ORANGE : Privatization Idea Blasted at Meeting

Residents and union representatives blasted trustees of the Orange Unified School District last week for suggesting that some of the district’s operations be privatized.

“All of you are trustees of a public education system and that means you must be committed to public education--anything else would be outright fraud,” said David Reger, president of the teachers’ union.

Several of the trustees broached the concept, saying they were intrigued by the proposals of a company that has privatized whole school districts in other states. The firm, Education Alternatives Inc., began talks with trustees about six months ago, said school board President Maureen Aschoff.

Supt. Robert L. French told board members at the meeting Thursday that California law prohibits privatizing any school service except transportation, and he urged them to first look to their own employees for improvement.

“We have hired the best possible, so let’s try to improve before turning outside the district,” he said.

Trustees Martin Jacobson and Max Reissmueller continued to argue for a full study of privatization. The only legal means of doing so would be through the charter school process--which gives schools relative freedom from local boards and some state codes--but French noted that any one district can have only 10 of the chartered schools.

Reissmueller said that the Department of Education can give waivers for districts such as Orange Unified, which has 36 schools.

Trustee Robert Viviano suggested the board pinpoint areas that need improvement, noting that the private school idea is a “solution looking for a problem.” He was applauded when he told Jacobson: “Where I come from, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.”

They ended the tense meeting by directing French to compile a list of areas that could be improved and a variety of alternatives, such as privatization, to improve services.