PORT HUENEME : Teachers Endorse 3 for School Board

The teachers’ union of the Hueneme Elementary School District has endorsed three of the nine candidates running for board seats in the November election.

The Hueneme Education Assn. endorsed incumbent Elaine K. Garber and challengers Gail Suval and Bob Edwards for the three open seats.

The decision, based on a unanimous vote of faculty members representing the district’s 11 schools, was the first endorsement in the union’s history, President Donna Branstrom said.

Union officials and members of the California School Employees Assn. quizzed six of the nine candidates on issues such as the budget, bilingual education and class size.

“We felt there were so many candidates that an endorsement would help people make an informed decision,” Branstrom said.

Some challengers have complained that all the board members have held office too long and that none now have children in the district.

Garber received the endorsement despite being one of the senior members of the board, with 31 years of experience. Two of the endorsed candidates, Suval and Edwards, have children in district schools.

The other candidates are incumbents Jose C. Babauta and James K. Tipton, and challengers Darlene A. Bruno, Cheryl R. Hamilton, Jon Van Tilburg and Toni Young.

All the candidates have been invited to a PTA public forum scheduled for 7 p.m. Nov. 1 at Blackstock Junior High School, 710 Bard Road, Oxnard.