Stirring controversy when none exists

The comments Chuck Osterlund made in the Independent (“A blatant

abuse of influence and power,” Sounding Off Sept. 23) concerning

Ocean View School District Board President Barbara Boskovich

bypassing district rules on the number of votes needed to declare

district policy shows how desperate he is to block action by the

board.

This is a man who served on a citizens’ committee that unanimously

recommended the board declare the 15 acres the district owns at the

Bolsa Chica surplus. Three board members took action based on legal

counsel’s report, a tentative offer by the state for more than $12

million and the recommendation of the committee Osterlund served on.

It’s obvious Osterlund’s political agenda is not in the best

interest of the students.

TOM LIVENGOOD

Huntington Beach

I was surprised to read the article by Charles Osterlund. I

attended the same meeting that he attended and heard the presentation

to the board from the attorney who represents the Ocean View School

District as well as hearing the opinion from county counsel. The

issue was clearly defined and the board was told that they could

legally vote on the issue of declaring property surplus.

If Osterlund disagrees with this opinion, then he should discuss

this with the two lawyers who carefully outlined why declaring

property surplus was very different from selling the property. Board

President Barbara Boskovich did what any responsible president should

do, she sought legal advice, so that the correct decision could be

made.

I am troubled that during the political season, Osterlund would

create controversy when none exists. This is extremely dangerous when

the only issue is doing what is best for the children of the Ocean

View District. The board sought the advice of their own attorney and

the county counsel. They did what any responsible board should do and

then followed that advice.

SHIRLEY DETTLOFF

Huntington Beach

This is in response to Charles Osterlund’s concern that a

super-majority two-thirds vote is required of a school district’s

Board of Trustees to declare property surplus. Pardon the pun, but

Osterlund hasn’t done his homework. In April 1993, the Westminster

School District (Ocean View’s neighbor to the north) declared surplus

its Midway City Elementary School on a 3-1 vote. Such an example

fully supports the position of Orange County Department of Education

attorney Ron Wankart and Ocean View School District attorney Wendy

Wiles that California Education Code section 35164 only requires a

simple majority for a surplus declaration. As stated by Wiles at the

Ocean View board meeting on Sept. 7, the two-thirds super-majority is

required to approve the sale of district property, per section 17466.

Barbara Boskovich did the right thing in soliciting a legal

opinion on this confusing matter. She did her homework.

JULIE BIXBY

Huntington Beach

Charles Osterlund spends much of his Sounding Off broadside (“A

blatant abuse of influence and power,” Sept. 23) railing against

those who abuse power in our city. He claims that if the abusers are

not challenged early on, they are emboldened to commit greater civic

offenses in the future. I agree with the premise.

However, Osterlund completely abuses the truth in turning this

premise loose on Ocean View School District board president Barbara

Boskovich, and he must be challenged immediately on the smear job he

has attempted to perpetrate.

Osterlund is either ignorant of the facts surrounding current

school board proceedings, or is purposely distorting those facts (or

both) regarding the efforts of the district to deal with its unneeded

Bolsa Chica parcel.

He gets his information from those with axes to grind against

Boskovich, and twists it without regard for accuracy to purvey his

pernicious poppycock.

That’s why he has little if any credibility left in a school

district he used to serve.

In reality, Barbara Boskovich is held in very high esteem both

inside the district and citywide, is honest and forthright in all of

her dealings, and has won the support and endorsement of most civic

leaders for reelection to the OVSD school board. By most accounts,

Boskovich is doing an admirable job as board president in serving her

school district.

The only way Boskovich’s enemies can attack her is to go negative

and try and smear her with falsehoods.

That won’t work, and Osterlund should be smart enough to realize

it. If he isn’t, he deserves the abuse he receives in return.

TIM GEDDES

Huntington Beach

Barbara Boskovich, Ocean View School District Board President, and

a majority of the board acted very responsibly for the district, for

the children in the district, and for the taxpayers in the district

when they sought legal advice from the general counsel of the Orange

County Department of Education regarding State Education Code

sections pertaining to declaring the Bolsa Chica land as surplus. The

Department of Education’s general counsel is well qualified to

interpret the State Education Code and the Board is to be commended

for seeking this expertise that is free to the District.

Chuck Osterlund (“A blatant abuse of influence and power,”

Sounding Off Sept. 23) dares to characterize the seeking of this

legal opinion as an abuse of power, he attributes this abuse to

Boskovich, and he likens it to an alleged illegal condominium

conversion for personal gain. He is way off base. Boskovich was using

the rightful power of the board majority on behalf of the district’s

constituents when she sought additional legal clarification about

declaring the land surplus. And there were no issues of illegality or

personal gain in relation to Boskovich seeking that legal advice. To

me, Osterlund’s allegations are false and unreasoned statements

designed merely to arouse emotional responses in the electorate.

Election time does not bring out the best in our citizens.

Osterlund has used the power of the press for his own blatant form of

abuse and I personally apologize to Boskovich for having to endure

such a scurrilous attack. She is serving our school district very

well, working tirelessly for the benefit of the children and for

community residents and taxpayers.

For the record, over a year ago, after many public meetings, at

which student population projections were discussed and analyzed with

regard to the district’s needs, and two public hearings at which the

public almost unanimously supported declaring the Bolsa Chica site

surplus, a board-appointed committee recommended that it declare the

Bolsa Chica school site surplus and solicit bids for its purchase.

At the time, it was believed that both declaring it surplus and

the sale required four votes for approval, but after analysis of the

State Education Code, both the district’s attorney and the County

Department of Education’s general counsel have opined that declaring

it surplus and soliciting bids on property can be approved with three

votes (which was done for the Bolsa Chica property at the last Ocean

View board meeting), and sale requires four votes. What more needs to

be said.

GRACE H. WINCHELL

Huntington Beach