HUNTINGTON BEACH : 2 School Trustees Opt to Leave Board

Two Ocean View School District trustees, saying they are frustrated by state funding cuts and bitter teacher contract negotiations, announced that they will not seek reelection in November.

Although philosophical rivals on most issues, trustees Janet Garrick and Elizabeth A. Spurlock both say they will leave the board this year before they have fulfilled their separate visions for the district.

A third member, trustee Carolyn Hunt, said she “vacillated a great deal” before finally deciding to run again when her term expires. However, Hunt is running for a seat carrying a two-year term rather than reelection to her own seat for another full, four-year period.

The board has been embroiled in controversy the past year stemming from a lengthy teachers’ contract feud, charges that the district was not providing adequate bilingual education and a mounting budget crisis that prompted the board to consider closing three schools.

Garrick, in a five-page letter explaining why she is stepping down after nine years on the board, said she has grown exasperated by the state’s repeated slashing of school funding and the “incredibly complicated” contract negotiations with the teachers’ union.

Those factors, among others, have “turned boardrooms into war zones,” she said.

“It is with great sorrow that I must leave public service for a while,” she wrote. “This last year has taken a tremendous toll on my personal life.”

During the last year, trustees have been the target of criticism from parents and teachers. At one point during tumultuous board hearings to consider school closures, a tearful Garrick stormed out of the room after a heated confrontation with an angry parent.

She said she now plans to return to teaching because “I know I can make a difference there.”

Spurlock, an outspoken crusader for change, will leave her position after serving less than a year on the board. She was appointed to fill a vacancy created when Debra Leinweber resigned last year.

One reason for her departure, Spurlock said, is that her husband is taking a temporary job next year in Washington, which would force her to move to the East Coast for six months.

But, in addition, “it has been very frustrating being in the minority all the time,” she said. Spurlock has been the sole dissenting vote on many issues.

“It’s clear to me that there is not a majority on the board whose priorities are in the classroom,” Spurlock said. “And for any candidate running with the idea of changing the priorities of this district, I would say that unless you get three board members who feel that way, you may be in a very frustrating situation.”

Board President Charles Osterlund, Hunt and nine challengers are vying for four contested seats this year.