HUNTINGTON BEACH : Recall Notices Given to School Trustees

As a citizens group last week served recall notices to all five Huntington Beach Union High School District trustees, several parents spoke out in support of the board members, denouncing the overall recall effort, which encompasses four districts.

A group calling itself Citizens for Accountability in Education is seeking to oust from office 19 trustees from the high school district and from the Huntington Beach City, Ocean View and Westminster school districts.

Earlier this summer the targeted board members all backed a controversial property fee to raise money for schools. Although that levy eventually was repealed, the citizens are still enraged over the attempt to impose the fee, so they plan to push forward with a recall effort.

Bryan Bridges, co-director of the group, told the high school district trustees Tuesday that he and others are still upset because the board members did not heed their original pleas to vote down the fee. He said they are also angered that the districts spent an estimated $250,000 in consultant’s fees to study the assessment.

“That’s why we need to force you to step down,” Bridges told the trustees, before handing them recall notices.

Six parents at the meeting, however, countered with speeches backing the board members, the first public sign of residents’ resistance to the recall attempt.

“Recall is not the answer. It’s counterproductive,” Edison High parent Brian Rechsteiner said. “If Bryan Bridges wants to work against school board members, let him work during the next election (in November, 1992), or be constructive and work toward making these districts more productive.”

John Lasch, a Marina High parent, said he has helped coordinate that school’s booster club efforts, which raise an estimated $200,000 a year.

Noting that a special recall election could cost the school district $150,000, Lasch said: “It really bothers me that this group would want money to be wasted like that. We could work for a half a year raising money for our school and then have it wiped out just like that because of a recall.”

Bridges said Citizens for Accountability in Education has 50 to 100 members who will begin canvassing their neighborhoods once the signature-gathering period begins.

The group last week gave intent-to-recall notices to every Westminster school board member except Margie Rice, the only trustee in the four districts who consistently opposed the fee. Last month the group served similar notices to Huntington Beach City and Ocean View trustees but was forced to restart the process because it missed a filing deadline.

Huntington Beach City trustees received new recall notices Tuesday, and group leaders say they plan to serve new notices to Ocean View board members at their meeting this week.