Opponents of School Closings in Orange Area Change Plans

A parents’ group opposed to closing four schools in the Orange Unified District said Friday that it will not sue to keep the schools open, but, instead, will try to unseat two school board members who voted for the closings in the November election and may attempt to recall two others.

The parents’ group released a three-page report criticizing the decision to close the schools, attributing it to “misguided allegiance to the new superintendent, Kenneth Brummel, the architect of the closure plan.”

Last month, following Brummel’s recommendation, the Board of Education voted to close Jordan, Panorama, Riverdale and Villa Park elementary schools.

Will Discuss Recall

Linda Walters, a spokeswoman for the group, said the idea of recall was “placed on a back burner when we were contemplating legal action.” Now that no lawsuit will be filed, “we’ll be discussing it (recall) at a meeting early next week,” she said.

The group will seek the defeat of Milton D. Jensen and Ruth C. Evans in the November school board election, Walters said. Jensen represents the area of Anaheim where Riverdale Elementary School is located and where Walters lives. Evans is considering retiring and not running for reelection after several years on the board.

If a recall movement is launched, its targets would be board President Eleanore Pleines and member Russell Barrios, Walters said.