Anaheim Trustee Gives Up 1 of His School Board Seats

One of Orange County’s foremost critics of bilingual education has resigned as trustee of an Anaheim elementary school district after legal experts advised that he probably would lose a battle to sit on two school boards at once.

The resignation of Harald G. Martin from the Board of Education of the Anaheim City School District was a victory for a prominent Latino rights activist who had accused Martin of having a conflict of interest.

For the past year, Martin has juggled the duties of two school board posts in Anaheim. On Tuesdays he sat as a trustee of the 20,000-student elementary district. On Thursdays he presided over the board of the 26,000-student Anaheim Union High School District.

The high school district, serving students in grades seven through 12, draws from five elementary districts, including Anaheim City.

Martin, 43, was elected to the high school board in 1994 and the Anaheim City board last year.

That was an unusual situation but not unprecedented. Lou Lopez--who like Martin is an Anaheim police officer--had also sat on both school boards before his election to the City Council in 1994. Another trustee had done the same years before. Martin maintained that he was doing nothing wrong.

“Basically, they want my head because I’m against native-language instruction,” Martin said Tuesday of his critics, including activist Amin David of Los Amigos of Orange County, a Latino rights group. “They don’t like the fact that I was actually starting to make some headway.”

This year Martin has pressed repeatedly for all-English teaching in the elementary school district, which serves many students whose home language is Spanish. He has been rebuffed so far. But district Supt. Roberta Thompson said greater efforts are being made to keep tabs on the effectiveness of bilingual programs.

And a series of legal opinions and a decision in a similar case signaled that Martin could face trouble keeping both board seats.

“The doctrine of incompatible public offices precludes a person from serving in both offices in the absence of any statutory authorization to do so,” Atty. Gen. Dan Lungren wrote in December 1996 about a similar case in Riverside County. “It is based upon considerations of public policy to prevent a division of loyalty.”

Then, in opinions issued Sept. 2 and Dec. 16, Ronald D. Wenkart, general counsel for schools at the Orange County Department of Education, told the two Anaheim districts that Martin likely would lose if someone filed a lawsuit challenging his right to keep both seats.

Martin submitted his resignation, effective Dec. 31, from the Anaheim City board. He said he plans to stay on the high school board, run for reelection next year and continue his fight against bilingual education.

David of Los Amigos, a supporter of bilingual education, had repeatedly raised questions about the legality of holding seats on two school boards at the same time. He said Martin has a “one-track mind.”

“There has been this consistent desire to eradicate, as he calls it, native-language instruction,” David said. “Every time he has a chance, he moves this agenda forward, not really listening to the fact that the city of Anaheim has award-winning programs.”

Now the four remaining Anaheim City board members must decide whether to call a special election or appoint someone to fill Martin’s seat until the November general election.

One of Martin’s colleagues said she is frustrated by the upheaval.

“I think it’s crazy that they don’t tell these people up front” that they can’t serve on two boards, said Betty Patterson, a longtime trustee of the Anaheim City district. “Historically, it’s gone back and forth. Somebody ought to make up their minds.”