Candidates for College Boards Focus on Budget Crunch : Education: Fiscal responsibility and trust become the top issues in elections for seats in the Compton, Cerritos and Rio Hondo districts.

Like most public schools, community colleges have been feeling the pinch of hard times. With money dwindling and enrollment dropping, fiscal responsibility and trust have become the most important issues in board elections for Compton, Cerritos and Rio Hondo community colleges.

This is especially true in the race for two seats on the Compton Community College board. After a year that saw top administrators fired for mismanagement of nearly $500,000 in federal funds, candidates have stressed their trustworthiness and ability to balance a budget.

“The most important issue in this race is stability--returning the college to some stability,” said Melanie Andrews, a speech professor.

Andrews, 45, is one of four candidates seeking election Tuesday in Area 1 for the seat vacated in June by Legrand H. Clegg II when he became city attorney in Compton. Also running are attorney Frank E. Bazadier, 55; former City Councilwoman Bernice Woods, 64, who lost her council reelection bid in June, and businesswoman Johanna Martin Carrington.

The candidates emphasize the need to solve the problems that have plagued the district in the past year.

Last fall, an investigation conducted by the federal Department of Education found that $500,000 in grants intended to benefit low-income students was spent instead on clothes and building materials, among other items. College President Warren A. Washington was fired, and dean James Willard and associate dean Velta Jones resigned in the aftermath of the federal report. Jones was accused of hiring two relatives for jobs they were not qualified to perform, paying them nearly three times the recommended salary.

Since that time, faculty and staff have complained that crises have dogged the campus. Enrollment dropped by 20% this semester, making for a student population of 4,712, said a college spokesman.

The school faces a Dec. 1 deadline to make changes, mostly in the way money is handled, before state education officials will grant accreditation. Compton College’s budget this year is more than $12 million.

State officials have been monitoring the campus since June and, like the federal overseers, have accused the Board of Trustees of wielding too much influence in day-to-day management of the school instead of setting policy.

“A person with a strong legal background would know what’s on the line and what’s right,” said Bazadier, who ran unsuccessfully last spring for city attorney. “Micro-management is what gets you into trouble. They need to step back.”

Woods declined to comment on her candidacy, and Carrington, who listed herself as a Compton businesswoman on documents filed with the Los Angeles County registrar’s office, could not be reached for comment.

For the Area 2 seat, board President James E. Carter is running against challengers Kellye Hamilton-Wilson, Mervin Evans and Carl E. Robinson Sr., a longtime adversary.

Carter did not return telephone calls, and Evans could not be reached for comment.

Robinson, a field representative for Rep. Walter R. Tucker III (D-Compton) and a former Compton College trustee, is looking forward to his fifth race against Carter.

“The major problem is raising the morale of faculty and classified employees,” said Robinson, who served on the board from 1980-85 before he lost an election to Carter by one vote. “And we’ve got to make sure that money gets into the classroom.”

Hamilton-Wilson, a businesswoman who used to attend the college, said she is concerned about rancor among the current board members. “There’s so much infighting on that board right now, nothing is being done.”

The college district includes Compton, Lynwood, parts of Paramount, Carson and the unincorporated county areas of Willowbrook and Athens Park. Trustees, who meet twice a month, receive $120 per meeting.

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A $1-million budget shortfall and 8% drop in enrollment are foremost on most candidates’ minds in the Cerritos College District race.

Voters will be asked to choose three representative from among the six candidates. The candidates are incumbent Rick D. Sanchez; attorney Dorothy L. Carfrae; tax consultant Cheryl A. Epple; businesswoman Hydie Soto; retired professor and administrator Lee Moile Westerlin, and Bob Verderber, a consulting engineer.

“(Board members) are going to have to make some decisions on where to cut this year,” said Epple, 41. “With unemployment the way it is, people need to get back to school, and I want to make sure classes aren’t cut.”

Because of the budget crunch, trustees have imposed a hiring freeze at the college, which has a budget of $52 million and serves 21,000 students. The district includes Cerritos, Artesia, La Mirada, Hawaiian Gardens, Downey, Bellflower, Norwalk and Lakewood.

“There is too little available money existing to support current and future needs, (and) ever-increasing numbers of people requesting greater learning,” said Westerlin, a former professor of business administration and dean of business at the college. “And inexperienced individuals (are) seeking election merely to push through their own narrowly focused agendas.”

Some challengers also charged that current board members were not working together.

“There is a need for more harmony,” said Verderber, 64, a Downey consulting engineer.

Sanchez, Soto and Carfrae could not be reached for comment. Trustees receive a $250 stipend per meeting and meet twice monthly.

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In the Rio Hondo Community College District, two open seats have attracted more candidates than the district has seen in years.

In trustee Area 1, the two challengers are kindergarten teacher David Siegrist and El Monte real estate broker Henry Velasco. Area 3 boasts five candidates: accountant Ignatius Balderrama; retired college administrator Don L. Jenkins; retired educator William H. Meardy; teacher Val Rodriguez, and Erminia M. Villegas, engineering support specialist. The incumbent trustee in Area 5, Barbara S. Stone, is unopposed.

Candidates also are concerned with budgets and how the college will keep pace with changing needs. With about 14,000 students, Rio Hondo College has a budget of $34 million and pays its trustees $240 for monthly meetings.

“I think the college can cut costs by having all the administrators teach one class,” said Siegrist, 51, a kindergarten teacher at Mulhall Elementary in El Monte.

Siegrist is running against Velasco, an El Monte resident who could not be reached for comment.

In Area 3, challenger Balderrama said his daughter will attend the school in September, so he has a personal stake in making it a good school.

“The main problems I see are with budget, security on campus and graffiti,” Balderrama, 46, said.

Other candidates could not be reached for comment.

The Rio Hondo district includes Pico Rivera, Santa Fe Springs, Whittier, South El Monte, and portions of El Monte, Norwalk, La Mirada, Downey, La Puente and Industry.