BROWN TOLD TO QUIT OR FACE RECALL.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Ousted high school Trustee Cheryl Lundgren said she will lead a recall effort against fellow board member Darrel Brown if he does not resign before the end of the year.

Lundgren, who was voted out of office along with board President Brett Nelson on Nov. 6, blamed her defeat on the flap over Brown traveling to $12,000 worth of conferences with the district's spokeswoman - his girlfriend - and voting on changes in the spokeswoman's job status, which raised her pay.

Lundgren said having Brown off the board will help the district pass a $103.6 million school construction bond measure in the March 2002 election.

``I think whether he's done something wrong or not, I believe in the public's eyes, he has. Whether it's a legal issue, the public has determined that it wasn't appropriate. It will continue to be a controversy for the district,'' Lundgren said. ``If Mr. Brown has the best interests of the district in mind he'll need to resign.''

Brown, a sheriff's sergeant who was appointed trustee in January 1999, said Thursday he does not plan to resign and will work hard to get the bond measure passed, acknowledging the ``need to mend the public relations of the district.''

``I consider myself a man of honor. She may disagree. If I truly felt I had done something wrong, then I would step forward and do what was right. I think I'm being unfairly represented in the paper,'' Brown said.

He said that Lundgren is upset because her request for a board evaluation of Superintendent Robert Girolamo on Wednesday night was turned down by Brown and Nelson.

``I believe she wanted to embarrass (Girolamo) and push for his termination. I wasn't going to go for that,'' Brown said.

Brown also said Lundgren should have been more vocal before the Nov. 6 election about her feelings that the bond's success depends on Brown's resignation.

``If she believes all these things, she should have commented before the election. It just strikes me as interesting that she would come out after she lost the election and try to put the blame on somebody else,'' Brown said.

Lundgren's comments came after Wednesday's board meeting, when trustees voted 4-0 to place the $103.6 million bond measure on the March 5 ballot. The bond will require 55 percent of the vote to pass.

Fellow Trustee Wilda Andrejcik declined Thursday to say whether she thinks Brown should resign.

``I can't give an opinion on that. I think we'll have to first determine ... if there's anything irregular,'' Andrejcik said.

Nelson said Brown deeply cares about the district and has to consider who his replacement would be if he resigns.

``If I were in his position ... one of my concerns would be if I resigned who would take my place. By the last election there obviously are two different factions that are trying to have control of that board. I would be very concerned that the board control would go to somebody controlled by leaders of the teachers union,'' Nelson said. ``If any one group or special interest controls the board, that would be a problem.''

Nelson added: ``The bond will be centered unfortunately around this 'scandal,' if you will. It shouldn't be. It should be around needs of the kids.''

The board also on Wednesday tabled a new travel policy requiring the school board to give prior approval to trips taken at district expense. While officials said last month that the new policy would apply to trips taken by trustees and administrators, the wording presented Wednesday did not include trustees, but only ``principals, directors and administrators with the title of superintendent in their position.''

``It wasn't enough,'' Lundgren said. ``It doesn't address spouses of employees, or boyfriends and girlfriends.''

In other action, trustees voted against hiring attorney David Foy, a former aide to U.S. Rep. Howard P. ``Buck'' McKeon, to investigate possible nepotism in the district and trips taken by Brown and Linda Solcich and Girolamo and his wife, who is a work experience coordinator at Palmdale High School.