ELECTIONS / SANTA MONICA-MALIBU UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD : Questions About Malibu High Dominate Race : Campaign: The five candidates have tried to satisfy supporters of the new school and assure Santa Monicans that their school won’t be neglected.

Voter suspicion over the opening of Malibu High School has taken center stage in the race for three seats on the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Trustees.

At a Santa Monica forum last week, Santa Monica residents grilled the five candidates on whether they would take resources away from Santa Monica High School to benefit Malibu High School, which opened this fall. At another forum, Malibu residents who have waited decades for a local high school demanded to know whether candidates would give the fledgling institution the support it needs.

The five candidates are incumbents Peggy Lyons and Mary Kay Kamath, and newcomers Neil Carrey, Julia A. Brownley and Margaret R. Franco.

Brownley, a parent activist at Grant Elementary School, pledged to make Santa Monica High School her “No. 1 priority.”

“I feel very strongly the focus has to be on Santa Monica High School,” she said. In Malibu, however, she softened her tone, saying she thought that the high school was needed and hoped to see “healthy competition” between the two schools in the future.

Carrey, a tax attorney, told Malibu residents that he hoped Malibu High School would someday offer as much as Santa Monica. But, in Santa Monica, he supported limiting enrollment because that was what the district promised.

“If we start breaking promises, we’ll see people leaving the district,” he said. “I think there is a lack of faith in the district, and that has to be regained.”

Lyons and Kamath, strong supporters of the high school, assured Santa Monica residents that they will not lose anything to Malibu High School.

They told Malibu residents that they support enrollment growth as long as racial diversity is preserved. They said they favor granting extra resources to help get the high school off to a good start.

“Sometimes in the beginning it takes giving more to a program to ensure its success,” Lyons said.

Kamath said she considered retiring from the board this year but decided to run because she is the only board member who lives in Malibu and is familiar with its everyday needs.

Kamath attributed much of the controversy over Malibu High School to botched public relations. Many residents thought that the district could not afford the school in a time of budgetary cutbacks.

“It was a big mistake not to get more community input,” she said.

Franco, a college counselor, said she would base her decisions on “what is best for the district as a whole.”

Another issue raised at the forums was how to raise money to make up for cutbacks in state funding. Franco suggested hiring a full-time grant writer to secure state and federal education grants. Lyons supported another local bond measure. Bonds supply large amounts of money and have been strongly supported by the community, she said.

Brownley envisions expanding the Santa Monica Education Foundation budget, a nonprofit fund-raising organization, with the help of a full-time staff member. She would like to see its budget, now $2 million to $3 million, grow to $25 million. Carrey suggested further tapping into business and community groups.

Kamath suggested leasing out the district’s surplus properties. Santa Monica College is paying the district $100,000 this year for use of one site, she said.

In a related issue, candidates discussed whether the district should even the amount of donations and gifts each school receives. For years, board members have pondered whether to limit or take away from donation-rich schools and have not come up with a satisfactory solution.

“When one school can raise $50,000 and another can raise $150,000, that is clearly inequitable and needs to be addressed,” Kamath said.

Lyons added that it is not fair for one school to be able to provide services another cannot. She and Franco called for a public forum to tackle the subject.

But all candidates agreed that it would be disastrous to pool donations and redistribute them based on need because it would discourage people from giving.

“If we try to get equality by bringing everybody down to the lowest level, it will destroy the system,” Carrey said.

Brownley favored leveling the field by giving needy schools money from the education foundation.

Candidates disagreed on other topics. Franco said she supports giving all students a chance to reach their highest potential and denounced “tracking,” or grouping high achievers together in special advanced courses.

“Historically, tracking has been discriminatory,” she said.

Lyons and Carrey said they were unhappy with the way condoms are distributed at Santa Monica High School. Lyons wants to tie distribution of condoms to counseling as soon as the high school can establish a youth health clinic. Carrey supports the right of parents to bar their children from access to condoms on campus.

Carrey strongly supported athletic programs, which have been targeted in recent budget cuts. Team sports help overcome racial barriers, he said, and athletes keep up grades in order to stay eligible for sports.

“From an educational standpoint, sports are just as important as many of the academic subjects,” he said. Simple arithmetic is used to tally yards gained or lost on the football field, he said.

The two incumbents cited the relative healthiness of the district in the wake of state budget cuts: Salaries went uncut and reserves are full. But the challengers promise change.

Franco, a single parent, said she would “provide a voice for a group of parents and students that feel they have not been heard in the district.”

She said she looks forward to being the first Latina on the board. The district is 28% Latino.

Carrey said the board needs a strong financial hand, like his own. He also said that as a father and a man, he would bring a new perspective to the board. Michael Hill is the only male on the board.

Brownley also pledged to bring business experience and a fresh point of view to the seven-member board.

“I am tired of 7-0 decisions,” she said.