Section Proposal Presented to CIF : Meeting: County superintendents vote, 13-0 with two abstentions, to pursue a separate Orange County group.

Superintendents of Orange County public high schools presented their formal proposal for an Orange County Section to the California Interscholastic Federation Friday at a meeting of the State Federated Council in Burlingame.

James Fleming, superintendent of the Placentia Unified School District, told the council that county superintendents voted, 13-0, Monday to pursue a separate section. Fleming said two superintendents--Anaheim Union School District’s Cynthia Grennan and Irvine Unified’s David Brown--abstained, but said they would support an Orange County Section if one is formed.

“We’re ready to move; we’re asking the CIF to go ahead with the planning, and hopefully we’ll have this (implemented) by the 1994-95 school year,” Fleming said.

Fleming said the proposal goes to a State section relations committee for discussion, then back to the State Federated Council for a vote.

“We asked that they vote on it by May, but they couldn’t tell us how soon they’d decide,” Fleming said. “But we want to get going, start planning this thing.”

Fleming said the county’s four large parochial schools--Mater Dei, Servite, Rosary and Santa Margarita--have indicated they want to be a part of the Orange County Section, and that the public school superintendents support their inclusion.

Fleming said William McKinley, superintendent and principal of Whittier Christian High School, told the committee the county’s 15 small private schools would probably want to remain within the Southern Section.

“McKinley said he didn’t think they could be accommodated (in the Orange County Section),” Fleming said. “The larger parochial schools want to go with us, the smaller ones don’t. We’re saying quite honestly, ‘Whatever’s best for you, we’ll support.’ ”

Fleming said he made a recommendation that a superintendent from the San Diego Section be included on the section relations committee because such a representative would better understand the position held by the Orange County group seeking separation. San Diego was the last CIF section to be formed, those schools breaking away from the Southern Section in 1960.

Times staff writer Chris Foster contributed to this story.