BROWN RESIGNS AS TRUSTEE SCHOOL BOARD MEMBER CITES MILITARY DUTIES, BOND VOTE.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Embattled high school trustee Darrel Brown, under fire for trips he has taken with his girlfriend, the district spokeswoman, and votes to promote her, resigned from the board Wednesday.

Brown cited increased commitments in connection with his U.S. Army Reserve assignments and concern over the Antelope Valley Union High School District's $103.6 million bond measure, which will go before voters in the March 5 election.

``My concerns are that the community supports our current bond effort. Student housing is necessary for the safety of students and staff. We must also prepare to meet the needs of future growth,'' said Brown, a Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department sergeant who was appointed to the board in January 1999 and elected to a full term that November.

Brown read a short statement announcing his resignation at a noon press conference at the district office and left for a military assignment, taking no questions from reporters. He didn't refer directly to the controversy, which has expanded to include his votes on temporary teaching contracts for his brother and sister-in-law.

Assemblyman George Runner, R-Lancaster, and Sharon Runner, who is running to replace her husband in the Legislature, both attended the press conference. Before departing, Brown thanked the couple for their support.

Sharon Runner said she and her husband encouraged Brown to step down.

``Seeing that it might make a problem for the bond, I think he made the right decision. We were there to support him in that decision,'' Sharon Runner said after the press conference.

``We talked privately with Darrel. We believe Darrel made the right and best decision for the community, and we always knew he would,'' George Runner said. ``We believe it would be best for Darrel to step down. It made sense for him, the community, the schedule he has now and for the school bond.''

Superintendent Robert Girolamo said Brown's resignation was effective Wednesday. The county will declare a vacancy on the board after it receives a resignation letter from Brown, and the board will then have 60 days to either call an election or make an appointment, Girolamo said.

Brown's term was to end in November 2003.

If the board decides to hold an election, it must be held within 130 days. A stand-alone special election would cost the district about $300,000, Girolamo said. If one is held in conjunction with an existing election, it would cost about $150,000.

Girolamo said Brown hinted Friday that he was going to leave the board. ``A lot of it's due to his upgrade in military status. Everything he does now is classified,'' Girolamo said.

Brown's resignation came six weeks after a December press conference called by him in which he said he would not resign and in which he apologized twice, once for his May 2001 vote in which the responsibilities of governmental-relations officer were added to Linda Solcich's community-relations job and her annual pay was hiked to $63,420.

He also apologized to those offended about the $12,000 in trips he and Solcich had taken to education conferences.

Girolamo said phone calls made in the past 1 1/2 weeks to district voters about the bond measure show a 6-1 margin in favor of passage and indicate they are not concerned about what Brown did.

``The community is able to separate those items from one another,'' Girolamo said.

Former trustees Cheryl Lundgren and Brett Nelson both blamed their defeats in the November election on the controversy over the trips and Brown's voting to promote Solcich.

After the election, Lundgren called upon Brown to resign. Other civic leaders have also said Brown should resign, including newly elected board member Calvin Robinson and candidates for Runner's Assembly seat.

The high school board last month expanded its conflict-onterest code to forbid a trustee from voting on matters that uniquely affect a domestic partner or nonmarital live-in partner.

The board also voted to require members and other high-ranking district officials to get approval from the board before taking any taxpayer-financed trips lasting two days or longer.

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Photo:

(color) Darrel Brown

Criticized for votes, trips