Council, School Races Top Balloting : School boards: 23 districts are holding elections. The campaigns have been most heated in Pomona where the issues are test scores and overcrowding and in Hacienda La Puente where the debate centers on so-called morbid reading materials. : Azusa Unified

Five candidates are vying for three board seats in the Azusa Unified School District, which has 10,357 students.

William D. Bradway, 47, is an industrial electronics consultant. An Azusa High graduate, he has lived in the city on and off since 1952 and has a son in a local school.

Board President Rosemary Garcia, 44, has served on the board for five years and has always lived in the city. A consumer service representative in the city’s utilities department, she has five children and taught catechism for two years at St. Francis of Rome Church.

Inez Z. Gutierrez, 54, has been on the board for 18 years and teaches religion at St. Francis. She has sent three children through Azusa schools. Born in Azusa, the Citrus High graduate has served on the city’s advisory personnel board for eight years.

Eunice P. Harrington, a San Gabriel elementary and junior high teacher for 19 years, has served on the board eight years. A Parks and Recreation commissioner for eight years, she has served as director of the county School Board Trustees Assn. She is pursuing a doctoral degree in education at Pacific Western University.

Louis A. Zamora, 28, owns a limousine service and is data processing director at an accounting firm. He chairs the watchdog Azusa Taxpayers Assn. Born in Azusa, he graduated from Gladstone High and served in the Marine Corps for seven years. He has three children in district schools.

Baldwin Park Unified

In the Baldwin Park Unified School District, which serves 15,707 students from kindergarten through 12th grade, three candidates are running for two school board seats.

Two of the candidates, Robert C. Gair and Robert Viramontes, are longtime incumbents. Gair, 56, an estimator for a roofing company, has served on the board for 17 years. Viramontes, 47, an assistant director of data processing for the county Office of Education, has served for 16 years.

They cite the district’s financial solvency, rising test scores and successful drug-prevention programs as reasons why they should be be reelected.

Their challenger is Anthony J. Bejarano, 41, a retired railroad switchman, who is running for public office for the first time. He is the founder of the Paul Bejarano Foundation for Suicide Prevention, a counseling and educational organization that he formed after his son’s death.

Bejarano, who says he would donate the modest stipend received by school board members to a scholarship fund, contends that the current board does not devote enough time to interacting with high-risk youths.

Bassett Unified

Six candidates, including three incumbents, are vying for three seats on the Bassett Unified School District Board of Education. About 5,100 students attend schools in the western La Puente district, which has an annual budget of about $20 million.

Challengers are personnel commissioner Anna A. Aguilar; businessman Robert J. Fuentes and railroad employee Brenda J. Johnson. They say that feuding board members have impeded the district’s ability to tackle problems such as drug use and gang activity.

Challengers point to hostility displayed by incumbents Carol A. Smithberg, 55, and Hector Varela, 46, at a candidates’ forum last week. Incumbent Barbara Boyd is also running.

Varela and Smithberg concede that they have deep philosophical differences about how the district should be run. But “we are very polite to each other,” Smithberg said. “The district is being run well.”

Varela, who is running for his third term, says his experience on the board qualifies him for reelection.

In June, Varela was the only board member who voted against consolidating school bus stops and eliminating several routes. The district approved the $100,000 cut from its $450,000 transportation budget but later reversed itself after more than 100 parents protested.

Aguilar, Boyd, Fuentes and Johnson could not be reached.

Charter Oak Unified

Two incumbents and a challenger are vying for two seats on the Charter Oak Unified School District board. The district has 5,668 students in parts of Covina, Glendora and San Dimas and the unincorporated area of Charter Oak.

Ralph E. Bristol, 55, a 12-year board veteran, has a bachelor of arts degree from Cal State Los Angeles and a master of science degree from USC. He is a professor of accounting at Rio Hondo College in Whittier and a resident of Covina.

John A. Rose, 41, Covina, has been on the board four years. He is a graduate of Mt. San Antonio College and Cal State Los Angeles and is administrator of the Masonic Home in Covina.

Lisa K. Edwards, 35, a Covina lawyer, is a graduate of UC Santa Barbara and the University of the Pacific. She is vice president and manager of Trust Services of America Inc. in the Pasadena regional office.

Claremont Unified

In the Claremont Unified School District, which has 11 schools and 5,900 students, three incumbents are seeking reelection against a single challenger in a campaign that has drawn little interest.

Judith W. Cody, 45, a real estate agent, said she is running on a strong record that ranges from efforts to establish substance abuse programs in Claremont elementary schools to her service as chairman of a San Gabriel valley coalition on education.

John Dierking, 27, a University of La Verne law student and substitute teacher, is challenging the incumbents. He charged that some members want to increase vocational education courses, thereby reducing the district’s traditional emphasis on academic programs. Dierking, a graduate of Claremont High School and Pitzer College, said the district should continue to offer a solid academic foundation to all students.

J. Michael Fay, 52, a financial planner and former teacher, said Dierking’s suggestion is untrue. Fay said that the district should pay more attention to the needs of students who plan to end their formal education at high school but that no one wants to diminish the academic program. Fay, who has served on the board for eight years, said the absence of major issues in the election reflects the fact that board members have been working well together.

Sue Keith, 46, a public relations consultant, said that when she ran four years ago, there were a number of controversial problems, including troubled relations between teachers and the district. This year, she said, the campaign has been low-key because there are no major issues.

Covina-Valley Unified

An incumbent and five challengers are competing for two seats on the five-member board of the Covina-Valley Unified School District, which has 11,500 students in Covina, Irwindale, West Covina and Glendora. The district has 12 elementary schools, three intermediate schools, three high schools and one continuation school.

Jake A. Godown, 40, is a sales manager. He has lived in West Covina for more than 10 years and attended Mt. San Antonio College.

Pat Heritage, 49, is an inventory production control clerk in the City of Industry. She is president of the Business and Professional Women’s Club in West Covina. Heritage moved to the district 20 years ago from Boise, Ida.

Gilbert R. Ramirez is the current president and a six-year veteran of the board. Ramirez, 49, has a bachelor’s degree in urban studies and a master’s degree in public administration, both from Pepperdine University. He is a parole officer for the state of California and has lived in West Covina for 21 years.

Duane A. Vasquez, 32, is a graduate of Mt. San Antonio College. He earned his associate’s degree in general education and is now working on a bachelor’s degree in business management through Liberty University in Virginia. Vasquez, who has lived in West Covina all his life, is a design engineer for Kimball Industries in Monrovia.

Ellen F. Sandt, 34, is a senior administrative analyst and a 16-year resident of the district. Sandt has a bachelor of arts degree from Cal Poly Pomona in liberal studies.

Allen Wilson, 21, of West Covina, is a student majoring in political science at Cal State Northridge. He received his associate’s degree in liberal arts from Mt. San Antonio College.

Duarte Unified

There are 4,200 students in the Duarte Unified School District. Incumbent James M. Bowers and challengers Kenneth Bell and Phillip R. Reyes are vying for two seats on the board.

Bell, 45, is an investigator for the Los Angeles County district attorney’s office. He was a teacher for 10 years in Los Angeles city schools and worked for the Sheriff’s Department as well. Bell has an associate of arts degree in sociology from East Los Angeles Collge. He has lived in Duarte for nine years and has four children in Duarte schools.

Bowers, 59, is seeking a second term after four years on the board. He has a master’s degree in general education and has been an educator for 32 years. He is a professor of computer-aided drafting at Pasadena City College. A Duarte resident for 13 years, he has a 9-year-old in the school system.

Reyes, 34, is a real estate agent and president of the Monrovia/Duarte Assn. of Realtors. A graduate of Bassett High School in La Puente, Reyes has lived in Duarte for 11 years and has three children in the school system. He works as a mentor to high school youths and is on the Vocational Advisory Committee at Duarte High School.

El Monte City

Four candidates are vying for three seats in a relatively quiet election for the El Monte City School District board, whose members have engaged in some acrimonious personality clashes in the past.

The board oversees a district of 18 elementary schools with 10,970 students.

David Reed, a Glendora print shop owner, is seeking a second four-year term. He has proposed a system of what he calls “strategic planning” for the district, to avoid “last-minute” decision-making. “I’m looking for more long-range planning and input from the community to set the direction of the district,” said Reed, who has two children in public schools.

Shirley Mante, who also is seeking a second term, has contended that there are virtually no issues in this year’s election. “We just have the same types of problems that all the districts face,” said Mante, a housewife whose only son graduated from Arroyo High School last year.

Sue Weldon, a school secretary in the district, said that “the district is in great shape,” but that her years as a PTA member could provide some special insight into district problems. “I’d like to have a little input into decisions that are coming up,” she said.

Marvin J. Cichy, an attorney, could not be reached.

El Monte Union High School

Three seats are up for grabs on the El Monte Union High School District board, which has helped to initiate an extraordinary construction surge in the last four years.

Ground has been broken for an adult education center, which will be the second-largest such school in the state. Construction of a new building and gymnasium for El Monte High School is also planned. The district has four comprehensive high schools and a continuation school, with 8,500 full-time students and 13,000 part-time adult students.

Helen Archer, an educational representative for California Edison, is seeking a third four-year term. “There are so many projects under way that appear meritorious that I decided to see them through to completion,” said Archer, a former teacher.

Robert Brown, who owns a fire extinguisher company in El Monte, said the current board should remain intact because of its record. “We’ve got a good board, with good liberals and good conservatives,” he said. “We’re able to work out issues without a lot of petty infighting.”

Carol Mahoney, a seventh-grade teacher in Rosemead, said it is important for continuity to be maintained on the board for the sake of the building program. “We’ve started all these things, now we’d like to finish them,” she said. She said she wants to lower dropout rates and improve test scores.

Jim Marin, an assistant principal in Pomona and a former member of the El Monte City School District board, is the only challenger. He could not be reached.

Garvey

The Garvey School District contains 11 elementary and two junior high schools serving more than 7,400 children in Rosemead and parts of Monterey Park, San Gabriel and South San Gabriel. Three of the five school board seats are up for election. Candidates:

Elizabeth Diaz, 31, Rosemead, is academic-community coordinator with the UCLA mental health programs. She attended Garvey schools and has a bachelor’s degree from Cal State Los Angeles and a master’s degree in social work from USC.

Earleen Green, 59, Rosemead, is a campaign secretary for the Alhambra YMCA. She worked for the Garvey School District for 29 years before retiring last year. She went through the Garvey system and attended Mark Keppel High School, Sawyer Business School and UCLA.

Virginia Gutierrez, 36, Rosemead, has been on the school board since 1985. She is a health care administrative assistant. She attended Garvey Intermediate School, Rosemead High School, East Los Angeles College and Rio Hondo Community College.

Maryellen Wilkins, 44, South San Gabriel, works as a legal assistant for Southern California Edison. She attended Henry Ford Community College in Dearborn, Mich., and is a founding member of the South San Gabriel Neighborhood Assn.

Hacienda La Puente Unified

Debate over use of so-called morbid reading books is dominating the race for three seats on the Hacienda La Puente Unified School District board, which serves 22,295 students from Hacienda Heights, La Puente, Industry and Valinda.

The district has temporarily banned the books, a series of literature-based Canadian texts. Meanwhile, it has voted to reprint and keep teaching the less-controversial stories and poems.

Several challengers say the board should have taken a different stance.

Joe R. Chavez, 52, a Hacienda Heights data-processing supervisor, said the issue “was poorly handled. I don’t think the books are appropriate.” He added: “All the present school board members are either teachers or administrators. Most of the things they do are in their own self-interest.”

Yvonne A. Garcia, 46, a La Puente educator, said she would pay more attention to academic programs and cultivating leadership skills. She blames the morbid book controversy on the fact that parents were not involved in choosing their children’s textbooks.

Sally Ann Holguin-Fallon, a La Puente educator, said the board erred in buying the books. “Half of that series isn’t approved by the state,” she said. “Most large school districts choose books off the adopted list.” While she agreed that there are some morbid stories, she objects to the books mainly on cultural grounds. “The idioms and colloquialisms are uniquely Canadian and don’t address themselves to children in the U.S,” Holguin-Fallon said.

Norman Hsu, 54, a Hacienda Heights postal manager, says it is time for some fresh faces on the board. “This controversy with the morbid books, it proves that there is a lack of communication between the board and the parents. The board should involve the parents in the selection process,”’ Hsu said.

Incumbent Sandy Johnson, 53, Hacienda Heights, running for a second term, stresses her background and involvement in statewide school funding issues. Johnson says the morbid book issue has been politicized and sensationalized. But she adds that “we have to wait and see what kind of settlement Holt (the publisher) is willing to make. The books we received, the stories are totally inappropriate.”

Kenneth C. Kim, 61, Hacienda Heights is running for a fourth term and says his experience makes him a stabilizing force. Kim defended the controversial series, saying it was screened by state administrators and local teachers. Kim says he thinks parents will eventually support the books. “Granted there are some stories that we weren’t even aware were going to be in the book, but as soon as we found out, we told teachers to avoid those stories,” Kim said.

Other challengers are Lyla A. Eddington, a community college administrator, and Robert F. Nero, a high school principal. Both live in Hacienda Heights; neither could be reached.

Monrova Unified

Four candidates are running for two board seats in the Monrovia Unified School District, which has 5,440 students. In addition, three candidates are vying for two years of the unexpired term of Sarah Koch, who resigned last spring.

Candidates in the regular election:

David G. Draper, 37, has worked in electrical engineering for 15 years. He received his degree from Drexel University in Philadelphia and has lived in Monrovia for five years.

Christine Goudy, 44, has served on the board for four years and is a secretary in a real estate firm. A founding member of the Monrovia Drug Awareness task force, Goudy is on the Monrovia Coordinating Council and the Chamber of Commerce’s government affairs committee.

Frederick Purdy, 57, has taught history in Pasadena for 30 years and is also completing his first term on the board. Two daughters have graduated from schools in Monrovia, where he has lived for 26 years. He teaches business administration at Mt. San Antonio College.

Paul E. Scranton Jr., 45, is assistant principal at Downey’s Los Padrinos Juvenile Hall. A seven-year Monrovia resident, Scranton is president of Court School Educators of Southern California and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Cal Poly Pomona.

In the special election:

Frances Cash, 43, is a bilingual aide at Plymouth Elementary School and has been involved in PTAs for 14 years. Born in the city, Cash is a Monrovia High graduate.

Barbara Flucker, 39, is a mortgage clerk and 15-year PTA volunteer. A 10-year Monrovia resident, she teaches Sunday school at the Divine Guidance Church.

John R. Ralles, 38, is the Lincoln High School math department chairman in Los Angeles. He holds a bachelor’s degree from UCLA and a master’s in educational administration from Cal State Los Angeles. He is a 10-year Monrovia resident.

Mountain View

Eight candidates, including three incumbents, are running for three seats on the Mountain View School District Board of Education, which serves about 8,500 elementary students in El Monte and South El Monte.

Challengers say the board balks at expelling violent students, which hurts the district.

Robert Lee Griffith, 36, an El Monte industrial engineering manager, said the district has lost teachers because of the violence. “We’ve had several incidents with weapons, one in which a kid brought two guns on campus and sold one of them,” he said.

Clayton Hollopeter, 51, who is running for his fourth term, called the expulsion issue “much ado about nothing” and said students are suspended or expelled according to a board policy that allows officials to do so after other forms of discipline are unsuccessful.

Edwin E. Wallach, 54, an El Monte marketing representative, also said discipline was a problem. “These kids get away with murder and the board won’t expel anybody,” he said. “I’ve coached Pony League baseball for 20 years and I know how to work with kids. Kids like discipline.”

Robert A. Menard, 42, who was appointed to the board in June when another board member retired, denied that the board is soft on student violence and says the challengers lack familiarity with district procedures for expulsion. “You can’t just expel a child without a hearing,” he said.

Andrew Prado Jr., 48, who is running for his fourth term, cited his experience. “Over the past three terms we have improved math scores (and) built an elementary school, and I’ve been instrumental in getting these things accomplished,” he said. Prado said teacher complaints about four recent incidents “have been blown out of proportion.”

Maria F. Avila, an El Monte compliance monitor; Georgino Caraveo, a retired South El Monte educator, and Juan J. Wing, a retired South El Monte engineering manager, couldn’t be reached.

Pomona Unified

In the Pomona Unified School District, which has 32 schools and 26,000 students, six candidates are competing for three seats with promises to try to improve test scores and ease crowding. The district serves the city of Pomona and the northern part of Diamond Bar.

Timothy Graves, 52, who resigned as the district’s superintendent a year ago because of ill health, is seeking to return to education as a school board member. Graves, who is a diabetic, said his health has improved enough to permit him to carry out the duties of a board member. Graves came to Pomona as an administrator 10 years ago and served as superintendent for five years. “The thing that I brought to the district was a sense of stability,” he said.

Cleve Holifield, 56, an engineer at General Dynamics Corp. and a member of the Diamond Bar Municipal Advisory Council before that community incorporated, said he believes the district should design a curriculum for each school that will meet the needs of children in that neighborhood. He said that parents, students and teachers must work together more closely and that officials must stop blaming the area’s socioeconomic conditions for poor test scores. “That’s been the excuse all these years,” he said. “I think we need people (in office) who don’t know you can’t do better.”

Chaim Magnum, 39, said he believes that his Latino heritage and the obstacles he overcame to obtain an education are among his qualifications for the school board in a district whose students are mostly Latino and which has a high dropout rate. Magnum, oldest of 11 children, came to this country from Colombia when he was of high school age. He said he had no schooling between the second and ninth grades, yet he managed to graduate from college. He said one of the district’s major problems is crowding: Thirty-two to 40 children in a classroom is “conducive to good education.”

Candelario J. (Cande) Mendoza, 70, publisher of the bilingual newspaper La Voz, seeks to regain a school board seat he gave up in 1981. Mendoza said he quit the board after one term in order to start the newspaper, but now “I’ve got things in pretty good shape,” and would have time to both operate the paper and serve on the board. Mendoza said one of his major assets is his experience, 39 years in education in roles from teacher to deputy superintendent to school board member.

Linda M. Stevens, a business owner and former teacher, is the only incumbent seeking reelection. Stevens said the district needs five new schools and must work to improve academic achievement. She noted that the district’s new superintendent has developed a plan for raising test scores. She said she wants another term to work on scholastic achievement, to solve the student housing problem, to implement the middle school plan and to upgrade the high schools.

Linda D. Wright, 41, ran for the school board two years ago and lost by just 18 votes. She is running this year with the endorsement of the teachers union and of the union representing clerical staff, maintenance workers and other employees. The unions also have endorsed Graves and Magnum. Wright is an investigator with the Los Angeles County Children’s Services Department and is a former special education teacher. She holds a master’s degree in counseling.

A seventh candidate, Robert S. Preece, an attorney, will appear on the ballot but has withdrawn from the race. His withdrawal came too late to have his name removed.

Rosemead

The Rosemead School District has four elementary schools and one intermediate school that serve 2,800 children and employ 110 teachers. Three seats with four-year terms and one seat with a two-year term are up for grabs. The district encompasses parts of Rosemead, El Monte, Temple City and San Gabriel.

Incumbents Marie Ortiz and James Trainor and challengers Karan Leon and Robert Harris are vying for four-year terms.

Randall Cantrell and Robert Kehne are running for the two-year term that resulted from Fred Mascorro’s vacating his seat. Harris, 47, a grocery distribution clerk and Navy veteran, has lived in the San Gabriel Valley 37 years and has lived in Rosemead four years. He attended Arcadia High School and has three children.

Leon is a mother of six children, all of whom attended district schools. She and her husband run an investment management business. She also works part-time managing a Pasadena roofing business. Leon has lived in the district for 19 years and has attended UCLA and Pasadena City College.

Ortiz, 44, a library assistant at East Los Angeles Library, has helped start a self-sustaining child-care program, institute a drug prevention program and purchase new textbooks during her term. A 19-year Rosemead resident, she holds a library technician certificate from Cal State Los Angeles and has three children, all of whom attended Rosemead district schools. She is running for her second term.

Trainor, 48, has lived in Rosemead since 1965 and works as an account representative for AT&T.; Three of his four sons have gone through Rosemead School District schools. Originally from South Dakota, Trainor has taken business courses at Pasadena City College. Trainor is running for his first full term on the board after being elected to an uncompleted term two years ago.

Cantrell, 37, is a technical analyst for Wells Fargo Bank and has lived in Rosemead since 1974. He is the father of five children, two of whom attend Rosemead School District schools. He has also been active in PTA and local school district advisory committees. Cantrell graduated from Bell High School and attended UCLA.

Kehne could not be reached for comment.

Rowland Unified

Three incumbents and one challenger are facing off for three seats in the Rowland Unified School District, which serves 19,000 students in Rowland Heights, La Puente, West Covina and Walnut. Candidates are elected at large.

Dean F. Anderson, 64, Rowland Heights, a board member since 1973, says he wants to design programs to challenge outstanding students. He says the district must also consider future trends in Rowland Heights. “We’re beginning to get into a declining enrollment, and we need to plan for that,” he said.

Rolland M. Boceta, 43, West Covina, who is running for a second term, said he wants to uphold excellence. “I have supported strong student discipline and the prudent management of financial policies,” said Boceta, a CPA whose firm does consulting work for other school districts.

Joe Leon, 25, a La Puente engineer, is the sole challenger. A graduate of Rowland Unified, Leon says he wants to improve the quality of education and stem the dropout rate. “There’s a 29% dropout in grades 10-12 alone,” Leon said. “We need to provide better counseling for student needs.”

Mary Jo Maxwell, 49, Walnut, who is running for her second term, says she wants to address problems of drug and alcohol abuse. “I want to continue the substance-abuse education provided in all classes,” she said. “We need to provide a positive environment to learn in and safe campuses for our students.”

San Gabriel

In marked contrast to the hotly contested 1985 school board election, four candidates are competing for three seats in a quiet San Gabriel School District race.

The district, which has 3,223 students, serves most of San Gabriel and parts of San Marino, Alhambra and Temple City.

Wilbur W. Langdale, 73, a retired firefighter,said he is interested in attacking the drug problem facing teen-agers. “I’d like to see parents take more interest in the schools, like my mother did,” he said.

Dominic Shambra, 50, an administrator in the Los Angeles Unified School District, is seeking his fifth four-year term. Anticipating a number of teacher retirements next year, Shambra said he would like the board to keep salary levels competitive in order to attract new teachers. Shambra said he is proud that four years ago the board “brought peace to the district” by hiring a new superintendent.

Incumbent Nancy H. Trask, who declined to give her age, is running for her first full term. A retired social worker, she was appointed to the board last year after the death of Linda Jorgensen. Trask said she would like to add more music classes to the curriculum.

Catherine P. Healy, who identified herself as an instructional aide on her candidate’s form, could not be reached for comment.

San Marino Unified

Four candidates, including three incumbents, are running in the San Marino Unified School District, which has 2,700 students in San Marino, Pasadena and San Gabriel.

Nancy Bartlett is a fifth-grade teacher in the Pasadena Unified School District. She is the mother of one son who has attended Huntington Junior High and San Marino High Schools.

Debbie Bowes, 45, is running for her second term and boasts a 22-year career in education. She is director of curriculum administration in the Fountain Valley Unified School District, is a USC doctoral candidate and holds a master’s degree in education from Cal State Los Angeles. Her two children have attended district schools.

David Destino, 45, an attorney, is running for his second term. His son graduated from San Marino High School and his daughter attends Huntington Junior High. Destino holds a bachelor’s degree in finance from the University of Connecticut and a law degree from Boston University.

Robert Reynolds, 53, is the chief financial officer of an insurance brokerage firm. He holds a degree in accounting from Louisiana State University and a law degree from South Texas College of Law in Houston.

South Pasadena

With three incumbents choosing not to run for the South Pasadena Board of Education, voters will have an opportunity to select a majority of the five-member body on Tuesday. The district has 3,500 students at five schools.

Of the eight candidates, only David L. Margrave--who served four years on the South Pasadena City Council--has run for public office before. Last fall, teachers went on strike, and in June voters narrowly defeated a school-tax measure.

The candidates are:

Lynda Bybee-Dane, 41, regional director for business development of a national construction company. “I have both a creative background and a strong business background. My aim is to bring business sense to the table. In the past I’ve been a documentary film maker and playwright. So I also understand the creative nature of education.”

Alice Hwang, 39, who lists her occupation as parent and educational advocate. “The most important issue is the lack of harmony in our school district--the polarization among the teachers, the parents and the administration.”

Yvonne Rose, 41, paralegal. “Our district is suffering from complacency. We don’t want to face the cold, hard facts that some students are slipping in performance on standardized tests. We have to find other ways of financing our district, and I’ve identified some of those ways.”

David Margrave, 41, air-conditioning and plumbing contractor, and twice mayor pro tem while on the council from 1983 through 1986. “The school board could use a business person’s approach. I could add that. We have quality teachers. We just don’t have enough. The facilities are a mess. They’ve been left to crumble for 20 years.”

Patricia Martinez-Miller, 45, elementary school principal, Magnolia Elementary School in Los Angeles. “I’m concerned about the financial stress the district is under, but I do not believe that is the district’s only problem.” A key problem, she said, is the perception of a lack trust among all sectors of the school system.

Fred Mickaelian Jr., 56, public relations consultant. “There needs to be more effective financial planning,” adding that a lack of funding has contributed to a decline in the educational programs.

Seth S. Sandberg, 49, principal at Sierra Vista Elementary School in El Sereno. “There needs to be a board member with a little more knowledge, a little more commitment and a little more experience. I have that.”

Judith Vida Spence, 46, psychiatrist. “We have a chronic situation of financial distress and we have to find some way of dealing with it. Teacher morale is very, very low right now. The absence of a constructive, participatory working environment is a key issue.”

Temple City Unified

A four-way race in the Temple City Unified School District is highlighted by struggles over a teachers’ contract and the aftermath of a recently failed attempt to recall two school board members. The district, which has 4,326 students, serves Temple City and parts of Arcadia and San Gabriel.

Ted McNevin, 43, principal of Goddard Middle School in Glendora, helped lead the recall campaign against board members John Gera and Lewis Moulton. McNevin said he believes the board’s unwillingness to negotiate fairly has created a rift with employees. “One of my goals would be to heal that division,” he said.

Linda L. Miller, 42, elected two years ago to complete the unexpired term of the late Nancy Cash, said she wants to improve the board’s relationship with employees and hopes the district will use some of its reserve money to update computers for students and install air conditioners in some schools.

Shirley Norman, who is seeking her sixth term and declined to give her age, said she stands by her record. On contract negotiations, she said, “I want the district to pay (teachers) as well as they can afford to pay and stay financially solvent.”

Michael Palmer, 41, chairman of the math department at Muscatel Junior High School in Rosemead, said he did not support the recall campaign, which he said would have been too expensive, but would like to “see periodic meetings between the employee groups and the school board.”

Valle Lindo

Three incumbents and one challenger are running for three seats on the Valle Lindo school board, which serves 1,120 students in portions of South El Monte. The candidates are:

David R. Del Rio Sr, 51, an electronics technician, seeking his third term. “We want to maintain our schools at the same level of excellence and to keep parents informed,” said Del Rio, who has lived in South El Monte for 25 years.

Joe Jauregui, 49, an accountant, also running for a third term. “For the last two terms I’ve emphasized discipline. We are trying to make this a better place for children to learn. I stress the three R’s,” Jauregui said.

Rose Marie Arrieta. The third incumbent running, she is a library services volunteer and homemaker.

Marlene A. Strohl, an analyst and the sole challenger.

Arrieta and Strohl could not be reached for comment.

Walnut Valley Unified

There are 12,000 students in the Walnut Valley Unified School District, attending nine elementary, three middle, one continuation and two high schools. There are five candidates vying for three four-year terms on the board.

Mari L. Collins, 54, law office administrator, lives in Walnut and has one child in a Walnut school. She received a bachelor’s degree in personnel administration from the University of Washington; has served on the Suzanne School Site Council, and was director of personnel at Parkview Hospital in Riverside.

Kathleen (Kitty) Fritz, 40, is a travel agent and resident of Diamond Bar. She received a bachelor’s degree in political science from UC Santa Barbara; has co-chaired the Walnut Elementary School Site Council; was vice president of Walnut/Diamond Bar Citizens for Education, president of the Community Club Coordinating Council and a board member of the Walnut Valley Community Club. Fritz has two children in Walnut schools.

Helen M. Hall, 41, a systems analyst for McDonnell Douglas Aircraft and a resident of Diamond Bar, has one child in a Walnut school and is seeking her second four-year term on the school board. She received a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal State Fullerton, served for two years as president of the Castle Rock Elementary School Community Club and two years as vice president.

Larry L. Redinger, 44, a geology instructor at Mt. San Antonio College, chairs the earth sciences and photography department. A Diamond Bar resident, he received a bachelor’s degree in geology from Cal State Long Beach and a master’s in geology from Northern Arizona University. Redinger, who has one child in a Walnut school, is a member of the Chaparral School Community Club and has served on state accreditation and program review teams for high school vocational programs.

Marsha Sykes, 41, a registered nurse and resident of Walnut, received a bachelor’s degree in recreation administration from Cal State Long Beach and has three children in Walnut schools. She has been vice president of the C. J. Morris Elementary School Community Club; a member of the school site council for Suzanne Middle School and a classroom and library volunteer.

West Covina Unified

Five candidates are vying for two seats in the West Covina Unified School District board elections Nov. 7. The district has 7,600 students attending eight elementary schools, one middle school, one high school and one continuation school.

Peter Sabatino Jr., an appointed incumbent, has served on the board for about 18 months. Sabatino, 36, has an associate’s degree in social sciences from Mt. San Antonio College and is a records manager for the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

He is being challenged by James (Mike) Carrigan, a retired probation officer and educator. Carrigan, 41, has a bachelor’s degree in liberal arts and a master’s degree in education administration, both from Cal State Los Angeles.

Another challenger is William Harper, a flooring contractor, who has attended Pasadena City College, Mt. San Antonio College and the College of the Sequoia’s. Harper, 43, is a 17-year resident of the district.

Ole H. Jensen, 46, a property manager, attended Mt. San Antonio College and Citrus College. He has lived in the district for 18 years.

David Hoffman, an insurance agent, is also competing for the board. Hoffman could not be reached for comment.

On Tuesday, municipal, school board and special district elections are scheduled in the San Gabriel Valley. Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m. at all locations.