LOCAL ELECTIONS : School Issues Dominate Tuesday’s Ballots : Politics: Outcome of races in the ABC district is likely to spell an end to a teachers strike now in its second week. Scandals and recall efforts set the tone for some other contests.

Nearly 100 local elections--most involving school boards--are on tap Tuesday throughout Los Angeles County, including one that could resolve a bitter teachers strike.

In the ABC Unified School District, which includes schools in Cerritos, Artesia, Hawaiian Gardens and parts of surrounding cities, voters could reverse a board majority that voted 4 to 3 earlier this month to impose a teachers contract calling for a 1.5% pay cut.

Many of the district’s teachers responded by walking off the job Oct. 22. Leaders of the teachers union argue that the contract is unfair, given that the district recently learned it has $1.8 million more in revenue than anticipated. District officials contend that despite that news, the school system cannot afford to sweeten its offer.

Officials on both sides concede that Tuesday’s vote will probably end the strike--one way or the other. And that, for many parents, is the bottom line.

“These students do not have teachers now because of the politics,” one parent said last week. “I’m very angry and very frustrated.”

Elsewhere Tuesday, a scandal involving city finances has set the stage for a recall election in Bradbury, and Covina voters will pick replacements for five recalled City Council members. A murder trial, meanwhile, has figured prominently in the Lynwood City Council race.

Beverly Hills voters are being asked to approve a $77-million school bond issue. And La Habra Heights residents will vote on a plan to build a golf course and exclusive homes in an undeveloped hillside tract.

In the ABC school district, the six candidates vying for three seats include one of the four board members supporting the current contract offer--Catherine Grant.

To unseat Grant, the teachers union has endorsed challenger Howard Kwon, a former district teacher and administrator who retired in June. At a forum last week, Kwon called for the resignation of Supt. Larry L. Lucas, a rallying cry that prompted cheers in a hall filled with hundreds of union supporters.

But Kwon, too, has come under attack, with another challenger alleging that he altered grades on student transcripts in exchange for a fee. At the forum, Kwon waved a piece of paper he said was a district letter exonerating him. After the forum, however, Kwon refused to release a copy of the letter.

District officials confirm that they investigated the allegations but have refused comment on their findings.

The election also could work against the teachers because two of the incumbents who voted against the disputed contract--Sally Morales and David Montgomery--are on the ballot.

The district has replaced striking teachers with substitutes, and said that as of Friday, the percentage of striking teachers had declined from 47% to 37%. Union officials estimated that about 60% of the district’s more than 800 teachers were on strike, and that the number was holding steady.

Student attendance is down, but by how much also is in dispute. About 19% of the district’s 21,000 students missed class Friday, according to the district. The union’s estimate was 30%.

Here is a look at some of Tuesday’s other contests:

* In the small San Gabriel Valley community of Bradbury, a City Council recall effort grew out of allegations of misspent city funds. Earlier this year, longtime City Manager Aurora (Dolly) Vollaire was fired for spending more than $80,000 in city funds on personal expenses, including luxury items, and a district attorney’s investigation was launched into the matter. Voters now will decide whether to oust two of five council members: Mayor Audrey Hon and Councilman Tom Melbourn. The council routinely approved Vollaire’s expenditures without scrutinizing them, and Hon was one of three officials to sign the checks that reimbursed Vollaire.

* Recall politics also define Covina’s election. A record field of 21 candidates filed for the five seats that came open when voters in July overwhelmingly approved removal of the current City Council. The recall was fueled by public outrage over a 6% utility tax, which has been allowed to expire. The challenge facing the new council: wiping out an anticipated $1.2-million budget shortfall while navigating the anti-tax sentiment.

* In Lynwood, 18 candidates for three City Council seats include an ex-mayor, a former local football hero and well-known community activists. But the campaign spotlight has been focused on a local courtroom, where last week a former city employee was convicted of murdering Donald Morris, the estranged husband of council incumbent Evelyn Wells. Morris was gunned down shortly after alleging that Wells was having an affair with then-City Manager Laurence H. Adams Sr. Wells and Adams both denied the allegation, and police investigators have said they are not suspects in the killing. But whether Wells’ political career can survive the publicity generated by the case is in doubt.

* The Beverly Hills school district is asking voters to approve a $77-million bond issue, the latest of several bids for money to repair aging schools. One past effort fell just five votes shy of the needed two-thirds majority. Supporters hope to push this initiative over the top by stipulating that bond money can be used only to repair schools.

* In La Habra Heights, voters must choose between two visions of the future--one rural, the other suburban. A ballot measure would allow a proposed 540-acre development in rugged Powder Canyon, including a country club, a golf course and 150 luxury homes. Supporters say the development would generate much-needed property taxes and fees. Foes say the project would destroy the community’s character.

* In the Compton Unified School District, 20 candidates are running for four board seats, even though they will have no real authority in office. The school board serves only an advisory role, having surrendered control to the state in July as a condition for an emergency $10.5-million loan.