Chaos Follows Corruption Allegations in OC School District: Citizens Battle to Reform the Capistrano Unified School District

Orange County, CA. The Full Disclosure Network® is re-releasing a ground-breaking six part series covering the historic battle to restore honesty, integrity and accountability to the the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD). The citizen revolt began in 2005 with a petition drive to recall all seven members of the Board of Trustees and has now culminated in a full scale criminal investigation of the school board members and the indictment of former superintendent James Fleming for multiple felonies.

PROVOCATIVE SERIES

This provocative series will be featured on Cox South Orange County Cable Channel 31 starting Wednesday March 12th at 6 p.m., and will continue each and every Wednesday for the next six weeks.

Listed below are air dates for the six episodes, with links on titles to a short video previews:

1. "Parents Declare War on School District" Part 1-2
Part 1 : Wednesday March 12th 6 p.m.

Part 2: Wednesday March 19th 6 p.m.
Reform leaders first make public allegations that CUSD officials had squandered $52 million on luxurious administration building for themselves, while students and teachers are relegated to dilapidated portable classrooms. Ignoring massive community opposition, CUSD then also proceeds with construction of a $150 million high school next to South Orange County’s largest active landfill.

2.

"Citizens Provoke DA Raids on CUSD" Part 3-4
Part 3: Wednesday March 26th 6 p.m.

Part 4: Wednesday April 2nd 6 p.m
Superintendent James Fleming is forced to retire in disgrace and under fire from the community, while elected Trustees loyal to Fleming vote to use taxpayer funds to pay for Fleming’s criminal defense attorney. District Attorney investigators armed with search warrants raid the District offices. Charges that District officials interfered with the Recall Petition process prompt a growing number of public officials to speak out against corruption and mismanagement of the District.

3. "Local Officials Speak Out: Trustees Step Aside?" Part 5-6
Part 5: Wednesday April 9the 6 p.m.

Part 6: Wednesday April 16th 6 p.m.
Following the indictment of Superintendent Fleming and his Assistant Superintendent more local officials from across South Orange County join the call for the “Old Guard” Trustees to resign from office. Even with the election of three newly elected “reform” Trustees, the Old Guard continues with “business as usual” and are found by the Orange County District Attorney to have engaged in systematic illegal secret meetings to freeze out the public from the democratic process.

Featured in the series are CUSD Recall Committee leaders and elected officials:
• Tony Beall, Mayor, Rancho Santa Margarita (CUSD Recall Committee leader)
• Patricia Kelly, Council member, City of Mission Viejo
• Neil Blais, Councilman City of Rancho Santa Margarita
• John Paul Ledesma, Councilman City of Mission Viejo
• Gary Thompson, Mayor Pro-Tem City of Rancho Santa Margarita
• Tom Russell, CUSD Recall Committee Leader
• Jennifer Beall, CUSD Recall Committee Leader
• Carmen Cave, Mayor City of Aliso Viejo
• Mark Nielson, City of San Juan Capistrano Council Member
• Anna Bryson, Vice Pres. CUSD Board (newly elected)
• Gail Reavis, Mayor City of Mission Viejo
• Ellen Addonizio, Trustee CUSD Board (newly elected)
• Lon Uso, City of San Juan Capistrano Council Member
• Steve Knoblock, City of San Clemente Council Member
• James Fleming, Superintendent, Capistrano Unified School District
• Shelia Henness, CUSD Board of Trustees

Known as “the news behind the news” the Full Disclosure Network® television programs are featured on 45 cable systems and the Internet since 1992 and produced by Emmy Award winning Host Leslie Dutton and Producer T. J. Johnston. In 2002 the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented a local public affairs Emmy to Full Disclosure. Channels and airtimes can be found on the website at http://www.fulldisclosure.net/ .

Full Disclosure Network® Cable TV Series: How California Parents Won Back Their School District

Click here to watch 1:30 min video demo

Orange County, CA. Learn how the parents in South Orange County successfully fought to take back control of the Capistrano Unified School District (CUSD). Full Disclosure Network® has recorded the historical battle in school district that started back in 2005 and has taken almost two years to completion. The parents war against CUSD is documented seven episodes to date, including six complete shows along with three stimulating viedo news blogs all available on DVDs. Produced by Emmy Award winning Host Leslie Dutton and Producer T. J. Johnston and featuring all the parents who led the Recall of and Reform campaign and elected officials from small cities within the District.

HOW PARENTS WON BACK THEIR SCHOOL DISTRICT

Collectors Set of Seven DVDs

1. "Parents Declare War on Their School " (Episodes 1-2)

2. "Citizens Provoke DA Raids on District" (Episodes 3-4)

3. "Local Officials Speak Out: Trustees Step Aside" (Episodes 5-6)

4. (Episode #7) Three Video News Blogs (on one DVD) includes the following:

5. Video News Blog #1: " School Corruption Sparks Citizen Revolt"

6. Video News Blog #2: "Recall Election Corrupted: Parents Expose"

7. Video News Blog #3: "Has the OC Registrar Broken Down?"

ADD THIS COMPLETE SET TO YOUR PERSONAL COLLECTION OR DONATE IT TO YOUR PUBLIC LIBRARY TO SHARE WITH OTHERS

COLLECTORS SET SPECIAL PRICE $99.99

Place your order, click here or call 1-310-822-4449

ELECTED OFFICIALS JOIN CALL FOR OC SCHOOL TRUSTEES TO STEP DOWN: Internet Video Preview (8 min)

Orange County, CA: A growing number of elected officials are joining with parents, taxpayers and citizens who have been frustrated with the leadership of their local School Board. and are now calling for "Old Guard" Trustees to step down or be recalled. The political revolt taking place in South Orange County provides a text book case for how a citizens campaign can successfully conduct an orderly revolution, using the democratic process.

The Full Disclosure Network®(FDN) is releasing the latest two episodes (Part 5 and 6) covering the history and new developments in Capistrano Unfied School District (CUSD) controversy along with a FREE eight minute Internet video preview (click here to view) of the on-going cable tv series on the real life grassroots campaign to recall or replace all seven of the elected CUSD Trustees.

• While the CUSD recall petitions (2006) were disqualified from the ballot under unusual circumstances, the organizers and citizens went on to defeat three of the incumbent Trustees in the next regularly scheduled election (2007). The Trustees were replaced by candidates supported by the Recall Committee. However, the four remaining “Old Guard” Trustees are now being accused of undermining the efforts of citizens and the new Trustees to truly reform the District and restore accountability

• Latest episodes to be cablecast during the first two weeks of September throughout California. The recall leaders are now joined by elected officials from many small cities in the District who describe their own horror stories of dealing with the former Superintendent James Fleming who recently resigned. A short time after his resignation, he was then indicted by the Orange County Grand Jury for alleged use of taxpayers funds to prevent the recall petition from qualifying for the ballot.

• The FDN series on CUSD documents the historic battle to reform the District starting in 2005 up to present. In all there are six, half-hour Full Disclosure® programs and three Video News Blog on the Internet each reporting step by step, the citizens struggle to regain control of their school district.

Elected officials are featured in the episodes calling for the "old guard" Trustees to step down or to face another recall election are:

• Mayor Pro-Tem Gary Thompson, City of Rancho Santa Margarita
• Tom Russell, CUSD Recall Leader
• Mayor Tony Beall, City of Rancho Santa Margarita and CUSD Recall Leader
• Mayor Carmen Cave, City of Aliso Viejo
• Councilman Mark Neilson, City of San Juan Capistrano & Recall Leader
• Trustee Anna Bryson, Vice Pres. CUSD Board (newly elected)
• Mayor Gail Reavis, City of Mission Viejo
• Trustee Ellen Addinizio, CUSD Board (newly elected)
• Councilman Lon Uso, City of San Juan Capistrano
• Councilman Steve Knoblock, City of San Clemente

One of the major obstacles encountered by the recall leaders was the difficulty in gaining media attention to the problem due to refusal of the District and the Trustees to be interviewed. Indeed, the Full Disclosure Network® encountered fierce resistence as well, when the CUSD Administration and Trustees steadfastly denied interview requests. This fact is doumented in previous FDN episodes and in correspondence posted on the CUSD FDN website page and most recent email rejecting our requests for interviews from the new Director of Communications.

The Full Disclosure Network® (FDN) is known as “the news behind the news” covering, in-depth, important issues the mainstream media often ignores. As an independently produced and privately funded cable access program FDN is currently featured on 45 cable systems in the State of California and on the Internet as a public service. Producers of the program are host Leslie Dutton and T. J. Johnston. In 2002 the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences presented FDN with a local public affairs Emmy Award for the series "L.A.'s War Against Terrorism". Channels and Airtimes for the programs can be found on the website.

School Officials Indicted: Accusers Featured on Internet Video (12 min)

Orange County, CA.– James Fleming, former Superintendent of Capistrano Unified School District resigned office "in disgrace", then the county District Attorney raided District offices, the Registrar of Voters was investigated and finally admitted giving the Superintendent illegal access to recall petitions gathered by angry citizens trying to rid the district of corruption. The accusers who brought these charges to light are featured in a FREE 12 minute preview of the 2006 Full Disclosure Network® cable television series. Now being re-released for viewing on the Internet, on demand 24/7 as a public service of FDN, this preview caputures highlights of the series.

TODAY the Orange County District Attorney announced that the court unsealed the indictment of Fleming on three felonies here is the statement his assistant Susan McGill was indicted on two felony counts #2 and #3 as shown below:

Count 1 misappropriation of public funds
Count 2 use of school funds to defeat a recall effort of his political allies
Count 3 conspiracy

Full Disclosure Network® interviewed members of the Capo Recall Committee and local government officials residing in the Capistrano Unified School District throughout 2005-2006, documenting the course of events in an on going series for cable television and the Internet. Offering an update and behind the scenes commentary on the School District shake-up is Anthony “Tony” Beall, now Mayor of Rancho Santa Margarita who describes the filing of the recall initiative, the refusal to certify thousands of petitions by the Orange County Registrar of Voters and the D.A,’s raid. entire series is featured on 43 cable systems statewide with previews and Video News Blogs on the worldwide Internet

Among the leaders and officials featured in the Video preview are:

• James Fleming, Superintendent, Capistrano Unified School District
• Sheilia Henness, CUSD Board of Trustees
• Anthony “Tony” Beall, Mayor Pro-Tem, Rancho Santa Margarita (Recall leader)
• Gail Reavis, Council member City of Mission Viejo
• Patricia Kelly, Council member, City of Mission Veijo
• Gary Thompson, Councilman, City of Rancho Santa Margarita,
• Neil Blais, Councilman City of Rancho Santa Margarita
• John Paul Ledesma, Councilman City of Mission Viejo
  

Other School District issues cited as having added to the citizen outrage were
Instead of firing the Superintendent, CUSD Trustees allowed the Superintendent to retire with a life-long pension at the expense of the children and taxpayers
CUSD Board of Trustees unanimously approved paying for the criminal defense of the Superintendent, at the expense of the children and taxpayers

Hosted by Leslie Dutton, the Full Disclosure Network® public affairs television programs are billed as “the news behind the news” on the Internet website http://www.fulldisclosure.net/. In 2004-5 the program featured a lengthy series entitled "Belmont, the World’s Most Expensive High School” and the Los Angeles Unified School District’s extraordinary use of non-voter approved (COP) Bonds known as Certificates of Participation. In 2002 host Leslie Dutton was presented with a local public affairs Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences entitled "L.A.'s War Against Terrorism" Channels and airtimes can be found on the website.