Dunn Backs Takeover of O.C. District

A state senator called Friday for the takeover of the renegade Westminster School District after a majority of its trustees continued to refuse to adopt a state antidiscrimination law.

Because of the stance by three trustees, the state has threatened to withhold money that funds programs for low-income, English-learning and primary-grade students, district administrators said Friday.

The district stands to lose $7.8 million in state funds, district officials said Friday, significantly reducing their previous estimate of up to $40 million they believed was at stake.

The adjustment came after California Supt. of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell spelled out possible punishment in a scathing letter to district trustees Thursday.

The tempest was triggered in February when the three trustees refused to revise the district’s discrimination complaint policy to adhere to a state law that allows students and staff to define their own gender, regardless of their biological sex. The law was written to protect transsexuals and others who do not conform to traditional gender roles from discrimination.

Trustees Judy Ahrens, Helena Rutkowski, and Blossie Marquez-Woodcock -- a Lutheran, Catholic, and nondenominational Christian chaplain -- have said the law affronts their Christian beliefs.

At a meeting Thursday night, the three trustees remained defiant in the face of overwhelming and angry opposition from parents, teachers, administrators and fellow board members, again refusing to comply with the law. The meeting was the board’s last scheduled opportunity to reverse itself before an April 12 deadline set by the state.

Westminster is the only district in the state that has rejected the law, state education officials say.

State Sen. Joe Dunn (D-Santa Ana), whose district includes part of the school district, said he has begun crafting legislation that would empower the state to take control of the district because of its failure to comply with the law.

“If this board majority is not interested in acting in the interests of the kids by placing the district in economic jeopardy, then I believe the state needs to take it over,” Dunn said. “I am not interested in [the trustees’] moral beliefs.”

Dunn said that unless Westminster reverses its stance, he will present legislation next week as an amendment to an existing bill and push for urgent consideration. It would then require a two-thirds vote for passage, but Dunn is confident he’ll find the support.

“I won’t call this a ‘no-brainer,’ because there are legislators who agree with the [Westminster] board majority,” Dunn said. “But everyone in Sacramento agrees that the children’s education comes first.”

Ahrens scoffed at Dunn’s proposed law. “Shame on him. It appears that Joe Dunn is a person that does not believe in local control of education,” she said. “He’s out of line, absolutely.”

The California Department of Education can assume control of a district only if it is in severe financial straits. Dunn said his proposed law would allow a takeover for simply defying state law or -- given the threatened loss of state funds -- lower the financial threshold for a takeover.

Dunn said the bill could move through the Legislature within a month. “They can go ahead and have their moral debate,” Dunn said of the trustees, “but they are not going to have it at the expense of these kids.”

O’Connell, the state’s highest-ranking education official, said the Westminster district threatened to set a dangerous precedent by refusing to obey the law. “We cannot allow school districts to pick and choose which laws they want to uphold,” O’Connell said Friday. “I am not trying to be confrontational ... but they need to know that I will not allow this to go on.”

After sending his letter accusing the board majority of encouraging discrimination, O’Connell reiterated Friday that he could withhold some or all of $7.8 million in state and federal funding that is reserved each year for particular programs. He said he could either deny Westminster the remainder of this year’s funding, $3.58 million, or all of next year’s money.

Jon Archibald, the district’s assistant superintendent for business services, said the loss of funds would require layoffs of staffers in specialized education programs for low-income students and English learners. That loss could also cause classes in the district’s primary grades to increase to 30 students from 20.

About 45% of Westminster’s 10,000 students are English learners and at least 35% of the students at 12 of the district’s 17 schools are impoverished, Archibald said.

“We would not be able to provide special services to disadvantaged students or kids who do not speak English well,” Archibald said. “They would have to sit in class with everyone else and if they get it, they get it, if they don’t, they don’t.”

If O’Connell imposes sanctions quickly, the district would likely be able to maintain all its services until the end of the year, Archibald said.

Among those parents bracing for a loss of funds is Dana Ortega, whose two school-age children qualify for low-income services. “I would have to pull both my kids out if there were budget cuts,” she said. “My son would have to be put somewhere where he is pushed. My daughter needs extra attention. All these programs that are here to help, they’re going to be gone. My children are at opposite ends of the spectrum, but they’ll both be affected.”

Ahrens said she had “confidence that we will come up with something that will be sufficient to Jack O’Connell before the deadline,” but declined to provide any details. Rutkowski and Marquez-Woodcock did not return calls for comment.

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Times staff writer Regine Labossiere contributed to this report.