State Board Breaks Off Talks With Supt. Honig : Education: Members threaten to sue to avert a ‘managerial crisis.’ The state schools chief says the panel has been ‘hijacked by right-wing ideologues.’

The State Board of Education broke off seven months of power-sharing negotiations with State Supt. of Public Instruction Bill Honig on Wednesday, setting the stage for a lawsuit intended to swing the balance in favor of the board.

By a 6-4 vote, the board rejected a “memo of understanding” that had been hammered out by lawyers for Honig and the board, contending the agreement did not give the board enough power.

In a series of additional votes, board members ordered Honig to prepare policies and procedures that would give the board more authority over many policy areas and asked the superintendent for $10,000 to hire a lawyer to help with this work.

Board President Joseph D. Carrabino called these actions a “historic moment” because--if the board succeeds before the courts--it will wrest from Honig the authority to deal with what Carrabino called the “managerial crisis” in California public education.

Carrabino has been saying for months that, with Honig calling most of the shots, the Department of Education is poorly run, offering opportunities for misuse of state and federal funds. He has proposed closer board oversight as a remedy.

But Honig later told reporters he would disregard those portions of the board’s actions that he thought conflicted with his duties as the elected state schools chief.

“I’m not going to give them day-to-day budget oversight,” Honig said. “If they want that, they’ll have to go to the Legislature to get it.”

The superintendent said he “tried to work this out with the board” but failed because “the board’s been hijacked by right-wing ideologues.” Honig was referring in particular to Carrabino, a retired UCLA management professor, and board member Joe Stein, a Southern California industrial real estate broker.

“This is a badly split board, in my opinion a runaway board,” Honig added. ‘I’ll do what I was elected to do,” which he hinted strongly would not be what the board wants.

During the meeting, Honig said he would not give the board money to hire an attorney to implement these new policies.

“This is wasting taxpayers’ money,” he said. “I’m not going to do it. If you want your own counsel, go to the Legislature to support it.”

If Honig does not follow the new directives, the board then will file a lawsuit to force him to do so, Carrabino said.

The prospects are for a running battle to continue between Honig and the board, with an intensity not seen since the early 1960s, when Max Rafferty, a conservative Republican, was superintendent and the board was dominated by liberals appointed by former Gov. Edmund G. (Pat) Brown.

In the decision made Wednesday to break off negotiations with Honig over shared authority, Honig challenged the sixth vote that allowed the 11-member board’s main action to pass--that of Peter G. Mehas. Honig said state law does not allow Mehas to serve both as superintendent of schools in Fresno County and as a member of the State Board of Education.

Mehas was elected superintendent last fall and was appointed to the board last November by former Gov. George Deukmejian. The appointment must be confirmed by the Senate.

Mehas said the “law is confusing” and he has asked Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren for an opinion. In the meantime, he said, “I have every right to serve on the board” and “I will continue unless I am told I am properly seated.”

Earlier in the day, board member Stein accused Honig of a conflict of interest because Honig’s wife, Nancy, runs a successful parent involvement program called the Quality Education Project (QEP) out of the Honig residence in San Francisco.

Stein and Carrabino charged that Honig had used his position to solicit business for QEP and that the Department of Education has given preferential treatment to QEP by suggesting that local school districts buy the program.

Carrabino said he had copies of letters in which Honig, writing on Department of Education stationery, recommended QEP to out-of-state school officials without pointing out that the program is run by his wife. But Carrabino did not produce the letters.

Stein asked the board to request an investigation by the state Fair Political Practices Commission, but a majority did not agree. Stein later said he would ask for a commission inquiry on his own.

Honig said he has been assured by his attorney that there is no conflict of interest. He said he also has asked the attorney general for an opinion but has not yet received a reply.

When Carrabino said Honig was guilty of “indiscretions” in his relationship with QEP, the schools’ chief angrily responded:

“You’re darned lucky Nancy and I raised that money for California kids. They wouldn’t have had it otherwise. If you weren’t such a blowhard and would go and do something helpful for California education that would be a better use of your time.”

The superintendent concluded: “This board is about ready to self-destruct in this state because you’re playing games with your power. You don’t deserve to be in this position.”