School Board Races Yield Some Surprises : Education: No obvious trends were evident in the county’s 25 contests. But some incumbents were defeated.

Simi Valley homemaker Debbie Sandland, who led an aggressive campaign against the school district’s plans to switch to a four-year high school program next fall, was elected by more than 20,000 votes.

In the Santa Paula Union High School District, voters ousted two incumbents who were hoping to return to the board for second terms.

And Herbert C. Templeman, a 33-year trustee of the Hueneme Elementary School District, was edged out in his reelection bid by two newcomers.

“I can’t understand it,” Templeman said. “When I went to bed at 12:30 last night I was winning by 200 votes. Then I got a call at 1:30 this morning, telling me I lost.”

Although there were no obvious voter trends evident in 25 school board races in 13 Ventura County districts, there were plenty of surprises that left several candidates scratching their heads.

Roylene Cunningham, a librarian who won a seat on the board of the Santa Paula high school district, said she was surprised at her own victory.

“This is the first time I’ve ever done this,” Cunningham said of her try for public office. “It was one of those things, where somebody says, ‘Guess what? You won,’ and you say, ‘Oh.’ ”

Here is a look at the results of school board elections throughout the county:

Briggs Elementary

Incumbent Ron Merson was reelected, and recently appointed board member Carolyn (Jauregui) Bowker won a four-year term. The third candidate in the race, Ralph Ramos, appointed to the board 1 1/2 years ago, will fill Bowker’s two-year appointment to the board. Bowker was appointed to the board last month for a two-year term.

Merson, 39, wants to continue to improve and expand the district’s reading and writing programs.

Bowker, 45, plans to work with the Briggs Elementary School Trust Foundation to re-establish the school’s music program, the victim of budget cuts two years ago.

Hueneme Elementary

Marla A. Petal and Raphael (Ralph) Ramos outpolled two other candidates, including incumbent Herbert C. Templeman, to capture two board seats.

Petal, a special education consultant, has vowed to lobby Sacramento lawmakers for more education funding to reduce class size.

Ramos, who owns and operates his own employment business, wants to use his business experience to help the district overcome financial troubles.

Mesa Elementary

Incumbent Karen A. Stearns and newcomer James Edward Niles were the victors in the three-person race for two seats on the board.

Stearns, a 48-year-old homemaker who has served on the board for nine years, wants to continue improving the district’s bilingual program, which she considers vital in preventing students from dropping out later.

Niles, 41, executive director of the Moorpark College Foundation, vows to help protect the district’s current education programs from further state budget cuts.

Mupu Elementary

Incumbent board member Richard Pidduck was unchallenged in his reelection bid.

Ojai Unified

Karen McBride, a homemaker, and Tim Peddicord, a science teacher in the Oxnard Elementary School District, emerged from a field of seven candidates to win two seats on the school board.

McBride has said her top priorities will be to raise students’ test scores and to improve vocational programs in the 3,550-student district.

Peddicord has promised to work to find alternative sources of income for schools, including soliciting modest contributions from local businesses.

Oxnard Elementary

Dorothie Sterling, a retired elementary school teacher, and Susan E. Alvarez, a physical therapist, beat incumbent Charles Ray Johnson in the three-person race for two school board seats.

Sterling, a former school board member, has vowed to restore music classes and arts programs in the district.

Alvarez said she wants the school board to be more responsive to parents’ concerns, and at the same time reach out to the community to get parents more involved in district issues.

Oxnard Union

High School

Plowing their way through a field of nine candidates, incumbent Steve Stocks and Fred A. Judy, founder and chairman of the Zoe Christian Center homeless shelter in Oxnard, were declared the two winners.

Stocks, a retired teacher, has said his top priorities will be to see the completion of a replacement school for Oxnard High and the construction of a new campus needed to reduce overcrowding in the 12,000-student district.

Judy wants to require classes on multiculturalism to promote racial understanding. He also wants to increase vocational training and invite businesses to become more involved with schools.

Pleasant Valley

Elementary

Incumbent Ricardo A. Amador and businessman Robert Rexford beat two challengers in the race for two school board seats.

Amador, a school administrator who was appointed to the board in January, wants to use developer fees to build a new school needed to ease overcrowding at Mission Oaks Elementary School.

Rexford said he would support a bond measure to help pay for a new school if there are no other means to build it.

“This community can afford another school,” he said. “Whether it’s funded by developer fees or whatever, we have to have another school in the Mission Oaks area.”

Santa Clara

Elementary

Gayle Reed, who was appointed to the school board in January, defeated businesswoman Deann K. Hobson in a two-person race.

Reed wants to enhance the bilingual education program at the 35-student, one-school district, called the Little Red Schoolhouse.

Santa Paula

Elementary

In a field of seven candidates, incumbent Eugene E. Marzec and parole officer Benjamin F. Saiz emerged the winners.

Marzec, a retired school administrator, was first elected to the school board in 1988. He said he wants parents to become more involved in budget matters and other concerns.

Saiz also wants to get more community participation in school issues. He has suggested that school board meetings be held at school sites and that child care be provided so parents can attend.

Santa Paula

Union High

In addition to Roylene Cunningham, Robert Gonzales, commander of the Santa Paula Police Department, edged out incumbents Al Sandoval and Victor Salas to capture a seat on the board.

Gonzales, 41, who previously served four years on the Santa Paula Elementary School Board, advocates merging the high school and elementary school districts to reduce operating costs.

Cunningham said she wants to make community service a prerequisite for high school graduation and establish more academic-oriented clubs.

Victor Salas said he was at a loss to explain his and Sandoval’s defeat.

“We didn’t campaign like we did four years ago,” Salas said. “This year we felt people would know us from our accomplishments and they would appreciate them. I guess they didn’t appreciate them.”

Simi Valley Unified

In addition to Debbie Sandland, incumbents Diane Collins and Judy Barry were elected to new terms.

Sandland said her top priority will be to oppose the district’s plan to shift to a four-year high school program because it will cost the district about $600,000 to implement. She said she will call for a new vote on reconfiguration, which was approved in a 3-2 vote last year.

“I feel I have a mandate from the community and an obligation to revisit this issue,” she said. “Until all education programs are adequately funded, I don’t think we should implement reconfiguration.”

Barry, who voted for the four-year high school program, said she will continue to support the change unless it can be proven that the district would be financially hurt by it.

Collins, who also voted against reconfiguration, said her position has not changed. She said Sandland’s resounding victory showed that there is a lot of concern in the community about the costs of implementing such a program.

“It was a shocker,” Collins said. “I think there has to be some serious re-evaluation” by the board on reconfiguration.

Somis Elementary

Voters reelected incumbent Robert W. Fulkerson and community activist A. F. (Drew) Sutherland, both of whom opposed the controversial ouster of former Supt. Dale Forgey, a move that spawned a recall effort against three other school board members.

Fulkerson, owner of Fulkerson Hardware, said he ran on his record and his efforts to reduce school operating costs.

Sutherland, who organized the recall effort to remove the three school board members responsible for firing Forgey, wants the board to be more responsive to concerns of parents.