Santa Ana Trustees Do About-Face

The Santa Ana school board voted Thursday to rescind last week’s order to pay for an examination of petition signatures gathered to force an election to recall trustee Nativo V. Lopez.

In a special meeting behind closed doors, the board voted 4 to 0 to reverse that decision, which could have cost the district up to $30,000. Lopez, who had recused himself last week, did so again Thursday and did not attend the meeting.

The board had come under fire after the Oct. 8 vote, which some called a politically motivated attempt to stall the recall at taxpayer expense.

Last month, the Orange County Registrar of Voters certified 9,685 recall-petition signatures, about 1,000 more than the minimum needed to put the issue on the ballot.

Lopez and his supporters, however, alleged that thousands of those signatures were gathered illegally, either through false representation, improper use of paid campaigners or intimidation. Recall organizers have denied the charges.

The allegations were forwarded to several agencies including the district attorney’s office, which ruled last week that it had found no evidence that state election laws were broken.

But a letter from the district attorney’s office stating so did not reach school district officials until after the Oct. 8 vote.

“Having subsequently received the findings from the district attorney’s office, I do not believe the authorization [of funds to examine the signatures] is appropriate,” trustee Nadia Davis said Thursday.

Davis, John Palacio and Sal Tinajero last week voted for the examination, saying it would ensure that a recall election, which would cost the district more than $125,000, is not voided.

The trustees said after Thursday’s meeting that given the district attorney’s finding, coupled with the possibility that the inquiry into the signatures may cost more than the originally estimated $30,000, they felt it best to reverse their decision.

Palacio and Davis, viewed by many as Lopez’s allies, face tough reelection bids Nov. 5. Many of those behind Lopez’s recall are campaigning for the pair’s ouster as well.

They blame the current board majority for failing to improve the academic performance of the 62,000-student Santa Ana Unified School District, one of the lowest achieving and most overcrowded in the state.

The district, however, received some good news Thursday with the release of the state’s Academic Performance Index scores. About 65% of Santa Ana schools met their growth targets, a number higher than the statewide average of 53%.