Education Department Challengers Hammer Away at Peterson, Trustee : Election: The county Department of Education is not known for producing hot races, but this year is an exception, at least in that the incumbents and challengers present sharp contrasts.

There are two election contests in Orange County that are thick with rhetoric, heavy with sniping and rife with political campaigning. They pit incumbents against challengers, liberals against conservatives, the old guard against new upstarts.

Such contests are not unusual in politics. But these campaigns, both for nonpartisan seats, are not supposed to be political. Still, the races for county superintendent of schools and a seat on the county Board of Education have become just that.

“I’d rather deal with issues rather than whether or not I’ve got a picture in the paper kissing babies, but that’s sort of the political reality of it,” said Ronald L. Detrick, 52, a candidate for county superintendent.

The two positions are both low-profile posts with little power. Nevertheless, the candidates have been speaking to community groups, posting campaign signs and holding fund-raisers in efforts to woo the voters.

The race for county superintendent of schools pits longtime incumbent Robert Peterson against Whittier College professor John F. Dean and Detrick, an administrator at National University in Irvine.

In the race for the seat representing county Board of Education Trustee Area 5, which covers most of South County, former congressional aide Charles S. (Chuck) DeVore is challenging incumbent Elizabeth Dorn Parker.

In both races, the challengers contend that it’s time for new blood--Peterson, 69, has been in office for 24 years, and Parker, 30, currently the county board’s president, has served for eight years. The incumbents argue that their experience and dedication would better serve residents.

In the superintendent’s contest, Dean, who said he plans to spend $50,000 on his campaign, decried what he called “24 years of malaise” in the county Department of Education and attacked Peterson’s accomplishments--including the Academic Decathlon, which Peterson founded in Orange County and which has become a national competition.

Similarly, Detrick cited a lack of “dynamic leadership” by Peterson. Both challengers said the county superintendent should be a highly visible figure who regularly reports to the taxpayers and educators on how the department’s $65-million annual budget is spent.

“I probably ran across two people out of almost a thousand that we (campaigners) talked to that even knew who the county superintendent was,” Detrick said. “I think Peterson could have been a lot more proactive than what he’s been, both in terms of letting people know what positive things have happened and in letting people know if we are aware of what the real problems are.”

Those and other criticisms are familiar to Peterson. Virtually from his first year in office, he has been assailed by critics and has often dismissed those criticisms as the rantings of opportunists. In this year’s campaign, for example, he charged that both Dean and Detrick are “in it for the money,” a charge that the two challengers vehemently deny. The annual salary is $98,663 a year.

Critical reports on Peterson’s operation of the county Department of Education by several Orange County grand juries date back to 1969. The 1975 grand jury accused Peterson of having “a policy of educational isolationism,” a charge that his opponents continue to agree with.

Peterson said that charges of poor leadership on his part are unfounded. He said the fact that the Academic Decathlon has grown and thrived is an indication of innovative leadership. He added that during his administration, the county Department of Education has “been able to garner special legislative funds for the kinds of problems we have in education.”

“We’re doing programs in connection with addiction, tobacco, drugs and alcohol, and the reason I’m running again is because I’ve suddenly discovered how to reduce students’ time at the television tube so they can apply it on reading,” Peterson said.

It’s a method that Peterson calls the “All-Star Readers Book Box,” which is essentially a box of reading materials, videotapes and study guides that students, broken up into teams, select from and use to put on performances based on outside reading. The competitive aspect will encourage students to spend more time with books and less with television, Peterson contends.

Dean, however, said the concept is indicative of Peterson’s “games-and-contests mentality” that, like the Academic Decathlon, includes only a select few students.

“His idea to get people excited about reading is to come up with a new reading game,” Dean said. “Games and contests aren’t enough. We need strong instructional methodology and materials, for all the kids.”

Although Peterson dismissed charges by both of his challengers as “unsubstantiated,” he appears to be rattled by their candidacies, especially Dean’s. Both challengers charge that administrators and teachers are displeased with Peterson’s leadership. In fact, the California Teachers Assn.’s has endorsed Dean.

Peterson countered that the CTA has never endorsed him and that he has still managed to win six consecutive terms, adding that Dean “concocted” negative comments by educators to gain publicity.

“If John Dean were to win, he’s alienated so many district superintendents and so much of the staff here that it would take him a couple of terms to overcome what he’s brought down on himself by his actions,” Peterson said.

Like Peterson’s opponents in the county superintendent’s race, the challenger in the Board of Education contest has also come out swinging. In just a few weeks of campaigning, DeVore, 28, a former aide to Rep. C. Christopher Cox (R-Newport Beach), has notified the state Fair Political Practices Commission of alleged unethical campaign practices by incumbent Parker. However, the FPPC has not reviewed the case.

DeVore also charged that Parker is “out of step” with her constituency, noting that she once called herself “a flaming leftist liberal” during a county Board of Education meeting.

“In that case, there is a pretty big difference between myself and my opponent,” DeVore said. “That’s a very revealing issue when you look at her social agenda.”

Parker denied all of DeVore’s charges. She said the “flaming leftist liberal” remark was an inside joke among board members that DeVore took out of context. She charged that DeVore, who entered races for Congress and the state Assembly but pulled out of both, is a political opportunist seeking to use the board as a steppingstone to higher office.

“He wants to be involved in setting laws and things like that,” Parker said. “That doesn’t happen on the school board. On the school board, you have to decide what color the doors are, you have to decide whether it’s crank windows or open windows. It can be boring . . . if you’re not for the kids.”

ORANGE COUNTY SUPERINTENDENT OF SCHOOLS

Dr. Robert Peterson

Home: Santa Ana

Age: 69

Occupation: Incumbent

Background: County superintendent since 1966. Founder of U.S. Academic Decathlon. Teacher in Santa Ana city schools, 1948-66. B-17 pilot in World War II; shot down over Austria; held in a German prisoner of war camp for 18 months.

Issues: Seeks to establish new reading program, “All-Star Readers Book Box,” to encourage more interest in after-school reading by students. Says education is suffering because children watch too much television.

Dr. John F. Dean

Home: Newport Beach

Age: 63

Occupation: Chairman of department of education at Whittier College. Background: Elementary school teacher and principal, district administrator in Newport area, 1950-69; dean of the Evening College, Orange Coast College, 1969-70; professor and department chair, Whittier College, 1970 to present.

Issues: Cites “malaise” in county Department of Education. Seeks to stem the department’s “skyrocketing” budget. Supports a Strategic Planning Task Force composed of the county superintendent and the 27 district superintendents.

Ronald L. Detrick

Home: El Toro

Age: 52

Occupation: Program coordinator, School of Education, National University, Irvine.

Background: Doctorate in education, bachelor’s degree in biology. Former district director of occupational preparation, Long Beach Unified School District, and district director, San Diego Unified School District. Taught in junior and senior high schools and in community colleges.

Issues: Seeks to alleviate drug problems in schools; reorganize use of financial resources; improve communication between the county Department of Education and local teaching colleges.

O.C. BOARD OF EDUCATION, TRUSTEE AREA 5

Elizabeth Dorn Parker

Home: Costa Mesa

Age: 30

Occupation: Incumbent; event consultant for nonprofit organizations

Background: Elected at age 22 to county Board of Education; currently president of the board. Owns a small consulting business. Mother of two boys, ages 3 and 6.

Issues: Supports program to aid homeless students in Orange County schools; supports more cooperation with state and federal governments on anti-drug and anti-gangs campaigns. Seeks to develop school sites for severely handicapped students.

Charles S. (Chuck) DeVore

Home: Laguna Hills

Age: 28

Occupation: Former senior assistant to Rep. C. Christopher Cox.

Background: Former congressional liaison for the Defense Department during the Reagan Administration. Currently serving as a National Guard officer at the 2nd Brigade Headquarters in San Diego.

Issues: Supports countywide magnet schools and greater parental choice in where children attend school. Seeks to establish a “participatory management” plan that would give teachers greater say in district policies and occasionally send administrators back to the classroom.