The Capo Unified School Board's misunderstanding of education.

A guest post from a former local student horrified by what's going down.

By Casey Pearlman

Based on what the more vocal members of the Capo Unified School Board are saying, you’d think our public schools are filled with more crap than an overflowing dirty diaper.

I graduated from Aliso Niguel High School in 2021. In other words, I was last in public school a mere four years ago. To establish my experience, I’m now a history major at UC San Diego who’s about to go on to get her MA in history from San Diego State University. I know about history, real history that goes past the CUSD curriculum, and I have actual experience with education.

The people on the board talk a lot about the terror of CUSD’s schools, though they aren’t the ones actually attending the classes. I wonder when was the last time Lisa Davis actually went into a school, sat inside of a classroom, and learned something. All this is to say that I actually have experience in CUSD’s schools, and it’s not anything like what the board members would want you to believe.

Let’s talk about the Lisas. According to Lisa Davis’ lackluster website, she has always “pushed for more transparency.” She says she has a college degree, though I’m not sure from where. So much for transparency. One of her major platforms is “Academics Over Agendas—Focus on academic excellence and remove political agendas from the classroom.”

Lisa Zollinger says the same things. Literally, her website is an exact copy of Lisa Davis’. She has her degree in elementary education from the University of Utah. She now works in real estate. Should she really be responsible for the state of education? I’m confident that I’ve spent more time in a CUSD classroom than either of the Lisas. More recently, too. I’m curious what agenda she’s been hearing about, and from whom.

I can tell you that there is no agenda. Students learn about real histories and real events. I’m sure the Lisas, and their evil stepsisters Judy Bullockus and Jennifer Adnams, think teachers are going around indoctrinating students by having them read about civil rights or LGBTQ+ history. Ironically, neither of those are happening. In my time at CUSD, the Civil Rights movement was covered for maybe a week. Not once were any LGBTQ+ figures brought up in any context.

You know what actually happened on multiple occasions while I was in high school? Students put sticky notes on all the lockers saying things like “Jesus loves you” or “God’s got you.” Maybe the kids that put them there meant well, but for a Jewish kid surrounded by a ton of gentiles, I hated it. Once, someone I knew did a Nazi salute as he walked by. I don’t even know how many times I heard white kids say the n-word casually.

[Judy Bullockus probably does, though].

Now imagine how the Muslim kids felt, and the kids just coming to terms with their sexuality, and the kids whose culture is never talked about in history class (so pretty much every student of color). The list goes on and on. The thing is that the Lisas don’t care about any of this. The Lisas don’t care about what students are going through. They’re the ones bringing an agenda into school. They’re actively encouraging praying on school grounds. They don’t want kids to feel included, they want them afraid.

If you’re curious how I landed this guest Substack slot, it’s a good story. People like the Lisas and the evil stepsisters kind of bank on you leaving them alone. They don’t like conflict because the only way they can win arguments is through manipulation. Amber Smith of @reformcapousd is the exact same. I DMed her a well-written paragraph criticizing her entire platform. I even asked whether the Pope would have condoned her behavior (he wouldn’t). I helpfully corrected the typo she has in her bio (grassroots is one word).

Well, guess what she did? She blocked me. This grown woman is afraid of a 21-year-old. And you know what? She should be. They should all be afraid. Not just of me, but of the parents, students, teachers, and community members who are making it their mission to take these people down. They should be afraid of what’s coming, because it’s only just begun.

Casey Pearlman is a senior at UC San Diego (she’s also my daughter—and smells of lavender, ginger and wisdom). You can read her Substack, History Class, here.