Defense Fund Set Up for Accused Orange Trustees

A private fund has been established to raise money for the legal defense of three Orange Unified School District trustees who are accused of “willful misconduct” in office.

Jerry Coker, a retired AT&T; executive from the city of Orange, announced the formation of the defense fund on Tuesday. He said the goal is to raise $30,000 to cover court costs and attorney fees for trustees Ruth Evans, Robert Elliott and Joe Cherry.

Those three trustees, together with Eleanore Pleines, were accused by the 1986-87 Orange County Grand Jury of “willful misconduct.”

Bid-Rigging Alleged

The grand jury, in its legal accusation, said that the board members did not supervise district spending closely enough and that therefore an alleged contract bid-rigging scheme took place in 1980-84. More than $3 million in allegedly rigged contracts were authorized during that period, according to court documents.

Pleines resigned her school board seat, and the action against her was dropped.

Last week, Evans, Elliott and Cherry said they were innocent of the “willful misconduct” charge against them in an appearance in Orange County Superior Court. Trial was set for Dec. 2. If they are found guilty, the judge must dismiss them from office. No other action is possible because the “willful misconduct” charge is not a criminal action, according to the Orange County district attorney’s office.

Their supporters have said that the board members simply relied on information about contracts given to them by the district staff. Coker, in a letter explaining the new defense fund, also said the three trustees are wrongfully accused.

‘Elected to Set Policy’

“They were elected to set policy, not to monitor the day-to-day management of the school district,” he said in the letter. “That’s the job of the superintendent and his staff. Yet the board members are now accused of misconduct because they relied upon the superintendent and his staff to run the district--something that is being done every day in every school district in California.”

Coker said that although “a prominent Southern California law firm has agreed to represent the trustees in the public interest,” costs for the overall defense are expected to be about $30,000. Coker asked that supporters of the trustees mail checks to the Trustee Defense Fund at 1616 N. Silverwood St., Orange, Calif., 92667.

The defense fund, in addition to Coker, has 17 other Orange Unified School District residents on the steering committee.