4 School Trustees Targeted for Recall in Book Dispute

Four trustees of the Anaheim Union High School District were notified by a group Thursday that they are being targeted for recall because two novels the group considers obscene remain on an approved reading list.

The group has been trying for months to remove “Ordinary People” and “The Great Santini” from a list of novels that may be used in high school reading classes.

A committee of parents and teachers reviewed the books last spring for the board, after the group’s original complaint. They recommended that the books be kept on the list, with some restrictions on “The Great Santini.”

Board of Trustees President R.A. (Molly) McGee, Joanne Stanton, Beverly Yourstone and Robert Stewart were served with notices of the recall effort by the unnamed group.

Only Trustee Lou Lopez, who voted to ban the books from the classroom, was not targeted for recall.

After the petitions are certified by the Orange County registrar of voters--a process that takes one to two months--the group will have 160 days to collect the signatures of about 12,500 registered voters who live in the district for each board member targeted.

If the petition succeeds, a special election would be called at a cost of about $60,000. A majority vote would be necessary to remove a board member.

“This will send a message to the board,” said Treva Brown, a member of the group. “The majority of the people in the district do not want these types of books in the classrooms.” McGee said the board members have listened to Brown and her group, and have tried to accommodate her while maintaining academic freedom in the district.

“If they feel the need to try to recall us, fine,” McGee said. “I have faith in the political process. But the district needs so many things and if a special election is held, it will be a waste of money.”

“Ordinary People,” by Judith Guest, is about a suicidal teen-age boy and his relationship with his family after his older brother drowns. It was made into a movie in 1980 and won an Academy Award for best picture. It is used extensively in high school classrooms in the district and throughout the state.

“The Great Santini,” by Pat Conroy, is about a domineering Marine Corps pilot who tries to run his family like a military unit. The book has passages that the group considers profane and anti-Catholic. It is on an optional reading list in one class at Magnolia High School. After the group’s initial complaints, the board ruled that it can only be given to students with their parents’ permission.