NEWPORT BEACH : Candidates Debate Sex Education Issues

Sex education, free condoms and changes in elementary-level reading materials were the sharpest points of debate Wednesday night at a forum for candidates running for board seats in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

The views expressed during the debate by Martha Fluor and incumbent Tom Williams were indicative of the opposing opinions that have made for a lively race. Fluor and Williams are campaigning for the one seat available in Trustee Area 3, which encompasses the city’s Back Bay area.

Responding to a student’s query on the possibility of making free condoms available at high schools, Williams emphatically said he would not support such a proposal.

“It is not the purview of the district to provide contraceptives,” he said.

Fluor said she advocates abstinence as the “first line of defense against pregnancy and AIDS,” but she did not dismiss the idea of free condom distribution outright, drawing a few murmurs from parents in the auditorium of Newport Harbor High School.

On a similarly sensitive issue, candidate Edward Decker, who will vie against Terry Simon for the one open seat in Trustee Area 1, encompassing Costa Mesa, said he opposes health clinics on school campuses and that heterosexual ideology should be the prominent component of the district’s sex education curriculum.

The schools should promote a “respect of monogamous, heterosexual marriage,” Decker said.

Speaking on classroom issues, Williams espoused a plan to include more nonfiction reading materials in elementary grades, with an emphasis on biographies of the founders of the United States.

“I think probably the most important element of education we could deal with is reading,” Williams said. “Reading is the source from which all other elements flow. The books I mean are books about the people who founded and created this country, people like Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, Teddy Roosevelt. The list goes on and on.”

Simon countered that other reading materials should be offered with emphasis in other areas, since some students excel in other subjects.

“We need to remember that every child has different needs, and we need to have something available for all children,” Simon said.

Fluor and Williams delivered opposing views, both of which drew applause from about 100 people gathered, on the district’s plan to hire athletic assistants at a time when it is laying off teachers’ aides to help balance the budget.

“I think everyone by now knows my position on athletics,” Williams said. “Athletics are one of our first lines of defense in the war on drugs. Athletics are often the reason students stay in school.”

But Fluor countered that only one-third of the students participate in 24 district sports and that budget decisions should be based on the impact on all students.

“You talk about the 8,000 kids who benefit from athletics, what about the other 16,000?” Fluor said. “I have never advocated the firing of these athletic assistants, I’m talking about priorities. I question the district’s priorities.”

Board member Jim de Boom, in Trustee Area 6, is also up for reelection, but is running unopposed and did not participate in the forum.

Newport-Mesa Unified School District

Two candidates are running for one seat each in Trustee Areas 1 and 3 on the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education in the Nov. 5 election.

Trustee Area 1Terry D. Simon

Age: 38.

Occupation: Homemaker, community volunteer.

Background: Has served on attendance review board and other district committees; received PTA Honorary Service Award.

Issues: Believes that instruction in the “three Rs” should be emphasized; wants to identify innovative programs to make the best use of tax revenue and restore vocal and instrumental music programs; supports strong guidelines for student conduct.

Edward H. Decker

Age: 52.

Occupation: Dean of fine and performing arts and special programs at Coastline Community College.

Background: 26 years’ experience as college administrator and teacher; has served on accreditation teams, holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in biology/physiology, doctorate in educational administration.

Issues: Wants to improve quality of education in an era of enrollment growth, increasing ethnic diversity and tight budgets; wants to set high standards and require students to meet them and make basic skills a top priority.

Trustee Area 3Martha Fluor

Age: 40.

Occupation: Homemaker, educator, community volunteer.

Background: Holds special education credential from Chapman University and is fluent in Spanish; works as aide in Kaiser Elementary School’s English as a second language lab and serves on several nonprofit boards; Girl Scout leader and former Cub Scout den mother.

Issues: Committed to continued improvement, enrichment and education of students within the district boundaries; wants to develop long-range plans for future of the district and address changing needs of schools.

Tom Williams

Age: 49.

Occupation: Developer and builder; incumbent school board member.

Background: School board member for eight years and holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from USC.

Issues: Supports strengthened graduation requirements, zero-tolerance drug and alcohol policy; wants to provide a better balance between fiction and nonfiction in school classroom reading and strengthen math curriculum.