Foes Accuse Schools Candidate of Halloween Trick : Election: Party notice mailed to Taft Elementary students was a funding flyer. A trustee even calls it ‘a form of child abuse.’

A Halloween party invitation mailed to Taft Elementary School students that doubled as a fund-raising flyer has rankled some voters and outraged some parents in the Orange Unified School District.

The invitation, mailed to students at their homes last week encouraging them to attend Halloween festivities at the headquarters of school board candidate Maureen Aschoff, has been criticized by parents and opponents as an inappropriate method of raising funds.

Aschoff, a librarian, is a candidate for Jeff Holstien’s Trustee Area 2 seat in the Nov. 5 election. Assemblyman Mickey Conroy (R-Orange) supports Aschoff, who has raised more money--more than $15,000, including $13,000 of her own money, at last count--than any other school board candidate in the county. Holstien is not running for reelection.

The flyer--which read “Friends of Aschoff for School Board Present Halloween Puppets ‘n Crafts . . . Suggested Donation $25 a family”--has also fueled speculation that Aschoff’s campaign violated state law. Orange Unified Supt. Norman C. Guith said that addresses for the mailing, which targeted first-, second- and third-graders at Taft, may have been obtained from the school’s Parent-Teacher Assn. directory.

If so, Guith said, “it’s a violation of the Student Privacy Act of 1974. We don’t even tell people who call whether a kid attends our district.”

Aschoff said Friday that she could not confirm whether her campaign had sent a mailing to Taft students but added that one of her volunteers may have sent the flyers.

“I need to get all the facts,” Aschoff said. “I know there was a meeting and (the flyer) was distributed to volunteers, that’s what I know. . . . Some of them may have been mailed out. Some may have been given to friends.”

Aschoff foes complained that students who attended the Halloween affair were tricked instead of treated. Daniel Matranga, who opposes Aschoff in Trustee Area 2, called the tactic “tacky” and “deceptive.”

“I don’t think it’s fair campaigning,” Matranga said. “I don’t think it’s fair to invite a kid to a party for puppets and crafts when you’re trying to raise money for your campaign. . . . I suppose I should call Maureen and thank her, because as a result (of the flyer), I have a whole bunch of people passing out stuff for me that I didn’t even know were alive before.”

Sam Rodriguez, campaign manager for candidate Larry Labrado, said Aschoff had “exploited and manipulated children to get elected.”

Aschoff would not comment on those complaints. “I don’t have a reaction to that right now,” she said. “I will check it out.”

After Taft students received the invitation, some parents called the school, the district and board trustees to complain that the mailer exploited children for political purposes and compromised student privacy, district officials said.

Susan St. Charles, 48, said her grandson, Matthew, a second-grader at Taft, received an invitation Oct. 24.

“I had to tell him, ‘This isn’t an invitation to a Halloween party like your friends would send,’ ” St. Charles recalled. “He was disappointed, just like any child that thinks they’re going to a party and then gets told no. I had to tell him that it was politics.”

She said the flyer also raises concerns about the security of student records. Her family’s address and phone number are unlisted.

“They’ve assured us that no one can walk in and get addresses that easily, but (Aschoff) did,” St. Charles said.

Ed Berryman, acting principal for Taft, sent a letter to parents this week reassuring them that the school did not release student information.

“We have no idea how the political campaign gained access to this information and want to assure you that the use of student names and addresses in this fashion is inappropriate and disturbing to us,” the letter stated.

Orange Unified Trustee Barry P. Resnick had stronger words.

“I think this kind of exploitation is a form of child abuse,” he said.