Ocean View Trustee to Seek County Seat

Paul Chatman, president of the Ocean View School District Board of Trustees in Oxnard, said Tuesday he will run for a seat on the Ventura County Board of Education this fall.

Chatman will run for the seat occupied by John McGarry, who announced last week that he would not seek reelection. “I have every hope to campaign as hard as possible,” Chatman said. “I find support on both sides of the political fence.”

Chatman criticized the board majority--represented by President Marty Bates and members Angela Miller and Wendy Larner--who have come under fire for supporting what opponents have called a conservative Christian agenda.

“They are just saying, ‘No. No. No,’ ” Chatman said. “They haven’t done anything that’s positive for education or for kids. They haven’t created any exciting new programs. All they are trying to do is push their narrow agenda.”

Critics have accused the trio of being anti-public education and suspicious of any involvement by the federal or state government in local school decisions.

Last spring, the three voted to exclude AIDS Care and Planned Parenthood speakers from teacher-training seminars. Later in the year, they voted to reject, if offered, a $500,000 federal jobs-training grant.

Chatman said he hoped that after the November election the board may end up with a three-member majority “that is pro-education.”

Larner, whose term also expires this fall, has not decided whether she would seek reelection, and no other candidates have filed for the November election.