ELECTIONS / SCHOOL BOARDS : 25 Open Seats Attract Just 7 Inquiries

The job description these days calls for candidates willing to give up their free evenings to slash school budgets, lay off teachers, fend off angry parents and perhaps charge children to take the bus to school.

And, not surprisingly, fewer people this year are leaping at the chance to run for school board.

In the first week of application, only seven candidates have requested nomination papers for 25 open school board seats in 13 districts scattered across Ventura County. And more than a few incumbents voice reservations about seeking another four-year term.

“It’s a terrible time to be a school board member,” said Gene Marzec, who is seeking reelection to the Santa Paula Elementary school board. “It’s going to be tough for anybody to run for a school board seat knowing what they will be facing the next two or three years.”

Marzec and other veteran board members seeking reelection say that the gloomy reality of shrinking budgets, overcrowded classrooms and low morale among teachers may discourage potential candidates. And things could get worse, they said, if the Legislature adopts a proposal to cut between $1 billion and $2.3 billion from education to help balance the state budget.

School board members, Marzec said, “are not going to be popular for the things they will have to be doing. Those who run must have a strong feeling for kids. I don’t know why else they would do it.”

Marzec, who no longer has children in the district, said the reason he is seeking a second term is because he feels his experience is needed.

“We’re in the middle of a crisis and I think I can be of some benefit,” said Marzec, a former business manager for the district. “There’s got to be somebody there that understands the tough choices that have to be made.”

Leonard Diamond, a psychologist who has served on the Pleasant Valley Elementary school board for 14 years, said he is not surprised by the low number of candidates. Diamond has taken out nomination papers but has not announced if he will seek reelection.

“It doesn’t surprise me that people don’t want to do it,” he said. “The problems are so severe. What’s the use?”

For years now, school boards have had to cope with reduced funding and at the same time grapple with increased operating costs. What makes the job especially difficult is the fact that most boards actually control about 3% or less of their district’s revenues. The majority of money is committed to employee salaries and state-mandated programs.

Aside from civic pride, the rewards of being a school board member come rarely. Board members in some districts work for free, while others are paid $200 to $400 a month for what many say is a full-time job.

School board members are also not likely to win any popularity contests as they struggle to balance tight budgets while attempting to maintain teacher confidence.

“Every time you open your mouth, you alienate half the community,” Diamond said.

But like other veteran board members, Diamond said he is not ready to give up the fight. They say they remain on the board out of a sense of civic duty. A few joke about temporary insanity.

“Who do I do it?” Diamond asked rhetorically. “Because I’m crazy. Because I love it. Because I have a tremendous dedication to public education.

“My two children got a great education in public schools. And I believe everybody should have the same opportunity.”

Like Marzec, Diamond’s children are no longer in elementary schools that he helps govern. But that doesn’t seem to matter.

“Just because you don’t have kids in the district doesn’t mean you don’t care anymore,” Diamond said. “I still live here. I’m still a voter, and I’m still a taxpayer.”

In fact, many board members do not have children attending schools in their districts.

Karen Stearns, a homemaker who has served nine years on the Mesa Elementary school board, said that although her two children have gone through the school system she still plans to seek reelection.

“I have a lot of love for this district,” she said. “There are a lot of tough choices that have to be made this year. And I think experience will be helpful.”

Simi Valley Unified School District is the only district in the county that will have three open school board seats in November. Those with two open seats include Oxnard Elementary, Santa Paula Elementary, Somis Elementary, Pleasant Valley Elementary, Oxnard High, Santa Paula High, Mesa Elementary, Briggs Elementary, Ojai Unified and Hueneme Elementary. Santa Clara and Mupu elementary districts will each have one open seat.

Among the biggest issues facing all districts is the continuing struggle to maintain quality educational programs under the threat of budget cuts. In addition, several districts, including Oxnard High, are grappling with the issue of finding space for burgeoning numbers of students.

Steven Stocks, who is running for his second term on the Oxnard High School District board, said that building two new high schools is the central issue in his district.

The school board last week voted to condemn 50 acres of agricultural land northwest of the city for a new Oxnard High School. The district has been planning to relocate the school since 1990, when state officials declared its location unsafe because of its proximity to Oxnard Airport.

Voter approval last month of Proposition 152, a statewide bond measure, assures the district that it will receive more than $20 million for construction of the school.

But Stocks, former principal of Oxnard High, said the district must also find the money to build a seventh high school campus to ease overcrowding. Voters in April rejected a $45-million bond measure to build a new school.

Shortly after the special election, which cost the district $100,000, Supt. Ian C. Kirkpatrick announced his resignation citing “philosophical differences” with the board.

In the Simi Valley Unified School District, board candidate Debbie Sandland said among her highest priorities will be to fight the district’s plan to convert junior high schools, which serve grades seven through nine, to middle schools, which include grades six through eight.

Sandland said the change is unnecessary and will cost the district about $1 million to implement and about $400,000 a year to maintain. “I think it’s fiscally irresponsible,” she said. “There are so many more pressing needs.”

School board members Judy Barry, who supported the switch to middle schools, and Dianne Collins, who voted against the proposal, are both seeking reelection.

Another issue on the Simi Valley school board is what to do with 36 acres of surplus district property across the street from City Hall. Although the land was intended to be used for a third high school, the school board has long sought to develop a combination of commercial and residential projects on the property to generate needed revenue for its schools.

Meanwhile, the Oxnard elementary and high school districts are studying a plan to unite the two school districts under one management.

Dorothie Sterling, a retired teacher who is running for an open seat on the Oxnard Elementary school board, said she likes the unification proposal but wants to wait for the results of the study before endorsing it.

“It should save money because we won’t have to duplicate personnel,” Sterling, a former school board member.

But Stocks of the Oxnard High school board said he is skeptical of the unification plan. He said the elementary school district’s main interest is financial.

The elementary district reported a $1.7-million budget shortfall this year that forced the elimination of seven teaching and five clerical positions. The Oxnard High School district on the other hand reported no deficit and no personnel cutbacks this year.

“They need the money,” Stocks said of the elementary school district’s support for unification. “So their feeling is, ‘Let’s go for it.’ ”

Meanwhile, Herbert C. Templeman may be the longest-serving school board member in the county. Templeman, a 33-year veteran of the Hueneme Elementary school board, recently took out nomination papers for reelection.

“I’ve always been interested in education,” Templeman said of his reasons for remaining on the board. “And I’m very proud of what we’ve accomplished at Hueneme.”

But Templeman, a physician, said he too can understand why few want to serve on a school board. “There’s no glory in it,” he said. “And the only time people show up to meetings is to complain.”

School board candidates will have until Aug. 7 to file their nomination papers with the county registrar’s office. If no incumbents file by that date, the deadline will be extended to Aug. 12.

In cases where no candidate files to run for an open seat, the vacant position will be filled by appointment by other members of the board.