The superintendent of Capistrano Unified School District has vacated her position two-and-a-half years in advance, and at least one critic is blaming politics.
“Pro-union board members have been trying to get rid of her for a while and they won the board back this election cycle, so their first order of business was to rid themselves of the superintendent,” said Kira Davis, who unsuccessfully campaigned for a seat on the Capistrano Unified School District board.
Superintendent Kirsten Vital Brulte began her tenure in 2014. On Jan. 1, the school board replaced her with Deputy Superintendent Clark Hampton.
Vital Brulte
| Capistrano school district website
“California certainly has its issues with voter integrity but in my campaign, I got outspent,” Davis told the Southern California Record. “I lost my seat to a union-backed candidate. We had a chance to flip it, but we lost. We lost everything.”
The changing of the guard was initiated at a special Dec. 21 meeting where school board members voted 4-3 to terminate Vital Brulte’s contract without cause.
“They called a closed session in the middle of the day four days before Christmas when no one could show up and keep an eye on it,” Davis said. “I definitely think that this has to do with union contracts.”
Board members Lisa Davis, Gila Jones, and Judy Bullockus voted against ending Vital Brulte’s contract, which would have expired in June 2025. But board President Krista Castellanos along with three other board members Gary Pritchard, Michael Parham, and Amy Hanacek voted in favor of ending Vital Brulte’s contract.
“The teacher's unions are overrepresented on the school board so it will affect the students because they are going to be last and the union's going to be first,” Davis added. “The union is self-interested. Their job is to preserve their own ecosystem so, of course, it's not about the kids. Now, the union has the union and captured the school board.”
As previously reported, at least one school board member denied a political motive.
Parham told the Epoch Times that he voted to end Vital Brulte's contract early because 'the district needs a different style of leadership to resolve certain major issues that will not go away without a significant change in strategy.”
Davis blames the teacher's union.
“There are plenty of teachers who are great and deserve to be represented well, but teachers aren't the problem,” she said. “Their union is the problem. The union is self-interested.”
Castellanos stated in an email to parents that Vital Brulte’s termination was not a result of any misconduct, according to media reports.
“It is important to emphasize that the action taken was not for cause, and we wish the superintendent the best in her future endeavors,” Castellanos wrote.