BATTLE BREWS OVER OPEN SEAT; MOORPARK SCHOOL BOARD TO APPOINT NEW MEMBER.

Byline: Sylvia L. Oliande Daily News Staff Writer

Despite opposition from a group of political activists, the Moorpark school board has decided to appoint someone rather than call a special election to fill a seat left vacant by former member Clint Harper.

At a special meeting Thursday night, the four-member board voted unanimously to choose a person to serve the remaining two years of the term, and asked its staff to draft a report on a process by which they can put someone in the seat.

``Our hope is by going with the appointment that we'd have a new board member on sooner to assist us with some decisions we need to make, like boundary issues,'' board President David Pollock said Friday. ``And we have concerns about scheduling. . . . It might be difficult to get a quorum to have any special meetings that might come up.''

But Eloise Brown, a leader in the effort to force a special election, said that if there is that much concern about board members being available for special meetings, they might reconsider their ability to serve.

``They could have made an interim appointment if they really had a problem with operating with four people,'' she said. ``It seems to me that four people can come to an agreement on issues. And if they feel that they can't, what makes them think that they are qualified to appoint someone to join them?''

District officials said that those who have expressed interest in the position are Ted Green Sr., who ran unsuccessfully for a seat in November, and Ken Sherman, Mindy Yaras and Jim Stueck, all of whom have been involved with district schools.

Harper, who was elected to the seat in 1991 after he completed several terms in office on the Moorpark City Council, left his post on the school board on Dec. 1 to go back to the council.

Under state law, Harper could have served on both bodies, but he chose to resign.

A group of about eight people is behind the opposition effort. Those people are preparing to begin gathering petitions to force an election if the board ultimately makes an appointment.

The group would have to collect signatures from about 1.5 percent of registered voters in Moorpark, or about 300 signatures, to force an election.

Pollock said the board intends to try to work with those who oppose their decision to see if there is a way to compromise or a way by which this can be done to their satisfaction.

``Our intention is to go through a credible process that would be acceptable to the community,'' he said. ``We will take our time to make sure that we don't rush into a decision. We want to have community involvement. We'll be talking to people that have concerns about the appointment process and finding out what we can do to make this as fair a process as possible.''

But Brown said allowing the electorate to choose the board member is the only fair way to go.

``They (board members) talk about an open process, but it is not an elected position if only four people vote,'' she said. ``They also say it's because of the cost, but they had no problem with the cost of a special election last April (for a school bond).''

This is the second time community members worked to challenge an appointment to the school board. In 1993, board member Gary Cabriales was appointed to a seat with a few years left in its term.

But a group of people, many of whom are leading the opposition now, gathered enough signatures to force an election. Ultimately, Cabriales was elected and was re-elected to another term in November.

Pollock said that it is important to put someone in the position soon because discussions over attendance boundaries are expected to heat up early in the year.