Candidates throw their hats in for school board

Andrew Edwards

A member of the city’s Planning Commission will ask voters for a new

job this November as he seeks a seat on a local school board.

Tom Livengood has taken out petitions to run for the Ocean View

School District board. He said he wanted to serve on the board to

help the district work through fiscal troubles caused by the state’s

budget problems.

“The district has done well financially, but it’s getting tighter

and tighter,” Livengood said.

A former administrator at Long Beach City College, Livengood said

he believes his background with education finances would help him be

an asset to the district. He said he wants to work on both the school

board and the Planning Commission, but could decide to leave the

commission if he decides his duties on that body take too much time

away from the school district.

Another candidate hoping to win a seat with the Ocean View

district is homemaker and attorney Debbie Cotton, who ran for the

same position in 2002. She is a member of the district’s budget

advisory committee and has worked with the Children’s Hospital of

Orange County and the Public Law Center, a public-interest law firm.

She said she wants to focus on the school’s budget and keep

spending under control, citing the high cost of modernization at

Harbor View Elementary. “The biggest problem is to prevent any

further hemorrhaging,” she said.

The original construction estimate for Harbor View construction

was $2.7 million, said Mary Lou Beckman, chief financial officer for

the district. Construction costs have run to about $3.8 million, plus

more than $1 million for asbestos removal and the hiring of a

construction management company.

Also running for the two seats up for grabs in the district are

current board President Barbara Boskovich and Libertarian activist

Norm Westwell.

In the city’s other district serving elementary schools, board

members Catherine McGough and Brian Rechsteiner both took out

petitions to keep their seats on the Huntington Beach City School

District Board, and do not yet face any challengers. Former teacher

Celia Jaffe is the only candidate for the seat vacated by retired

board member Robert Mann.

No challengers have petitioned to run against incumbents Michael

Simons and Susan Henry in the Huntington Beach Union High School

District.

Coast Community College board member Armando Ruiz has taken out

petitions to retain his seat in the Coast Community College District,

where he will face Diane Lenning, who teaches high school in Garden

Grove.

Candidates will be able to file for local elections through Aug.

6.