Candidate for
Trustee; Capistrano Unified School District; Trustee Area 3

Hello, my name is Mike Winsten, a candidate for the Capistrano Unified School District Governing Board of Trustees, Area III, the San Clemente seat. We all care deeply about our public schools and all I can ask is for the voters to take the time to make informed decisions when they cast their votes.

I am married to my beautiful wife Cheryl, and we have 5 wonderful children, 2 girls and 3 boys, and our dog Boo. 4 of our children are currently enrolled in CUSD schools, Chelsea in high school, A.J. in middle school, and Ariana and Michael in elementary school. Ryan will enter kindergarten in 2010. We will have children attending CUSD schools for the next 15 years! My family and I have a strong vested interest in the future of CUSD.

I was born in Brooklyn, New York, on September 14, 1958. Yes, I just turn 50 last week. I grew up on Long Island in North Bellmore, a small town suburb of New York City, through high school. I played little league, was an active Boy Scout, played high school lacrosse, played lots of recreational basketball, and rode my bicycle everywhere.

My hobbies now are mostly my kids and their activities, riding my bicycle around the hills of San Clemente to stay in shape, and working to improve the local governance of our school district.

My parents were first generation Americans, children of the depression, both raised in Brooklyn by hardworking immigrants from Russia. My parents raised my older brother and I with a healthy respect for others, a strong work ethic and a thirst for education. My father served at sea in World War II and went on to have a long career as an electrical engineer in the aerospace industry. My mother was an elementary school teacher. I have one older brother who lives with his family in a small town north of New York City.

I attended excellent public schools, which is part of what makes me motivated to work to improve CUSD. After high school I was lucky to attend and graduate from some of the finest universities in the world. I earned my Bachelor of Science degree from Cornell University (http://www.cornell.edu), my law degree from the University of Southern California (http://www.lawweb.usc.edu), and my Master of Business Administration degree from the University of California at Irvine (http://www.merage.uci.edu.)

Two months after I graduated from law school, I passed the California Bar Exam on my first try. I've practiced business and real estate law and lived in Orange County since 1987. You can read more about my law practice at http://www.winsten.com. I've earned the highest professional ability and ethical peer rating achievable from The Martindale-Hubbell Peer Review Ratings.

Why am I running for the CUSD school board? Good question. Why does would anyone want a contentious politically charged job that pays very little, but brings with it the responsibility for holding 1 of the 7 Governing Board seats for a school district that has over 51,500 students in 56 campuses, 4,400 employees, an annual budget of approximately $563 Million (can you believe that? Half a Billion dollars!), covering 195 square miles, with 7 cities, and numerous unincorporated communities?

For now, suffice it to say that my candidacy offers the votes a real choice. In CUSD, Trustees are all elected "at large" which means every voter in CUSD votes for the Trustees to be elected in each of the 7 Trustee Areas, but a candidate can only run for the Trustee Area seat where they live. I represent much needed change. I believe that CUSD, which has much right about it, also has much wrong about it. I believe the core academic programs are fine. If you believe API scores are an accurate measure of academic performance, CUSD shows steady improvement. Its reported dropout rate is lower than many other surrounding districts. Our academic staff works hard under difficult conditions. They are always trying to improve and I applaud and support their efforts.

My problem with CUSD is its Administrative `corporate culture.' CUSD's Administration simply provides poor customer service. The annual budget problems, lack of rainy day reserves, lack of class room supplies, bussing cuts, construction problems at SJJHS, beginning of the year classroom shortages, etc., are simply unacceptable. The Administration improperly blames all of that on Board of Trustees. They share some of the blame, but the Board is a policy making body, while the Administration carries out the Board's policies and provides the hands on management for the district. Unfortunately, over the last 15 years, the Board was passive and allowed the Administration to make and implement policy, which resulted in inexcusable wide spread mis-management of our money and the rapid growth of CUSD during that time period.

My plan is to help lead the new CUSD Board majority to transform and invert CUSD's `corporate culture' from one where the Administration tells the Board what to do, while the Board and the Administration refuses to be held accountable, to a culture where the Board tells the Administration what to do, and holds both itself and the Administration accountable.

My professional training as a veteran business and real estate lawyer, engaging in both trials and transactions, provides me with the skill set to fill in a missing gap on the CUSD Board by bring real time legal expertise to the Board, which will compliment the other skill sets of the other Trustees. I ask for your vote to allow me to apply my skills in providing leadership, analysis and judgment to push the reform agenda further forward by helping to lead the CUSD Board to take back control of CUSD from its Administration, and to provide the strategic policy leadership and oversight to hold the Administration accountable for providing true improved customer service to its constituents, our children, ourselves and all of the CUSD taxpayers and voters. Your vote for me and the other reform candidates will continue the goal of reforming CUSD to become the premier school district it can and ought to be become. For more information, go to http://www.cusdrecall.com.