School Kept Tabs on Politically Involved Parents

The Orange County Register has reported that the Capistrano Unified School District kept lists of 150 families – parents, activists, teachers, etc. – who supported last year’s board recall campaign. According to documents obtained by The Register, three spreadsheets detailed personal information such as where the families’ children went to school, what neighborhoods they live in, and what are their community affiliations. If a teacher had contact with the recall campaign, information was kept on where they taught school.

On the spreadsheets, the recall supporters’ personalities were described with adjectives such as “NIMBY” or “outspoken.”

Documentation also shows that the district received inside information on the effort to oust board members from an informant with access to the recall campaign.

An employee of the school district, who recently resigned, said he saw copies of the spreadsheets stored in the office of Superintendent James Fleming, and says he was directed to keep them secret last spring despite a public-records request by recall supporters.

Although there are numerous school board members and school officials who are on the parents’ side and do admirable work, oftentimes parents find themselves on opposite sides of the fence from board members, educators, and school administrators.

Karen England works for the Capitol Resource Institute in California. Reprinted with permission from CRI.