CANDIDATES DESCRIBE GOALS FOR MOJAVE SCHOOL DISTRICT.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Daily News Staff Writer

Whether to build a high school in California City has emerged as a key issue in the race to fill four seats on the Mojave Unified School District board.

Six of the 10 candidates running for three four-year seats are from California City, and some say their community needs more representation on the board. The four other candidates are from Mojave, including incumbents Connie Biehl and Annette Edblad.

Two people, Keith Gainey of Mojave and former board member Richard Hall of California City, are running to fill the two-year post held by Tom Pear, an appointee who is not running for re-election.

``California City people want change. They are running for basically the same reasons I'm running. They want more representation,'' said George Lewis, a California City candidate. ``The board in the past has always had a majority of Mojave residents, and they don't have the majority of the students.''

Incumbent Biehl said the California City community has had its fair share of representation, including current board members Wayne Dickerson and Rita Kellas and former trustee Hall.

Biehl, 45, is a resident of Mojave where she is a homemaker and mother of two. She is running for a second term and says her experience acquired over the past four years would benefit the district.

She said she will continue to ensure smaller class sizes of 20 students per teacher in kindergarten through third grade because it helps raise student test scores, and will work on raising standards in math. The district already has done so in science and English.

Biehl said she is leery about building a California City high school because the district's student enrollment has declined in the past four years from 3,100 to 2,700, but will support it if residents are willing to pay for it.

Edblad, 43, works as a case manager for pregnant teen-agers and teens who are parents. She has been on the board for six years.

Edblad said she wants to build a second elementary school and a high school in California City, while keeping Mojave High School open as a vocational school in the form of either a magnet school or charter school.

``They are busing 65 percent of the kids in (from California City) and that is not fair to them,'' Edblad said.

Edblad said the district has worked to improve the high school curriculum, and she pledged to do the same for the lower grades. Edblad also wants more advanced placement courses offered so that graduates can get ahead in college.

Edblad said she had been wary in the past of supporting a California City high school because of declining enrollment, but believes enrollment has stabilized and looks to increase with a prison opening within a year.

Michael Edmiston, 54, is a resident of California City who works as a quality engineer for Northrop Grumman.

He helped establish the parent-teacher organization at Robert P. Ulrich Elementary School and served on the committee for the $6 million parcel tax to build California Middle School approved by California City property owners in 1989.

``We need some improvements in the elementary school because it's overcrowded, and I would like to see a high school put in,'' Edmiston said. ``People are concerned the school board is not reacting to their concerns sometimes about facilities and curriculum.''

Edmiston said he will work to open up lines of communication among parents, students, teachers, the board and the superintendent, and supports the idea of a separate campus for trouble-making students so there are less disruptions in the classroom.

Keith Gainey, 33, lives in Mojave and works as an accountant at the Golden Queen Mining Co.

Gainey said he is running because he thinks the district's focus has shifted away from educating students to ``administrative wants and needs,'' referring to recent changes made to the food services, maintenance and transportation departments.

Gainey said he would like to develop programs that would help ensure students are prepared for college or technical school. For example, representatives from local business and industry can speak to students about their jobs to expose students to what opportunities are available.

Gainey said he would support building a high school in California City ``as long as it makes sense financially.'' he said.

Hall, 59, owns a dry cleaning pickup point and health food store. A trustee from 1992-96, Hall said he is running again because some of the projects that he worked on have not progressed as quickly as they should have.

Hall said the board has not asked voters in the district to pay for needed school renovations, and a second elementary school and high school in California City. Hall said he also favors converting Mojave High School to a middle school, for which it was originally built, and constructing a new high school in Mojave.

Hall said he prefers pursuing a parcel tax over a bond to get the local funds needed to match money from the state. There is a $9.2 billion school construction bond measure in the Nov. 3 election.

Hall also said he will work to put teachers back in control of classrooms by ensuring the administration backs teachers in the disciplining of students, and will push for vocational training to prepare students for the workplace.

Kellas, 42, works as the business manager at the 418th Flight Test Squadron at Edwards Air Force Base. She is a trustee who was appointed in November 1997. She previously served on the board as an appointee in 1992.

Kellas said she would work to increase curriculum standards to help students succeed in school. She also said student enrollment figures support a need for a second elementary school in California City.

Kellas said a high school in California City also is needed, but she would prefer not to close Mojave High School. Kellas said a possibility would be to make Mojave High School a vocational or magnet school and make the school in California City a regular high school.

Lewis, 64, retired 1-1/2 years ago as a teacher in the Muroc Joint Unified School District after 36 years in the profession. Lewis ran unsuccessfully more than 12 years ago for the Mojave board.

Lewis said the board has failed to take needed action on getting a high school built in California City. Another problem is the overcrowding at Ulrich Elementary, which was built for 400 students and now houses 800.

The district's curriculum is in disarray and outdated, Lewis said. Elementary students are spending two and three hours doing ``busy work'' homework.

``The curriculum is good for the mid-20th century, but it's not going to put us in the 21st century,'' Lewis said.

Kathryn Pluta, 43, is a California City resident who is the managing editor of the Mojave Desert News. Pluta said she can contribute to the board with her background as a parent of a special education child, as a 20-year resident, and as a journalist who has covered the district.

Pluta said she would work to improve curriculum and improve special education services. ``When you have a difficult time in getting services for them, that's devastating,'' Pluta said. ``You always want what is best for your children.''

She also favors building a second elementary school and a high school in California City. Although enrollment is down overall in the district, there is overcrowding at Ulrich Elementary, she said.

Shawn Sprague, 39, of California City is a building contractor. He has three children in the district.

With his experience in construction and management, Sprague said, he could provide some good input to the board and district.

``We need to make sure the curriculum is where it is supposed to be. I want to make sure the kids are getting what they need,'' he said.

He also supports building a second elementary school and high school in California City, and getting input from teachers because there seems to be a breakdown as to what teachers need and what they get. He said his children don't have adequate supplies and are sharing textbooks.

Evelynn Turner, 53, lives in Mojave and works as an office manager for the Kern County building inspection department. She ran unsuccessfully for the board about 10 years ago.

``I believe we are in a time that we need to expect more out of our children. We need to far exceed state standards. We need to get back to basics,'' Turner said.

Turner said she will work to find funding for new schools. ``You have to find the money. I sat on a facilities committee. There are different kinds of bonds to get. California City got a middle school with a parcel tax,'' Turner said.

Turner also said she will work for unity among the two communities of Mojave and California City by setting up a committee of residents from both towns, and for more school facilities in California City, such as a second elementary school, if funding is available.

Bill White, 48, of Mojave owns White's Motel. He ran unsuccessfully for the board in 1976.

White said he is running because he would like to see more accountability in the handling of the district's finances and in transportation matters. The district's plan to reorganize the transportation and maintenance departments, for example, should have been presented to the public before it was approved, he said.

White said there is no need for a high school in California City at this time because the student enrollment will not support it.

``I'm not saying they don't need it later on,'' White said. ``I don't want to take Mojave High School out of Mojave. Right now, it is not feasible to build one in California City, not with the number of students out there.''

White, an assistant varsity football coach at Mojave High, said he will work to promote academic and sports programs.

Timothy Storey, general manager of the Pizza Factory restaurant, could not be reached for comment.