School Board Race Focuses on Money Matters : Elections: One of four candidates vying for three seats claims the district misled voters in a 1991 budget-related proposition. The district finance director calls the incident ‘an honest mistake.’

All four candidates for the three seats up for grabs on the La Canada Unified School District board said better management of district money during lean economic times is their No. 1 priority.

One candidate in the Nov. 2 contest is stressing a related issue, charging that the district misled the public about its financial status in 1991, when it was attempting to raise $1.2 million through Proposition M, a proposed property tax hike.

Ned Corpolongo, 60, said the district campaigned for passage of Prop. M by saying that the measure’s defeat would result in a higher student-teacher ratio and cutting of some programs. He alleges the district already had the funds and as evidence points out that the district, during the initiative campaign, reported a budget of $17.5 million--$1.4 million less than was revealed in a document dated Nov. 19, 1991, exactly two weeks after Prop. M was defeated.

“I’m caught between a rock and a hard place,” Corpolongo said. “I’m not trying to kill La Canada School District. I’m trying to say, ‘Let’s not have this happen again.’ We can’t afford to not inform our people.”

None of the other candidates--Will Moffitt, Jeanne Broberg and Warren Jacob--has raised similar concerns. All say they believe the district’s explanation. And no official agency has confirmed any wrongdoing by the district.

District staff tries to plan budgets within a 3% margin of error, or about $500,000 each year, said Andrew J. Meyer, assistant superintendent for business. But two years ago, it had a 7% margin of error, or about $1.4 million. That, Meyer said, was because the district had to prepare its budget in the midst of negotiating a new teachers’ contract. The district was also adjusting for a big shortfall because of the state budget deficit.

In addition, Teri Stockman, former district finance director, said she made “an honest mistake of about $500,000” on the budget, which she later discovered and corrected. The oversight, she said, was due to a new form from Los Angeles County, which audits all district budgets.

Three-term board member Irene Mendon said: “I believe we have a very competent staff. They are upfront about everything, and I feel very comfortable as a retiring board member. I think we’re in good hands.”

Mendon and trustees Joel G. Smith and Anne V. Galloway are not seeking reelection.

If elected to a four-year term, Corpolongo said he would do what he alleges the present board failed to do: Keep a close watch on the budget process to ensure that the public is not misled about the district’s financial status.

All four hopefuls agree that La Canada, one of the best districts in the country, can be better.

Jacob, 37, who has three children in the elementary school system, said he is running because it’s “time for my generation to get involved. . . . Public education is vital to our community.”

Jacob, the managing partner of a Los Angeles law firm, said he moved his family into the district for the sake of his children. He said he is well-suited for the board because he has the business acumen to project budgets for an organization. He is the treasurer of the education foundation.

Moffitt, 45, who has two children in the high school, said board members should represent the community, and he can best serve issues concerning the high school. The current foundation president, Moffitt said he helped raise $2 million for the organization during the past four years.

“(Given that), you want to make sure that you are able to say how the money is spent,” he said. “That we get the most benefit out of every dollar; that it’s spent in a way that gives each kid the best education possible.”

Moffitt, whose early career included a short stint as a teacher, owns a film and television production company in Pasadena. He said the budget-strapped district can benefit greatly by pooling community resources, including people like himself, into its curriculum. He said he often volunteers at the high school teaching courses related to his work.

Broberg, 50, who has spent 23 years as a PTA member and several years as its president, credits the district for the success of her seven children, who are now doctors, lawyers and teachers. The eighth is a high school sophomore. With nearly all of her children grown, Broberg said she now has the time for bigger causes and wants to help assure that future students benefit as much as hers did. A key is balanced education, she said.

“Academics is always important, for sure, but we can never skirt the importance of athletics and we always want to keep the arts,” she said.

In June, La Canada High School was chosen as a “Blue Ribbon School” by the U.S. Department of Education, one of 260 other schools in the country to be so honored this year.

Earlier this month, state education officials announced the results of advanced placement exams administered by the New York-based College Board to 284 high school seniors in the district. La Canada led local districts, with 96.8% passing per 100 students. A passing grade can qualify for course credit at many colleges and universities.