Taft. Going left at Taft, the race then goes to Ludwig, left on Ludwig to Santiago, then right on Santiago to Briley, right on Brile, back to Taft, left on Taft, then back to the finish at Villa Park High School.

Meanwhile, the Villa Park Library remains open during the courtyard construction with access temporarily limited to the east side of the building. Construction is expected to be completed by the end of the month.

Kick off the 4th with the 3th Of July Orange Tradition
The traditional start of the 4th of July in the Greater Orange Communities is always on the 3rd of July in the City of Orange. Start your salute to the red, white and blue at Fred Kelly Stadium from 4 pm to 9 pm on Friday July 3rd for the traditional start to the summer’s biggest holiday.

Enjoy interactive games, listen to live entertainment and eat delicious food from Orange non-profit groups and sing-a-long to patriotic songs with the Orange Community Master Chorale of Santiago Canyon College. Then at night is the traditional colorful fireworks show.

Tickets are $5 for all over age of 2, available at 230 East Chapman Avenue or event gate. For more information call the Orange Special Events Hotline @ 714-744-7278.

Orange Park Acres 4th of July Parade
The Fred Kelly fireworks are just a warm-up for the multitude of Greater Orange events on the 4th of July. The Orange Park Acres neighborhood 4th of July Parade will feature Grand Marshal Julie Maurer. Known as the “keeper of the e-tree” Julie is responsible for keeping OPA electronically in touch and is touted as the “ultimate volunteer”.

This year’s OPA 4th of July theme is, "Honoring Our Volunteer Firemen" to celebrate the communities rich history with the volunteer firemen.

Anaheim Hills 2009-The 4th Must Go on!
The 20 year tradition of the Anaheim Hills Fireworks show was saved this year by two local businesses contributed $27,000 to fill a financial gap that threatened to end the hugely popular event. SA Recycling and Foxfire Restaurant kicked in the funding to make sure that the fireworks spectacular at Peralta Park would survive another year.

The 4th of July in Anaheim Hills of course starts out with the Annual Mary Castle Memorial 5K/10K run and 2K/5K Walk, Dog Show and Parade. Registration/check-in and warm-ups take place from 5:30 am- 7:30 am at Canyon High School. The 20th annual race will start exactly at 7:30 a.m. and dogs and strollers are allowed. This year participants in the walks may bring children under 5 for free.
Anaheim Hills Rotary Pancake Breakfast will also take place in the Canyon High School cafeteria from 8 a.m. to 10 a.m. ($4 for adults kids 10 and under $3-race participants get a $2 off coupon). The Yankee Doodle Dog show starts at 10 a.m. at Canyon High School’s upper lot- registration on the day of the event (9 a.m. registration) is $10 with a $5 fee for each additional category (a total of six judging contest categories are available). For more information on the dog show contact Marc Schissler at 714-609-4550.
At 3:00 p.m. the 4th of July parade starts off from Canyon High School west down Santa Ana Canyon Road ending at Pinney Drive. The parade will have over 50 parade entries from floats to marching bands.

After the parade it is on to Peralta Canyon Park at 115 N. Pinney Drive for the family fun and the free fireworks show starting at 9:00 p.m.

CLICK ON MAP for PERALTA CANYON PARK: MAP

Orange Rotary wins Governor’s Award
Orange Rotary received the coveted Governor’s Award as Best Club in District 5320 for 2008-2009. Under the leadership of President Don Saltikov and his Board, the club was chosen best among the 46 clubs in the District for the second consecutive year. The District encompasses all of Orange County and a portion of Los Angeles County.

Orange Rotary is known for it’s community, youth, and international service and placed 1st, 2nd, or 3d in all six of the categories, including membership, club bulletin, and website.

One of the community programs supported by the Orange Rotary is THINK Together, a non-profit after school learning program that supports over 90 children at 1909 E. Quincy Street in a densely populated apartment area of Orange. Located in adjoining facilities at the address are the Highland Learning Center and the Highland Teen Center. The heavily used centers were in desperate need of painting and carpeting. Employees of Home Depot, parents, and students pitched in to help Orange Rotarians create a pleasant new setting for learning.

The Orange Rotarians Community Service Director Diane Clanton and Orange President Don Saltikov were recognized by Omar Ramirez and Ruth Malagon, the directors of the two community centers, with an appreciation award. Ramirez said the generous participation of Orange Rotarians helped unite parents and students to work together for the first time in an all -volunteer project. He said, “Your improvements to the centers was especially important to the Teen Center’s new program to help our teenagers create pride in their community and introduce them to achieving personal benefits if they pursue a college education.”

Rotary is an organization of business and professional leaders united worldwide, which provides humanitarian service, encourages high ethical standards in all vocations, and helps build goodwill and peace in the world. Those interested in attending a weekly meeting of Orange Rotary may contact Randy Straight @ rstraight@westbond.com.

Orange Unified announces Principal positions for 2008-2009 school year

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 21:18:00 +0000

In a press release Orange Unified School Superintendent Dr. Renae Drier publicly released to the Greater Orange Communities the school site pricipal assignments for the 2008-2009 school year. The announcement includes three elementary school sites still with openings for a principal (Anaheim Hills, Fletcher and Jordan) and one middle school acting principal at Cerro Villa. There were no announced changes to the high school pricipal positions.

For the complete list CLICK ON: PRINCIPALS

OUSD PROPOSED 2008-2009 BUDGET IN THE BLACK

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Tue, 16 Jun 2009 19:14:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

Elementary music, class size reductions and 3 “small” schools saved…
OUSD Budget Proposed 2008-2009 in the Black

Avoiding a widely expected Qualified Certification (indicating that a district may not be able to meet its financial obligations) the Orange Unified School District at the June 18, 2009 OUSD School Board meeting will hold a public hearing (Action Agenda Item 12 B agenda page 5) on its proposed in the “black” 2008-2009 Budget. The 2008-2009 Proposed Budget shows a positive $8,449,713 budget figure that includes the state 3% required reserve of $6,813,288 for “economic uncertainty” and $1,000,000 from funding captured from El Rancho Charter. The proposed budget leaves a total of $345,000 in unappropriated funds. Additional good news is that the proposed budget does not include the allotted federal stimulus money to OUSD. The proposed budget also reports that no required state financial reports indicate that the district has “fiscal distress”.

The assumptions used for the budget are based on Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger’s “Scenario #2” budget proposals in response to the election defeats of the budget propositions in the May 19th Special Election. That budget scenario includes a $225 Average Daily Attendance (ADA) funding cut per student, a 4.25% increase in the Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) and a projected 12.227% deficit for a total decline of the 2008-2009 ADA funding of $1037.71 per student. It is yet to be determined how close the actual state budget will be to the Governor's “Scenario #2” outline.

The OUSD budget Action Item states that the federal stimulus money, officially known as the Federal American Recovery and Investment Act, is not included as part of the budget because the funding has not yet been received (at the time of the printing of the agenda). The OUSD Agenda reports that many unknowns about the stimulus funding remain including the total allocated amount to OUSD, as well as the allowable uses and the reporting requirements on the stimulus money. However, as of 6/16/09, the official California Department of Education website for the stimulus money, Recovery.ca.gov (see link below), reports that OUSD has received $7,533,299 in “General Purpose” funds in the first stimulus money appropriation and will also receive $2,504,535 in “Categorical Program” funding.
(CLICK ON: Cal Dept of Ed Recovery $ Search and Cal Dept of Ed First Federal $ Approriations ).

In required accompanying supportive state financial reports to the budget included in the Agenda, Section A-8 of the Additional Fiscal Indicators report (agenda page 10) specifically asks the district: “Does the district have any reports that indicate fiscal distress?” The district administration answers that financial report question “No”.

The proposed OUSD budget specifically lists the continuation of some popular programs. The budget specifically lists: the continuation of the 5th and 6th grade instrumental music program; continuation of high school athletics; and class size reduction programs (class size reduction in 1st and 2nd grades is a 25 to 1 student to teacher ratio; in kindergarten and 3rd -6th grade it is a 30 to 1 ratio). The proposed budget continues current district health and benefit coverage and while negotiations continue with employee groups, the budget continues contractual step and column wage increases. The controversial three remaining “small schools” also remain open under the proposed budget.

The 2008-2009 budget actuals and budget revisions for the 2009-2010 budget will be submitted at the September 10, 2009 OUSD Board Meeting. The First Interim Report for the 2009-2010 budget will be presented at the December 10, 2009 OUSD Board Meeting.

OUSD to pass Resolution of the Unknowns
Also at their June 18th, 2009 The Orange Unified School Board will vote on passing a resolution entitled: Resolution Declaring Indefinite Work Year, Salary Compensation, and Salary Schedules Due to State Budget Crisis.

This type of resolution is being passed by school districts around the state as an all encompassing attempt to inoculate the districts against Proposition 13 era rulings by the California Public Employment Relations Board (PERB), a quasi-judicial administrative agency charged with administering California’s collective bargaining laws for California’s public employees. Those 1979 rulings (based on federal precedent) reversed attempts to unilaterally rollback contractual wages by school districts after the passage of Proposition 13 tax cuts. The resulting pre-contract date resolutions passed on the advice of legal counsel have not been fully legally tested since the original PERB contractual rulings. (Agenda Action Item 12 C page 25-26).

INSIDE the June 18th , 2009 Agenda
Closed Session
Item 4 D- Public Employee Performance Evaluation: The OUSD Board will be evaluating OUSD Superintendent Dr. Renae Drier’s job performance. What a difference a year makes…with a balanced budget, innovative community approaches, an open administration, a non-reliance on educational consultants, a distaste for confrontational leadership and politicking and with few gaffs (yea we know her now famous Technology Assistant comment wasn’t her finest moment) the popular new Superintendent in contrast to past leaders has easily won over the community and by all accounts also the OUSD Trustees.

Open Session
Action Item 12 A- Public Hearing CSEA #67 Proposal-with the state budget crisis still looming, the district and the employee associations will continue negotiations.

Consent Items 14 D and 14 H- Contract Services Breaking with the past practice of approving half of the advance for legal fees, OUSD Trustees will be approving $400,000 in legal retainer fees pertaining to “education” for law firm Covert and Parker. In addition, another Parker and Covert retainer for another $200,000 to Parker and Covert for “Special Education” matters and another $55,000 to the firm for “legal counsel and consultation” relating to “modernization”, “developer fees” and “Surplus property”. Also on the agenda is another $35,000 for another law firm- Atkinson, Andelson, Loya to work on “surplus property” issues (you know the old joke…how many law firms does it take to declare property surplus?....). Now how much was an in-house attorney going to cost taxpayers again?

OUSD TRUSTEES VOTE AGAINST OWN PAY CUT
A week after voters defeated six ballot propositions in the May 19th Special Election sending the state into financial chaos, the Orange Unified Trustees at their May 28 Board Meeting defeated a move to cut their $750 monthly stipend by 10% (to $675 a month) due to the current budget crisis. They also defeated a Board Bylaw change that would require the OUSD Trustees to pay the entire cost for their health care if they opted to use the school district’s health plan. The annual savings to the district taxpayers if the 10% reduction in pay were approved would have been $6,300 per year ($18,900 through July 2012) while the health care change would reportedly have saved $100,000 a year.

The pay cut Action Item, Agenda Action Item 12 A (Agenda page 3), was co-sponsored by OUSD Board political minority allies Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat. Nichols moved and Moffat seconded the proposal for a vote. Smith this year has repeatedly brought up the idea of the OUSD Trustees taking a reduction in their monthly stipend in light of the continued state fiscal crisis and the sacrifices that the OUSD Board and OUSD Administration was asking the community and employees to make.

Before the vote Board President Rick Ledesma dismissed the minority members’ pay cut proposal as “wonderful political hay” noting that he agrees cuts are needed, but questioning the sincerity of the move by the three co-sponsors stating: “Where were these heroes when they were voting for millions and millions of dollars for consultants not long ago”. Ledesma also cited past votes for “pay increases to superintendents” and “me too pay increases for administrators”. Adding his belief that “symbolism works both ways” he questioned the timing and the relative small total savings to the district as he decried the minority further stating that when they were in the majority “leadership wasn’t there before”.

Trustee Melissa Smith responded to Ledesma by taking exception to Ledesma’s characterization of the proposal as “political hay” stating “I have nothing to gain politically” citing that her residence has been moved from her trustee area (this was done in the Nichols Rocco Realignment) and she will not be running again. Smith also took exception to Ledesma’s comments about the timing of the proposal noting that she had been working on the proposed cuts since February. Smith defended past salary increase votes by stating that “market is what determines” the pay needed to offer and attract qualified people with competitive salaries. Ledesma retorted that competitiveness can be measured in many ways.

During the pre-vote discussion other Trustees explained their votes. Trustee Kim Nichols while acknowledging that the total savings were small, said the proposal would show that the Board was “participating in the crisis” and was a symbolic way to tell the community and employees that “we are in it with you” with the gesture. Later in the meeting Nichols directed the Superintendent to provide Nichols with any paperwork that was needed for Nichols to take the 10% pay cut individually. Smith added to Nichols' reasons for voting for the pay cut reasoning that it was more than symbolic, but a way for the Trustees to “share the burden” .

Trustee John Ortega stated he favored the cut, but maintained that because Trustee Mark Wayland was absent the Board should postpone the vote. At the beginning of the meeting, OUSD Superintendent Renae Drier had read a lengthy letter from Wayland explaining that his absence was do to his participation in the POW-MIA awareness campaign Run for the Wall national motorcycle convoy.
(For more information CLICK ON: Run for the Wall).

Responding to Ortega's concern, Smith maintained that the Board could not guarantee that everyone would ever be at every meeting when items are discussed. Trustee Kathy Moffat stated that it was well-known by the Board members that the item would be on the Agenda and that every Board meeting is important and felt it was more than fair to continue in Wayland’s absence.

When the vote came, the motion failed in a tie 3-3 vote with the OUSD Trustees voting with their political allied blocks. Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat voted for the reduction. Voting against the 10% reduction was Ledesma Coalition allies -Trustees Rick Ledesma, John Ortega, and Alexia Deligianni.

OUSD Trustees also defeat proposal
to fully pay for own heath benefits
Also on the May 28th OUSD Agenda was a proposal to end taxpayer subsidies for OUSD Trustee health benefits. Agenda Action Item 12 B would have change the OUSD Board By-Laws to allow OUSD Trustees to opt into participating in the OUSD Health Benefit plan only by paying the entire cost of their participation. The proposal was moved by Nichols and seconded by Smith for a vote.

In the pre-vote discussion, Nichols stated that the proposal would save taxpayers $100,000 a year. Nichols further reasoned that since the Trustees are classified as “part-time” district employees, in any other employment part-time employees are not entitled to benefits. Ledesma (who stated that at one-time he did use the district benefits, but he no longer does so) reasoned that the benefit package attracts people to run for the school board and that by eliminating it would reduce the pool of qualified future candidates. He also stated that if a school board candidate in the future were to lose their regular employment, the district provided benefits would help them not worry about health benefits during that stressful time. Ledesma reiterated his belief that the proposal was politically motivated and stated that at anytime a Trustee could voluntarily reduce their pay or not accept the benefits. Responding to Ledesma, a visibly agitated Nichols stated that politics never entered her mind in the two agenda items and at that point directed the Superintendent to reduce Nichols' own stipend by the earlier defeated proposed 10%. Trustee Melissa Smith responded to Ledesma’s assertions by pointing to the numerous candidates for the OUSD Board during the last elections and added that she doubted that school board candidates even knew that school board trustee health benefits were available. Trustee John Ortega again explained that his “No” vote was based on Trustee Wayland being absent.

In the end, the vote failed on a technicality after 3 votes for the proposal (Moffat, Nichols and Smith), two against (Ortega and Ledesma) and an abstaining vote by OUSD Trustee Dr. Alexia Deligianni. OUSD Attorney Spencer Covert interjected from the audience that the abstaining vote went to the No’s, thereby defeating the proposal in a technical 3-3 tie. However, the Roberts Rules position on abstaining is controversial. One school of thought is that the 1915 Roberts Rules establishes a majority of votes cast (with abstentions not “votes”). Another school of thought is that a proposal passes by a majority of ALL votes cast including abstentions. With abstentions rare, few organizations that use Roberts Rules have addressed the abstention black hole in Roberts Rules by spelling out which interpretation to recognize. Since the era of abstentions began with former Trustee Steve Rocco and continuing with the current Board, perhaps it is time for OUSD to establish a policy. Then again, perhaps the OUSD attorney just did.
(For more information CLICK ON: Roberts Rules Answers ).

Community Donations
El Modena H.S. Baseball Boosters $5,700 – Salary stipends; Cambridge E.S. Fathers Club $237- school supplies; Canyon H.S. ASB $1000- Cheer Salary stipend; La Veta PTA $5000 –computer lease.
For a complete list of the $14,409 in community donations see Agenda page 29.

INSIDE the OUSD Budget

INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $1,041,000

2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $ 200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
3/12/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (09-10) $ 400,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 200,000
6/18/09 Parker & Covert (property) $ 55,000
6/18/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (property)$ 35,000
Total $1,038,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $1,041,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008): $13310.00*

* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

**JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Consultant Fee Tally: Total $176,400
2006 Attorney Fee Tally: Total Approved $655,000
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *

* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Total 2005 Conference Administrator/Board Fees: $ 7,500.00
2005 Attorney Fee Tally: $730,600.00
Total Watched 2005 OUSD Consultant spending: $ 270,200.00

Next OUSD Board Meeting June 18, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM
For AGENDA-CLICK ON: JUNE 18 AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 5:30 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/

OUSD TRUSTEES VOTE AGAINST OWN PAY CUT

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Sat, 30 May 2009 00:25:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE UPDATE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

OUSD TRUSTEES VOTE AGAINST OWN PAY CUT

Orange Unified Trustees at their May 28 Board Meeting defeated a move to cut their $750 monthly stipend by 10% (to $675 a month) due to the current budget crisis. They also defeated a Board Bylaw change that would require the OUSD Trustees to pay the entire cost for their health care if they opted to use the school district’s health plan

The annual savings to the district taxpayers if the 10% reduction in pay were approved would have been $6,300 per year ($18,900 through July 2012). The Action Item, Agenda Item 12 A (Agenda page 3), was co-sponsored by OUSD Board political minority allies Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat. Smith this year has repeatedly brought up the idea of the OUSD Trustees taking a reduction in their monthly stipend in light of the continued state fiscal crisis and the sacrifices that the OUSD Board and OUSD Administration was asking the community and employees to make. The motion failed in a tie 3-3 vote with the OUSD Trustees voting with their political allied blocks. Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat voted for the reduction. Voting against the 10% reduction was Ledesma Coalition allies -Trustees Rick Ledesma, John Ortega, and Alexia Deligianni. Trustee Mark Wayland was absent from the meeting.

Watch for detailed complete coverage of the Orange Unified School District with the regular ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE edition

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OUSD Trustees to vote on 10% reduction to own pay and ending taxpayer paid Health Benefits

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:31:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
a news service of Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

OUSD Trustees to vote on 10% reduction to own pay
and ending taxpayer paid Health Benefits for Trustees

The Orange Unified School Board Trustees will be voting at their May 28th, 2009 Board Meeting to reduce their $750 monthly stipend 10% to $675 per month for three years starting in July 2009. The annual savings to the district taxpayers will be $6,300 per year ($18,900 through July 2012). The Action Item, Agenda Item 12 A (Agenda page 3), is co-sponsored by OUSD Board political minority allies Trustees Melissa Smith, Kim Nichols and Kathy Moffat. Smith this year has repeatedly brought up the idea of the OUSD Trustees taking a reduction in their monthly stipend in light of the continued state fiscal crisis and the sacrifices that the OUSD Board and OUSD Administration was asking the community and employees to make. Board President Rick Ledesma to date had not agendize Smith’s proposal. Under rules adopted when the minority members were in the majority, it takes three Trustees to request an item be added to the agenda. Smith, Moffat and Nichols are listed as the Agenda Item’s co-sponsors.

In proposals to the two employee groups, the OUSD Trustees and Administration have asked district employees take a 3.75 % pay cut and are currently in negotiations with those groups. Those proposed pay cuts maybe in addition to further cuts in workdays. The OUSD Board has approved numerous other program and personnel cuts, including cuts in teaching, administration and support staff positions. In addition the Board voted to raise the classroom student to teacher ratio in the lower grade special Class Size Reductions from a 20 to 1 ration to a 24 to 1 ration. Other cuts included the OUSD Board voting to close OUSD’s smallest school, Silverado Elementary that had around 60 students. Some cuts have not taken place. Former OUSD Assistant Superintendent for Business Services Jon Archibald in the beginning of the state-wide financial crisis had recommended four small OUSD schools be closed. To date, only one, Silverado has been closed. According to the February 5, 2009 OUSD Board Work Study Session the savings from Silverado closing and consolidating is $198,000 a year. Those OUSD figures also show an additional $955,000 can also be saved yearly by closing and consolidating three other small schools: Imperial ($342,000 a year); Panorama ($268,000 a year); Riverdale ($345,000) a year. The three year savings of closing these three small schools would be close to $3,000,000 (compared to the $18,000 3 year savings in reducing Trustee pay). The three year savings to OUSD from closing Silverado is close to $600,000. Closing all four small schools would result in a three year savings of $4,000,000.

Also under consideration in Action Item 12 B is a first reading to change the OUSD Board Policy 92450 (a) to stop OUSD taxpayers from paying for health benefits to OUSD Board of Education members. The change would allow the OUSD Board members to pay “at their own cost” to be covered by OUSD for health coverage.

For information on the savings to OUSD from closing small schools CLICK ON:
Small School Question (see question #7)

OUSD Trustees to fill Administrative Positions during fiscal crisis

Former OUSD Superintendent Dr. Robert French created two positions of Executive Director in 2004 in the French Reorganization, supporting the new positions by calling the creation of the new bureaucratic positions an administration “cut”. Those two intermediate level of administration positions at OUSD grew to six positions under former OUSD Superintendent Dr. Thomas Godley. During the OUSD May 28th, 2009, during the Closed Session the OUSD Trustees will be filling two Executive Directors (Secondary Education and Business Services) positions, an Administrative Director (Communications and Technology) position; a Director of Facilities Planning; and a Director of Maintenance & Operations. These appointments come just a week after voters rejected the bailout propositions in the May 19 Special Election, and in the middle of the worst fiscal emergency in the history of the State of California since the Great Depression. (Voters in Greater Orange voted down the propositions by greater margins than Orange County and California).

Also in the May 28th Closed Session, the OUSD Board will be filling an OUSD Middle School Principal opening.

INSIDE the May 28th, 2009 Agenda
Information Agenda 13 A- Budget Update (Agenda page 7)- with the defeat of the May 19th Budget Propositions in the Special Election and Sacramento law makers again meeting to close budget deficits, this OUSD report will be tentative at best.

Community Donations
Angels Baseball Foundation $1,000- Sycamore E.S. literacy and Technology; Legislative Coalition $400-to OUSD Superintendent for Sacramento Trip; Friends of the Orange Public Library $100- Curriculum for Annual Art Exposition; Orange Community Foundation $210-Sycamore E.S. supplies; Lowes Education Foundation $2100- supplies Imperial E.S.; Villa Park H.S. ASB $5,411- salary stipends; Canyon H.S. ASB $2,645-salary stipends; El Modena Band Boosters $1,900-salary stipends; Orange H.S. Baseball Boosters $7,000-salary stipends.

For a complete list of the $69,623 in community donations see Agenda page 9.

INSIDE the OUSD Budget

INSIDE’s EDUCATIONAL TAX DOLLARS WATCH 2009:
Total $378,000

2009 Attorney Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Parker & Covert (for 1/09 -6/09) $200,000
3/12/09 Atkinson, Andelson, Loya (Sp. Ed) $ 50,000
Parker & Covert (Special Ed) $ 98,000
Total $348,000

2009 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
01/24/09 Leadership Associates Consultants $ 3,000
2009 TOTAL $ 378,000

Former Superintendent Godley’s Retirement Bonus running total (beginning 8/2008):
$9689.00*

* The Godley Retirement Bonus presented here is an estimate of the amount in “bonus retirement” accrued since the Superintendent’s retirement on 6/30/08 using a 6% lifetime formula calculated here at $1210 a month since 8/08. The actual retirement plan the former OUSD Superintendent opted to take is not public information and the figures presented are only as an estimate of the taxpayer costs after the OUSD trustees voted against an amendment to exclude Godley from the retirement program. The on-going estimated figure is presented as a reminder to the community of the high cost in educational tax dollars the OUSD Board vote to allow the former Superintendent to participate in the 6% retirement incentive cost the OUSD education community in tax dollars. Godley retired from OUSD on June 30, 2008 after he worked for the school district for a little over five years.

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2008: $901,200
2008 Attorney Fee Tally:
6/19/08 Parker & Covert $ 60,000
6/05/08 Miller, Brown & Dannis $ 40,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $150,000
6/05/08 Parker & Covert $200,000
2/07/08 Parker & Covert $100,000
11/15/07 Parker & Covert (for 1/08 to 6/08) $200,000
$750,000
2008 Consultant/ Speaker Fee Tally:
11/13/08 Subs for SDCDE (Reading First) $24,000
11/13/08 SDCDE (Reading First) $30,000
10/30/08 Dr. Willard Daggett (ICLE) $ 4,500
10/16/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 4,200
9/25/08 Visual Ink for Sadler Consultant <$ 6,600> CANCELED in 2009
9/25/08 Bob Sadler Consultant Fee $ 8,500
9/25/08 Candace Simpson-Sadler Helper $ 5,500
7/24/08 Dr. Parker 40 pt Consultant $ 10,000
4/17/08 Dr. Kenneth Stichter Speaker Fee $ 6,500
3/7/08 Dr. Kathleen Weigel Speaker Fee $ 8,000
Consultant Total $ 101, 200
2008 TOTAL $ 901,200

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2007: $704,090.00**

2007 Administrative Conference/Travel: hidden since 6/8/06**

*JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to APPROVE Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2006: $849,717.00*
2006 Consultant Fee Tally: Total $176,400
2006 Attorney Fee Tally: Total Approved $655,000
2006 Administrative Conference/Travel: Total $ 18,317 *

* JUNE 8th, 2006 Trustees VOTE to Give OUSD Superintendent the power to
APPROVE OUSD Travel Requests taking this item OUT of the PUBLIC AGENDA

Total for Watched Tax Dollars approved in 2005: $978,300.00:
Total 2005 Conference Administrator/Board Fees: $ 7,500.00
2005 Attorney Fee Tally: $730,600.00
Total Watched 2005 OUSD Consultant spending: $ 270,200.00
Next OUSD Board Meeting May 28, 2009 -OUSD BOARD ROOM

FOR the Agenda CLICK ON: MAY 28 AGENDA

CLOSED SESSION- 6:00 pm
OUSD Regular Session: 7:00 pm

For more information call the OUSD Superintendent’s office at 714-628-4040
For budgeting questions call Business Services at 714-628-4015

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of /O/N/N/
ONN.ORANGENETNEWS@GMAIL.COM

Greater Orange celebrates Memorial Day

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Fri, 22 May 2009 23:33:00 +0000

Metro TALK ______________
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Orange Net News /O/N/N/

Villa Park Family Picnic and Car Show set for Memorial Day Weekend
This Memorial Day Weekend Orange County’s “Hidden Jewel” hosts the annual Villa Park Picnic and Car Show. Saturday May 23rd the weekend festivities kick off at 9:00 a.m. with a motorcade procession of vintage and classic cars through the streets of Villa Park. Then on Sunday May 24th is the main event Villa Park Picnic and Car Show at Irvine Lake from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Music, games, food, displays and demonstrations from the Orange County Sheriff Department and Orange County Fire Authority will keep picnic participants busy.. Contests include cup cake decorating and pie eating.

In addition nature hikes and fishing are part of Irvine Lake fun. Did we mention the raffle? Yes all this and a Classic Car Show.

Tri-City Memorial Day Service will feature
Orange H.S. Chamber Singers
The Tri-City (Orange, Tustin and Santa Ana) Memorial Day Observance will be held Memorial Day, Monday, May 25, 2009. The tribute will feature veterans groups, community groups and local dignitaries in the dedication of Eight Civil War Era Monuments at the Santa Ana Cemetery Monument to the Civil War Unknowns, Grand Army of the Republic Plot. City of Orange Mayor Carolyn Ceveech will be just one of the City of Orange participants in the program. Others include: John Whiteriver of the Orange American Legion Post 132- who will give the Invocation and Benediction; Daniel Martinez, Eagle Scout Orange B.P.O. Elks Troop 1475-who will lead the Pledge of Allegiance; Daniel Schroeder-Boy Scouts Orange B.P.O. Elks Troop 1475 – bugler playing of Taps; and VFW District 2 and Orange Post 7452 Color Guard- will be the Honor Firing Squad. In addition, the Orange High School Chamber Singers under the direction of both Dean Anderson and Mike Short will be singing a number of patriotic songs.

Orange County 3rd District Supervisor Bill Campbell will read the poem “Old Glory” and the Memorial Day Address will be given by California Superior Court Judge Daniel McNerney.

The Santa Ana Cemetery is located at 1919 E. Santa Clara in Santa Ana. The program begins at 10:00 a.m.

Metro TALK is
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Orange Unified's Panorama Elementary School Scores a Perfect 10-10 on State Academic Progress Index

OrangeNet.News@gmail.com (/OCS/ Orange Communication System) — Fri, 22 May 2009 00:51:00 +0000

ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE UPDATE
a news service of
Orange Net News /O/N/N/
Independent insight into OUSD

Orange Unified's Panorama Elementary School Scores a
Perfect 10-10 on State Academic Progress Index

The California State Department of Education released the 2008-2009 Academic Performance Index (API) rankings today, Thursday, May 21st, 2009. The state API rankings are touted to allow comparison of California schools on standardized testing. The released report summarizes the results of the Spring 2008 standardized tests. These test results become the baseline to compare the Spring 2009 standardized test results which are released in September 2009.

Schools are divided into 10 equal performance groups (1-10) with the highest group a “10” and the lowest a “1”. The two number ranking is comprised of the “state rank” (the first number) and a “similar school rank”. The “state rank” compares the school to the rest of the schools in the state. The “similar school rank” compares the school with similar demographic characteristics (i.e. race or social- economic status). A 1-4 ranking is considered below-average; a ranking of 5-6 is considered as average; a 7-10 rank is considered above-average.

Results for Orange Unified (OUSD) schools resulted in one school scoring a perfect 10-10 rating: Panorama Elementary School. The 217 students at the school scored a 2008 API score of 911, 110 points above the required state 800 score.
For a complete breakdown of the Panorama student population CLICK ON:
PANORAMA STUDENT POPULATION

Other OUSD schools scoring a 10 state ranking were (second number is the similar school ranking):
Chapman Hills Elementary: 10-9
Serrano Elementary: 10-9
Nohl Canyon Elementary: 10-4

OUSD Schools scoring a 9 state ranking (second number is the similar school ranking):
Villa Park Elementary: 9-8
Villa Park H.S.:9-7
Imperial Elementary: 9-7
McPherson Magnet: 9-6
Linda Vista Elementary: 9-6
El Rancho Charter: 9-4
Anaheim Hills Elementary: 9-3
Canyon H.S.: 9-2
Canyon Rim Elementary: 9-1

The lowest API scoring scores were:
Fairhaven E.S.: 1-2
Handy E.S.: 2-4
Lampson E.S.:3-4

OUSD Schools with above average similar school rankings (performing above average results in their demographics) with low state ranks:
California E.S.: 6-10
West Orange E.S.:7-10
Jordan E.S.: 5-9
Yorba M.S.:5-9

To view OUSD’s individual schools 2008-2009 API Scores CLICK ON:
OUSD API

This edition of
ORANGE Unified Schools INSIDE UPDATE
Independent insight into OUSD
is an independent news service of
Orange Net News /O/N/N/