PROPOSITION 187 : Candidates for School Chief Back Court Challenges

Both candidates for state education chief said Thursday that they would join in court challenges to Proposition 187 if California voters approve the measure to bar illegal residents from public schools.

Maureen DiMarco, a Democrat who is Gov. Pete Wilson’s education adviser, and Assemblywoman Delaine Eastin (D-Fremont), said the problems of illegal immigration should be solved in Washington, at the border or in hiring offices but not by targeting students.

The measure would “turn our schools into INS agents . . . that is outrageous,” DiMarco told a Los Angeles Town Hall audience. Her opposition contrasts with Wilson’s endorsement of Proposition 187. DiMarco said she agrees with her boss that illegal immigration is a serious problem, but said the measure on Tuesday’s ballot would wrongly “take it out on the children.”

Eastin, chairwoman of the Assembly Education Committee, said at the Town Hall lunch that “I believe Proposition 187 not only is unconstitutional, it is unconscionable.” She said that turning youngsters out of schools would cause more crime without solving any problems. “I want these children to be educated” for society’s common good, Eastin said.

In separate interviews, both candidates vowed to fight the measure in court if voters pass it. The superintendent of public instruction heads the state department that works with California’s 7,700 public schools and distributes $29 billion in education funding.

“I absolutely will do everything I can to get it into the courts and see that it is overturned,” Eastin said. “I do not think it is right to just stand by while the U.S. Constitution is undercut.”

DiMarco said she “would make sure the Department of Education is engaged very actively” in the court challenges promised by a number of groups and would “factually make the case that what is good for students is good for this state.”

Their shared views on Proposition 187 have added to the candidates’ difficulty in differentiating themselves in the low-profile race. They agree on most issues, but have clashed over the statewide testing program for public schools.

According to campaign finance documents submitted last week, DiMarco had raised $548,758 by the end of the Oct. 22 reporting period. Eastin, with support from teachers unions, state employee groups and some statewide education organizations, reported raising more than $1.9 million.

DiMarco joined several Republicans candidates for statewide offices in pooling funds for Decision ‘94, a group that is raising money for television commercials that emphasize crime fighting. The eight-second spots, running statewide for the last three weeks before the election, have given DiMarco media exposure she could not have afforded by herself.

Eastin launched her own television ads a week before Election Day. She has two 30-second ads running in all major media markets.