School District Kept "Enemies" List

Orange County's San Juan Capistrano School District has been embroiled in a recall controversy, as parents and teachers who are upset that the district is spending millions for a new administration building, rather than improving school facilities, have attempted to recall the district trustees.

The Orange County Register broke a disturbing story on Monday. It transpires that San Juan Capistrano School District employees were illegally shown recall petitions by the county registrar. The employees -- who, it should be added, were on taxpayer work time -- made spreadsheets with names of parents and teachers who supported the recall. The information on over 150 families includes lists of schools attended by the families' children, sparking fears of retaliation by district employees.

It has been alleged that the District Superintendent, James Fleming, had custody of the lists. He gave the Register a vague denial: "It doesn't sound familiar, like anything I know about at all."

One of the troubling aspects of this story is it demonstrates that the school district employees appear to have been more interested in maintaining their power than in remembering who they are employed to serve: taxpayers and voters.

More from the L.A. Times and the Register editorial page.