Heated Campaigns for Orange School Board

Four years after conservative activists took control of the school board here, voters face a choice between two sets of candidates with sharp ideological disagreements in a campaign closely watched throughout Orange County.

On the side of the board majority in the Orange Unified School District are those who say that federal and state governments meddle too much in the schools and that teachers should stick to traditional academics. They are seeking to keep control of four seats on the seven-member board.

Against them in the Nov. 4 election are liberals, centrists and leaders of the Orange teachers union who contend that they are campaigning to take back the schools from extremists and the religious right.

Of the four seats at stake, two are now controlled by each side.

The campaign seems as volatile as weekly school board meetings here, in which scores--and sometimes hundreds--of parents, educators and other partisans routinely turn out to debate education philosophy with an intensity unmatched in most school districts.

Few would dispute that the 29,000-student Orange Unified is a conservative district. All seven school trustees--holders of what is by law a nonpartisan office--are registered Republicans.

The question is whether voters in the district, which encompasses Orange, Villa Park and parts of Anaheim, Santa Ana and Garden Grove, will continue to support the activist brand of conservatism for which their school board has become known.

“Most people want a moderate school board,” said Suzanne Vaugine, president of the Orange Unified Education Assn., which represents teachers. “The far right has been successful here because people don’t understand the difference between fairly conservative groups, which they are fairly comfortable with, and ultra-extremist groups, which they are not comfortable with.”

But backers of the board majority predict they will get a vote of confidence.

“This is a community that represents Ronald Reagan’s philosophy,” said Ken Williams, a Villa Park physician who sits on the Orange County Board of Education. “The Orange Unified board has taken the lead on problems we’ve been having for years. It is really quite courageous. That’s what the California Teachers Assn. and the National Education Assn. fear. This little school board has taken on the liberal agenda.”

Not reluctant to make headlines, members of the board majority proudly list the actions they’ve taken to undo education policies they say are too liberal.

Atop the list is the district’s move to ditch bilingual education in favor of English immersion--although that action won unanimous support from trustees and appears to be relatively uncontroversial in the campaign. A separate referendum on the Nov. 4 ballot will ask voters to ratify the board action. It is widely expected to pass.

Among the board majority’s more controversial actions:

* Private and public grants were closely scrutinized, and often rejected, if they appeared to foster what conservatives consider a socialist agenda in the classroom.

* Psychological counselors, supported by state drug-prevention grants, were banished out of fears that they delved too deeply into the impressionable minds of young students.

* Teachers were forced to agree to scaled-back health benefits, and smaller raises than they hoped for, after a bruising contract battle.

* Proposals were floated to privatize parts of the administration of public schools. Most have not advanced beyond the planning stage. An attempt to privatize bus service failed last year when the chosen company dropped out the day before school started.

The four trustees who form the majority also have been attacked for pushing what critics perceive as a religious agenda in the schools. But generally the trustees reject the label of the Christian right.

With these issues as a backdrop, 11 candidates are seeking seats in four separate voting areas. They include three incumbents: Board President Martin Jacobson, leader of the conservative activists; and two trustees in a minority bloc usually identified as moderate, James Fearns and Rick Ledesma.

Trustee Max Reissmueller, a solid ally of Jacobson who has described himself as a Christian fundamentalist, is not seeking reelection. His departure gives opponents of the board majority an opening.

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The conservative activists have gained such notice that groups outside the district are joining the campaign.

One newly formed coalition, called Kids First for Education, includes the Eleanor Roosevelt Democratic Club, the Log Cabin Club (which represents gay and lesbian Republicans), Planned Parenthood and other liberal and centrist organizations. It is raising money, printing fliers and organizing telephone banks to oppose the board majority.

But the teachers union is the main force opposing the board majority. It has endorsed Fearns and Ledesma, both incumbents; Gisela Meier, a writer; and William G. Vasquez, a municipal manager.

On the other side, well-known Republican leaders such as state Sen. John Lewis and Assemblyman Bill Campbell, both of Orange, have thrown their backing behind Jacobson; Kathy Ward, a bank executive; Linda Davis, a community volunteer; and Terri Sargeant, a county land-use planner.

Other candidates are Bea Gonzalez, an employment development technician; Robert L. Douglas, a maintenance worker; and J. Carolan Smyth III, a merchandising planner/educator.

The results could hinge on which of the district’s 92,000 registered voters show up for an off-year election. In 1995, only 12,000 went to the polls. In the past, a small electorate has helped the board majority. However, some groups opposed to the board majority have been registering voters in recent months. In addition, new housing developments on the district’s eastern side might bring more new voters into the district who are not part of the city’s conservative establishment.

One analyst said the board majority, though favored to win, could be vulnerable to a strong challenge.

“It is the best year for turnover,” said Fred Smoller, a political scientist at Chapman University. “There is just a sense, a perception, that the board is putting on a personal, narrow agenda and advancing that in a fairly strict fashion.”

But Smoller added: “I wouldn’t count the conservatives out.”

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School Board Candidates

Candidates for the Orange Unified School District Board of Education’s Nov. 4 election must run in one of seven areas, although voting is districtwide. Each voter chooses a candidate from each district. Those running:

TRUSTEE AREA 7

ROBERT L. DOUGLAS

Occupation: Federal government maintenance worker, former San Bernardino County reserve deputy sheriff

Age: 39

Offices held: None

Endorsements: Individual community members

Platform: Wants more computer training in classroom and increased emphasis on math, science and English; supports English immersion; wants to pay more attention to district finances

Comment: “I’ll keep a close eye on the budget and ensure that every penny goes in the right area, so every students will be able to utilize the resources to help them succeed. At this point, they aren’t getting the books and classes they need to succeed because the district has had problems for years, and it must come to a head.”

BEA GONZALEZ

Occupation: Employment development technician for city of Santa Ana

Age: 35

Offices held: None

Endorsements: Individual parents and teachers in the community

Platform: Wants to improve community involvement in the district; supports back-to-basics curriculum; wants to improve test scores; supports accepting federal grants; wants to offer social services to students; opposes privatization; wants better relations with teachers

Comment: “I support effective methods that help children learn English. [Bilingual education] is not an issue anymore, because it’s been eliminated. The issue is the board’s unresponsiveness, not listening to the parents . . . . I don’t want to lose another teacher, I don’t want to see our children suffer anymore, and I don’t want to waste another dollar.”

RICK LEDESMA

Occupation: Financial manager

Age: 35

Offices held: Incumbent, elected 1993

Endorsements: Orange Unified Education Assn., Orange City Council; Kids First for Education

Platform: Supports English-immersion program; wants to emphasize financial and educational planning; prepare for increased enrollment; supports counseling and grant programs that do not interfere with class time; wants to improve curriculum and increase test scores

Comment: “Both sides play [politics]--the board plays it, the union plays it and everyone hopes that the public can assimilate it. My thing is, let’s talk education in terms of test scores, more kids taking the SAT and doing well on advanced-placement exams. I can say as much as I want in terms of educational goals, but unless the board majority wants to go in that direction, I’m the lone voice out there.”

J. CAROLAN SMYTH, III

Occupation: Merchandise planner for stores/teacher

Age: 46

Offices held: None

Endorsements: Individual community members

Platform: Supports counseling programs and use of federal grants; wants options to English-immersion program; opposes privatization of cafeterias; wants better relations with teachers

Comment: “I call [this board] reactionary. They touch on all the hot-button issues, but they don’t seem to have relevance to education. Moderate voices haven’t been strong enough. I would be a stronger voice. I would like to see us reestablish this premier school system, and I think that’s possible. But it’s difficult when all the politics get in the way.”

KATHY WARD

Occupation: Bank vice president and trust operations manager

Age: 40

Offices held: None

Endorsements: Former U.S. Rep. William Dannemeyer; Assemblyman Bill Campbell; Assemblyman Curt Pringle; State Sen. Rob Hurtt; Orange County Board of Education members Eric Woolery and Ken Williams; Orange Unified Trustees Maureen Aschoff, Martin Jacobson and Bill Lewis; Marshal Michael S. Carona

Platform: Wants more accountability for academic standards and back-to-basics curriculum; supports English immersion, but wants a better implementation plan; opposes psychological counseling in the schools; supports reviewing all grant applications

Comment: “On the educational front, I think we are dumbing down our schools. We need to have measurable goals and objectives. . . . I stand for family values. Let’s get the parents involved and let them be part of the process. I don’t want to silence public debate, but we have to be respectful of each other.”

TRUSTEE AREA 1

MARTIN JACOBSON

Occupation: Self-employed accountant

Age: 44

Offices held: Incumbent, elected 1993

Endorsements: State Sen. John Lewis; Assemblyman Bill Campbell; Supervisor William G. Steiner; former U.S. Rep. William Dannemeyer

Platform: Supports English-immersion program; wants curriculum to emphasize explicit phonics for lower grades; opposes social services in the schools; considers privatization a viable option for some departments

Comment: “When I look back at the last four years, our biggest accomplishment has been taking control from the unions and giving it back to the parents and the community. We have become a leader in educational reform and if the district reverts back to union control, I think you would see a lot of those reforms come to a halt.”

GISELA MEIER

Occupation: Author, freelance journalist

Age: 46

Offices held: None

Endorsements: Orange Unified Education Assn.; Kids First for Education; Orange Councilman Mike Alvarez; Rancho Santiago Community College District Trustee Pete Maddox; individual churches and community members

Platform: Wants increased aid for students in English immersion; supports accepting grants and allowing counseling in schools; opposes privatization; wants more parental involvement in decisions and better relations with teachers

Comment: “Even though the board majority talks about parental involvement, they have eliminated programs the parents supported and they have created a hostile atmosphere that’s driving our teachers away . . . . I will not be answerable to politicians. I will be answerable to people in the community who care about our students.”

TRUSTEE AREA 4

LINDA DAVIS

Occupation: Community volunteer

Age: 48

Offices held: None

Endorsements: State Sen. John Lewis; Assemblyman Bill Campbell; former U.S. Rep William Dannemeyer; Orange Councilmen Dan Slater and Mark Murphy; Orange County Board of Education Trustees Ken Williams and Eric Woolery, Villa Park Mayor Barry Denes

Platform: Supports English immersion; wants more emphasis on phonics and traditional math; wants to bring back fine arts and sports and a back-to-basics curriculum; opposes psychological counseling or federal grants unless there is local control of funds

Comment: “I am a voice for parents. I believe that as parents and taxpayers, we have a right to be involved in the decision process of our schools and the things that affect the future of our children and the future of our country. I am not for schools as welfare agencies.”

JAMES FEARNS

Occupation: Retired Orange County probation officer; retired U.S. Marine

Age: 66

Offices held: Incumbent, elected 1993

Endorsements: Orange Unified Education Assn.; Kids First for Education; Supervisor William G. Steiner; Orange Mayor Joanne Coontz; Anaheim Mayor Tom Daly; Orange Councilmen Mike Spurgeon and Mike Alvarez

Platform: Supports English-immersion program; wants to restore psychological-counseling program and start accepting more grants; opposes privatization of cafeterias; wants to emphasize planning for increased enrollment and to repair outdated school buildings

Comment: “I want to stop this ‘us-against-them’ way of thinking . . . . We’re living in the 1990s, and there are some kids who have different needs. We should not make [policies] for a few parents who have been encouraged to come to a board meetings, but for all the kids. We should not be fighting these kinds of wars.”

TRUSTEE AREA 5

TERRI SARGEANT

Occupation: Orange County land-use planner

Age: 44

Offices held: None

Endorsements: Assemblyman Bill Campbell; State Sen. John Lewis; Orange City Council; Villa Park Council members Bob Bell and Patricia Bortle; Orange Unified Trustees Robert Viviano and Maureen Aschoff

Platform: Supports English immersion; wants each grant considered individually; opposes psychological counseling during class time but supports such counseling before or after class; wants to increase academic standards and concentrate on planning to restore outdated buildings and implement reduced class size; opposes privatization

Comment: “A lot of the hype that’s gone on should take a back seat--all the controversy and all the media. It’s like the royal family or something. There are 29,000 kids out there, and they are our clients. Sometimes they get lost in the equation.”

WILLIAM G. VASQUEZ

Occupation: Municipal manager/ management consultant

Age: 51

Offices held: None

Endorsements: Orange Unified Education Assn.; Kids First for Education

Platform: Wants to develop a policy for kids to get referrals for counseling after school; believes English-immersion program should be implemented at different levels for various students; wants better relations with teachers; emphasizes planning to repair old schools

Comment: “It’s political ideology that is running our school district, not academic services for children. There is no vision. There is no plan. Consequently, we have deteriorating schools and a backlog of infrastructure and capital improvement projects. My goal is to remove the politics from the decision-making process to make decisions based on needs of children, not political ideology.”

Source: Individual candidates; Researched by LESLEY WRIGHT and CATHY WERBLIN / For The Times