ELECTIONS ’88 ORANGE COUNTY : Funds, Class Size Issues in Centralia District Race

In a low-key race in which funding and class size are among the issues, three candidates are vying for two school board seats in Centralia School District.

The 4,230-student district is in the Buena Park-La Palma area and provides kindergarten through sixth-grade classes.

Only one incumbent--Robert E. Lindsay--is seeking reelection. Incumbent Ralph Dellinger, who has been on the Board of Trustees since 1983, is not seeking another 4-year term.

In addition to Lindsay, the two others running for the school board are Liz Morrow and John M. Alvis.

Lindsay, 61, of Buena Park has served five terms on the Board of Trustees. He said the major issue facing the school district is “lack of long-term stable funding providing adequate money to pay equitable salaries for teachers and to reduce class size.” He said he would “continue working with local and state organizations presenting our needs to the state Legislature and to the public for their support.”

Morrow, 64, of Buena Park, a personnel consultant, said “adequate funding for public schools” is the main problem facing the district. She said that to help alleviate the problem, she would “be pro-active in seeking monies to support public schools through state, federal and private business groups.” Morrow praised the current school administrative staff, saying Supt. Patricia Clark White “is one of the top-ranked administrators in the field.”

Alvis, 45, of La Palma, an elementary school teacher, criticized how the district has handled class size.

“The Centralia School District has not given class-size issues a high priority,” he said. “There is a wide variation in class sizes throughout the district, due in part to budget priorities, hiring and placement of personnel and facilities limitation. The Board of Trustees needs to re-prioritize and resolve these issues.” Alvis said he would work to establish average class sizes of 20 to 24.

Three candidates, one an incumbent, are seeking two seats on the Centralia Schol District Board of Trustees in the Nov. 8 election. A photograph of candidate John M. Alvis was not available.