SANTA ANA : L.A. Judge Rejects Orange Unified Suit

A Superior Court judge in Los Angeles has rejected a lawsuit filed by Orange Unified School District, which intended to wrest control of adult education classes from the Rancho Santiago College District.

Judge Joseph Kalin on Monday rejected a suit that would have stripped the college district of its ability to provide adult-education classes on behalf of the school district.

The college district has offered those classes on behalf of Orange Unified for 22 years, but school district officials now want their district to provide the courses, in part because they feel Rancho Santiago doesn’t offer a sufficient variety of classes.

The lawsuit, filed in May, was the culmination of a long-running battle over which district is best equipped to provide adult education.

College Chancellor Vivian Blevins praised the judge’s decision as “a clear victory.” She noted that it could be a short-lived one if Orange Unified officials decide to refile the suit, adding, “this is Stage 1 of what could be a 30-stage process.”

Blevins said the suit was thrown out because the judge felt the dispute should be settled by state officials and not the courts. Gretchen Hanson, acting superintendent for Orange Unified, said she did not know whether the school district would file a new suit but that it remains a possibility.

Hanson said the school district wants to provide the classes and that the judge’s decision is “a stumbling block we’ll try to (overcome),” she said.

The suit demanded that Rancho Santiago officials rescind their decision to offer certain adult-education classes for the 1994-95 school year and transfer those programs to Orange Unified.

School district officials have alleged that the college district is offering those classes and recouping state dollars without a formal agreement required by the state Education Code.

Blevins said that college district attempts to discuss that mutual agreement have been repeatedly rebuffed by Orange Unified staff and its board of education.

The North Orange County Community College District also was named as a defendant in the suit. That district was sued by the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.