By FERMIN LEAL / THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER
Published: Dec. 23, 2011
Updated: Dec. 25, 2011 12:01 a.m.


Orange County's public schools' continued struggle with ongoing budget cuts again dominated the news over the past year. Meanwhile, the passage of the state's Dream Act, historic court rulings involving tuition for illegal immigrants and the First Amendment battle between a student and his teacher also grabbed headlines.


Additionally, news of students that inspire and schools that continuously achieve contributed to an eventful 2011 in education. Here is a look back at the county's top stories for 2011.



Los Alamitos School Board member Karen Russell joined nearly 200 other Orange County education supporters at a large rally in Los Angeles' Pershing Square to protest ongoing cuts to education in this May photo. A total of five rallies were planned across the state at the same time.


January - April

For the fourth time in five years, Westminster High wins on Feb. 11 the Orange County Academic Decathlon, beating out Trabuco Hills High and Valencia High. Westminster eventually finishes 11th in the state championship.


On Feb. 15, O.C. civil rights pioneer Sylvia Mendez is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom from President Barack Obama at a White House ceremony. The president selects Mendez for the award for her tireless work over the past few decades of speaking to students about the history and importance of the 1947 Mendez v. Westminster case.


Mendez was a child when her parents sued over having to send their children to the "Mexican" school. The case ended segregation in state public schools.


Fullerton's Troy High School continues its string of impressive victories by taking first place for the 16th consecutive time at the California State Science Olympiad April 9. Besides its consecutive state championships, the school had won three of the last five national titles. But Troy eventually loses to Ohio's Solon High in the national competition in May.

May - August

Dozens of coaches at 29 O.C. high schools are accused in May of secretly receiving kickbacks of cash and gifts when they placed orders for uniforms and other sporting goods a Laguna Hills athletic supply company. Lapes Athletic Team Sales, now defunct, maintained secret records under the name "Slush Account" and may have illegally disbursed upward of $700,000 to participants of the elaborate scheme, according to a PBS report.


Three school districts – Capistrano Unified, Saddleback Valley Unified and Irvine Unified – launch internal investigations into the matter. San Clemente High head football Coach Eric Patton, who is later ousted from his job, funneled thousands of dollars of school money through Lapes over the past decade, evading scrutiny over how the public funds were spent, according to interviews and financial documents obtained by The Register.


Hundreds of teachers across O.C. participate in a series of weeklong rallies and other events throughout the state May 9-13 dubbed "State of Emergency." The rallies are organized by the California Teachers Association, lobbying against further cuts to schools.


Locally, events include rallies in Fullerton on, and a "grade in" at the Brea and Westminster malls. Local teachers also travel to downtown Los Angeles for a rally that draws more than 4,000 people from across the region.

Former Capistrano Unified Superintendent James Fleming says in early June that he stands by his decision to create records of the district's parent critics, but is "horrified" and "heartsick" over the political chaos and personal suffering the so-called "enemies" lists left in their wake.


Fleming, 68, was criminally indicted over the lists, and spent four years fighting felony charges before the case was finally dismissed in May; his sole co-defendant, an assistant superintendent, was exonerated by an appellate court May 31, effectively ending the case.


Illegal immigrants who graduate from California high schools can receive in-state tuition breaks from state public colleges and universities after the U.S. Supreme Court on June 6 rejects a challenge to the policy.


The justices refused to review last year's California Supreme Court ruling that upheld a state law giving California high school graduates reduced tuition at state schools, regardless of their immigration status.


On June 17, The Register names "10 Graduates Who Will Change the World," a selection of top students with have extraordinary track records – they've published scientific research papers, provided humanitarian relief around the globe, advocated nationally for critical causes, and led and inspired countless peers to serve and give back.


A team of register editors, writers and other education officials conclude the students are the future humanitarians and scientists and philosophers and global leaders who will make our world a better place.


O.C. school districts announce in August they will eliminate 524 jobs for the 2011-12 school year as they slash a combined $95 million from budgets. Some districts also plan to increase class sizes, while programs and services will be scaled back in other districts. At least 10 of Orange County's 28 districts will shave up to five days from the teaching year.


In the spring, districts had anticipated cutting up to 1,500 jobs, but an improvement over projected state revenues allowed officials to scale back cuts.

On Aug. 19, a federal appeals court tosses out a lower court's ruling that Capistrano Valley High School teacher James Corbett violated a student's constitutional rights by making comments disparaging to religion, saying Corbett could not have known he might be breaking the law.


The ruling by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals says laws regarding what a teacher can and cannot say about religion are insufficiently clear to indicate whether Corbett violated the First Amendment's Establishment Clause, which courts have interpreted as prohibiting government officials from displaying religious hostility.


On Aug. 31, new figures show three out of five O.C. schools fall short of federal No Child Left Behind testing targets in 2011 – the largest number ever. The reason: Scores are climbing steadily on state standardized tests, but not fast enough to keep up with annual increases in federal testing targets.


In contrast, 87 percent of local schools and 33 percent of state schools reach improvement targets under the state's Academic Performance Index, a collection of state tests that serves as California's primary indicator of academic success.


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