Recall Backers Relish ‘a New Day’ in Orange

Eight contentious years ended Thursday with strained faces on the dais and victorious smirks in the audience.

“It is a new day,” said Melissa Taylor Smith, elected this week to the board of Orange Unified School District.

On Tuesday, voters in the troubled district recalled three members of the conservative majority, the county’s first school board recall in 14 years.

As the board prepared for its final meeting, the county registrar finished tallying all the absentee ballots and announced that by a razor-thin margin, voters had thrown out Martin Jacobson, Linda Davis and Maureen Aschoff.

Elected in their stead were Smith, an Anaheim minister; Kathy Moffat, a Villa Park businesswoman; and John H. Ortega, a deputy sheriff who lives in Orange.

Thursday night, the recalled trustees tried to proceed as if it were a typical meeting. They flipped the pages of their agendas, sipped water, scribbled notes and asked pointed questions. But everyone knew this was not a normal session.

The three newly elected trustees sat in the audience, where a large sign with pictures of the three defeated board members read “Going, Going, Gone.”

Members of the public who in months past often scowled or grumbled through the proceedings instead whispered and giggled.

“It’s festive,” said Joe Mello, a Yorba Middle School teacher who was in the parking lot before the meeting taping white balloons to cars. They carried slogans including “Education + Politics = Failure” and “Recall the Orange School Board.”

Ortega, who yanked his candidate’s statement from the ballot and did not actively campaign, attended Thursday’s meeting but would not say whether he will accept the seat. He said he will comment on that once the results are certified.

Registrar Rosalyn Lever said she expects to do that today.

The new board’s first meeting has yet to be scheduled. It could be as soon as Saturday.

The Orange Unified board, which has had a conservative majority since 1993, became known across the state for its controversial opposition to bilingual education, social services in the schools and a gay-straight student club.

Many conservatives in the community supported those decisions. But an increasing number of parents also grew concerned about the exodus of experienced teachers.

Salaries in the district lag behind the county average, and teachers also complain that the board does not treat them with respect. The three new trustees are more sympathetic to the teachers union, which backed the recall.

Some teachers said Thursday they would have left the district if the recall had not succeeded.

Even as recall supporters celebrated their victory, both sides are gearing up for another fight.

The regular school board election is just four months away. To keep their seats, Smith and Moffat must be voted in again. Kathy Ward and Terri Sargeant, the two other members of the conservative bloc, are also up for reelection.

Recall leaders vowed that they will be vigilant.

“Tonight, the Orange Recall Committee has come to bid you goodbye,” chair Melinda Moore told the board. “We may be disbanding, but let me be clear: We will never allow this to happen to our community again.”