California state senators advanced a bill last week that aims to discourage newly-elected school board majorities from terminating their head administrators—after two Southern California school boards recently opted to fire superintendents just weeks after they took office. State Senate Bill 494 would require board members to wait a minimum of 30 days after they are…

The Orange County Board of Education Feb. 1 unanimously approved a petition for a charter school—that uses what’s known as a “servant leadership model”—after its application to the Capistrano Unified School District failed in November. The pro-charter board expressed support for the school’s approach, which in addition to teaching core subjects, seeks to instill leadership,…

Petitioners behind a classical charter school appealed to the Orange County Board of Education Jan. 4 after its application to the Capistrano Unified School District failed in November. California Republic Leadership Academy’s founders told OC Board of Education trustees on Wednesday they were hoping to bring a classical education model to the county. Such a…

Capistrano Unified School District parents are frustrated over what they say is a lack of transparency surrounding the Board of Education’s decision to fire its superintendent “without cause” in a special meeting called just days before Christmas. After spending most of the Dec. 21 meeting in closed session, trustees voted 4–3 to terminate Kirsten Vital…

Capistrano Unified School District Superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte will leave her position by the end of the year, following a 4–3 vote by school board members during a Dec. 21 special meeting. The decision was made “without cause,” the board’s President Krista Castellanos said during the meeting. Castellanos, along with Trustees Gary Pritchard, Michael Parham,…

A measure that appeared on Aliso Viejo’s Nov. 8 ballot, which asks voters if the Capistrano Unified School District should take out a $144 million bond to repair its neighborhood schools—appears unlikely to pass, according to early voting results per the Orange County Registrar of Voters. Measure G—which needs 55 percent of the vote to…

A measure appearing on the Aliso Viejo ballot Nov. 8 asks voters if the Capistrano Unified School District should take out a $144 million bond to repair its neighborhood schools. According to Measure G (pdf), the funds would go to repair the city’s “aging neighborhood schools, fix deteriorating roofs, plumbing, sewer, electrical systems … acquire…

The Capistrano Unified School Board approved a new program last week to allow foreign students to enroll in the district’s schools for up to a year. The program—which is separate from the district’s existing student exchange program—is intended to “provide another form of access for international students … as well as augment enrollment,” according to…

Software developer Darin Patel is running for Capistrano School Board in the Nov. 8 election. “I believe I can bring a refreshing change and be a voice for parents and students by advocating for their needs while also being cognizant of our fiscal responsibility to taxpayers,” Patel, who was unable to be reached for an…

Judy Bullockus, who has served for five years on the Capistrano Unified School Board, is running for her seat in the Nov. 8 election. Bullockus was appointed by the board in 2017 to fill the vacant Trustee Area 7 seat and won another four-year term by default due to lack of opposition in 2018. As…