Wide Field of Candidates Plan to Run for Area School Board Seats : Education: From Simi Valley to Oxnard, dozens beat the deadline to return candidacy papers for the fall election.

Undaunted by the prospect of wrestling with unprecedented budget cuts to education, dozens of candidates from Simi Valley to Oxnard have stepped forward to compete for seats on their local school boards.

Several of the 56 school board aspirants who returned candidacy papers by Wednesday, the filing deadline, said they were drawn to the November election by the opportunity to help California’s public education system pull through its worst fiscal crisis.

“Someone has to do it,” said first-time candidate Daryl Biberston, 52, a retired firefighter, echoing a theme cited by many of the candidates. “The system’s not going to fix itself.”

There are 25 seats up for election in 13 school districts countywide. The people elected to fill those positions will be asked to make a host of difficult decisions as school districts struggle to stay afloat with reduced state funding.

Gov. Pete Wilson and the Legislature are locked in budget negotiations that could cut millions of dollars from Ventura County schools that have been hit with the budget ax two years in a row.

On one side of the county, funding problems have forced Simi Valley educators to consider charging parents for busing their children to school. On the other side, educators in Oxnard and Camarillo are studying various ways to consolidate services to save money.

The candidates who want to tackle these challenges as members of the county’s various school districts:

Simi Valley Unified

Five candidates filed for three seats on the Simi Valley Unified School District board, a number that officials said was surprisingly low.

Two of the candidates are incumbents, board President Diane Collins and Trustee Judy Barry. The third seat is being vacated by Kenneth Ashton, who is running for mayor.

Also filing were Jim King, executive director of the Simi Valley YMCA; Jacqueline L. Richardson, a career consultant, and Debbie Sandland, a homemaker and nurse.

Sandland has been critical of a school district plan, already approved, to reorganize four junior high schools into middle schools. The change, scheduled to take place in the 1993-94 school year, will combine sixth, seventh and eighth grades in a middle school and move the ninth grade to high school.

Other expected issues in the campaign are the district’s proposal to charge parents a fee for school bus transportation and a plan to develop a district-owned lot across from City Hall into a residential tract.

Oxnard Union

High School

Nine candidates will compete for two seats on the Oxnard Union High School District governing board.

Incumbent Steve W. Stocks is seeking his second term. He said the main issue in the election will be whether the district should consider unifying with the Oxnard Elementary School District to save costs.

Besides Stocks, the other candidates are Carlos Jose De Moss, an air traffic specialist; Roy Lockwood, a retired fire chief and frequent candidate for public offices; Paul J. Kowalski, an educational technologies developer; Marvin Petal, a journalist; Shirley Jean Bumpus, a contractor; Fred A. Judy, director of the Zoe Christian Center; Preston Ransone, a writer, director and producer, and Fred Schwartz, a retired aerospace engineer.

Oxnard Elementary

Unification is likely to be a hot topic in the Oxnard Elementary School District campaign, a race where incumbent Charles (Chuck) Johnson and two challengers will compete for two seats. Board President Jean Harris has decided to retire.

Following the lead of school officials in Camarillo, the Oxnard board recently voted to study a possible merger with the Oxnard Union High School District. Proponents say unifying elementary and high school districts will save money on administrative costs and allow closer coordination of subject matter from kindergarten through high school.

Johnson’s challengers are Susan Alvarez, a physical therapist with two children in Oxnard schools, and Dorothie Sterling, a retired schoolteacher and former school board member.

Pleasant Valley

Elementary

Four candidates are running for two seats on the Pleasant Valley School District board in Camarillo.

The slate includes one appointed incumbent, Ricardo A. Amador, principal of Art Haycox Elementary School in the Hueneme school district; Robert Rexford, a business owner; Juan Lozano, a civil engineer; and Richard Paradyse, an air traffic controller at Oxnard Airport.

The main issue in the election is expected to be how the district can maintain its aging facilities. In 1991, Pleasant Valley twice failed to persuade voters to pass bond measures that would have eased crowding in the district’s 13 schools, some of which are more than 30 years old.

Ojai Unified

Two longtime incumbents, Trustees Robert B. Tholl and Tom Neihaus, have decided not to seek reelection in the Ojai school district, clearing the way for six candidates to go after their seats.

Alan Fletcher, an executive with Nexxus Products in Goleta, is making another bid for a seat after being defeated in 1990. Other candidates are Tim Peddicord, a science teacher; Bruce A. Johnston, an engineer; Frank Stephenson, an educational consultant; Daryl Biberston, a retired Los Angeles County firefighter, and Karen A. McBride, a homemaker.

Santa Paula

Union High

Two challengers will square off against two incumbents seeking reelection in the Santa Paula Union High School District race.

The incumbents are Victor Salas and Al Sandoval. Candidates Roylene Cunningham, a librarian, and Robert (Bob) Gonzales, a Santa Paula police commander, will challenge them for their seats.

Santa Paula

Elementary

Seven candidates are vying for two seats on the Santa Paula Elementary School District governing board.

Incumbent board member Robert Gonzales is stepping down to run for a seat on Santa Paula’s high school board. A second incumbent, Eugene Marzec, will face six challengers.

They are Suzi Skutley, a book seller; Patricia (Patty) Harrison, a businesswoman; Karen Cottingham, a property manager; Benjamin F. Saiz, a parole officer with the California Youth Authority; Jose Michael Gonzalez, a computer operations manager, and Co Engelhart, a retired telephone company employee.

Santa Clara

Elementary

Just two candidates are seeking a single seat up for election in the one-school Santa Clara Elementary School District in Santa Paula. Businesswoman Deann K. Hobson will challenge Gayle Reed for her seat.

Briggs Elementary

In the tiny Briggs Elementary School District in Santa Paula, businesswoman Carolyn Jauregui Bowker is seeking one of two seats available. Her opponents are two sitting trustees, Ralph Ramos and Ron Merson.

Mupu Elementary

The tiny Mupu Elementary School District in Santa Paula will have no contest because incumbent board member Richard Pidduck is the only candidate for the single seat available.

Hueneme Elementary

Herbert C. Templeman, a 33-year trustee, is seeking reelection to one of two seats in the Hueneme Elementary School District. A second incumbent, Jesus P. Cirino, has decided to step down.

Other candidates are Marla A. Petal, a children’s advocacy consultant; Rafael (Ralph) Ramos, a businessman, and Rosie Magallanes, a program specialist.

Mesa Union

Elementary

Three candidates are vying for two seats in the 350-student Mesa Union Elementary School District in Somis. Incumbent Karen A. Stearns is seeking reelection and will be challenged by James E. Niles, executive director of the Moorpark College Foundation, and Camarillo resident Susan Bing Prosser.

Somis Union

Elementary

Three candidates are seeking two seats, including incumbent Robert W. Fulkerson and challengers A.F. (Drew) Sutherland, a carpenter, and John Catano, a psychiatric technician.

Times correspondents Doug McClellan, Patrick McCartney and Caitlin Rother contributed to this story.