OJAI : Union Endorses 2 Incumbents, Horne

The Ojai teachers union announced Thursday that it is backing trustees Muriel Lavender and Vince France along with candidate Rikki Horne in the race for three school board seats.

Representing 165 teachers and counselors in the Ojai Unified School District, the Ojai Federation of Teachers made its endorsements after hearing the six candidates in the race speak at a recent forum, union President Don Ainsworth said.

Lavender and France won endorsements, Ainsworth said, because of their policy of involving teachers in district decisions.

Four challengers are vying for the seats held by Lavender, France and Robert Emhardt, who is not seeking reelection. Of the four, the union endorsed Horne, Ainsworth said.

Horne, who owns a medical claims management business, is “very highly educated,” Ainsworth said. Also, he said, union officials were impressed by Horne’s distaste for censorship in the schools.

The district was rocked by controversy last year when some parents said a literature anthology used in the schools contained passages that were inappropriate for children.

Horne, Ainsworth said, “felt that all citizens ought to be involved in the adoption process of a textbook and we shouldn’t be barring students from reading a textbook.”

Although the union sometimes refrains from making endorsements in school board races, Ainsworth said it decided to take a stand in this election.

“This race seems to be more closely contested than it has in the past, so we felt we needed to listen to all the candidates and make a choice,” he said.