ACTIVIST CHOSEN WINN NAMED TO A.V. SCHOOL BOARD.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Donita Winn, a parent who led successful school bond campaigns in two school districts, has been named to fill the Antelope Valley Union High School District board seat left vacant by trustee Darrel Brown's resignation.

Winn chaired the campaigns to pass the Antelope Valley district's $103.6 million school construction bond, which was approved in March, and the Lancaster School District's $29 million bond, which passed in 1999.

``I had a lot of people saying, you can make a difference and do good things, and I guess it's always my motivation to do more and see how I can help,'' said Winn, a Lancaster resident. ``I had a lot of people supporting me and encouraging me.''

Winn was one of 12 applicants considered by the board at a special meeting Wednesday. The vote to name Winn was 3-1, with the dissenting vote cast by trustee Wilda Andrejcik, who favored former Lancaster Planning Commissioner and high school teacher Charles Keortge, officials said.

Thirteen people had applied, but one person withdrew from the process, officials said.

Winn was sworn in Wednesday night and will fill the seat until Brown's term ends in November 2003. She has not decided whether she will run to try to hold the seat when the term expires.

Winn, who has two daughters at Quartz Hill High School and has the Amargosa Creek Middle School library named after her, said she will focus on the students and positive things going on in the district.

``There's a lot of really wonderful stuff going on in the high schools, absolutely wonderful things. I want to see if I can highlight that,'' Winn said.

At Wednesday's meeting, each of the candidates made presentations and was asked questions by the board, trustee Al Beattie said. The list was whittled down to four candidates after each trustee wrote down the names of his or her four top choices.

Board members then wrote down their top two choices and came up with the names of Winn and Keortge, Beattie said.

Beattie said he voted for Winn because of the different view she brings to the board and her record as a community activist.

``Personally, Donita brings to the board a different perspective than exists among the four of us. She is not a teacher, a school administrator or business person. She's a community activist, a volunteer with many years of previous experience in schools, and I believe that most of us felt that is an excellent background to have as a board member,'' Beattie said.

Trustees in March decided to appoint someone to fill the vacant seat on the board rather than hold an election, which they said would be too costly. The estimated cost of an election held with the regularly scheduled general election in November was $150,000.

Under fire for trips he took with his girlfriend, the district spokeswoman, and votes to promote her, Brown announced in January that he was resigning from the board. His resignation was effective Feb. 28.

In quitting, Brown cited increased commitments in connection with his U.S. Army Reserve assignments and concern over the district's bond measure.

Brown, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sergeant, was appointed to the board in January 1999 to fill the seat formerly held by Steve Landaker. He was elected to a full term that November.

Winn was named the Lancaster School District's top volunteer in 1998, when she received the Golden Apple Award. She also received two PTA awards from Joshua School for outstanding service.

At Joshua, which her two daughters attended, Winn was known informally as the Snow Cone Lady, the PTA Lady and the Popcorn Lady.

With an art minor from college, Winn is painting the solar system across five school buildings spanning a hallock on the north side of Joshua's campus.

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Photo:

Donita Winn, the A.V. high school district's newest board member, is right at home in the school library named for her.

Jeff Goldwater/Staff Photographer