ORANGE : School Board Elects Officers Amid Rancor

The Orange Unified School District’s Board of Education ended a tumultuous year with a bang this week as it elected next year’s new board officers amid rancor and accusations.

As expected, Maureen Aschoff was elected Thursday during the board’s final session to a second term as board president, becoming the first board member in more than 30 years to keep that post for two consecutive terms.

But a demand by Trustee James Fearns for a roll call vote forced Aschoff to break a 3-3 tie and cast the deciding vote in her own favor.

Fearns earlier in the week blasted Aschoff and accused the faction that wanted to keep her as board president--Trustees Martin Jacobson, Max Reissmueller and Bill Lewis--of fixing the election.

Aschoff said that she had been lobbied by the trustees for two months prior to the vote to accept the president’s seat again.

Unexpected was the rancor following roll-call votes for vice president and clerk of the board. Fearns nominated Trustee Rick Ledesma, who is in the minority faction, for vice president. Aschoff then nominated Jacobson, who won on a 4-3 vote.

Reissmueller won the clerk position without any opposition, but again the vote was 4-3.

Outgoing vice president Robert Viviano has refused to discuss the issue, but he made his feelings clear by reading a statement before the voting.

“Tonight, we are going through the motions for appearances’ sake, much like the Romans did in ancient times when the elite threw dice with the peasants to determine who would marry the most desirable damsels in the empire,” he said of the election. “Of course, the dice were always loaded in favor of the elite, but the game was played . . . to give the impression of fairness and full participation of all.”