FOUR SIGN UP FOR BOARD RUN ACTON-AGUA DULCE ELECTION ON NOV. 8.

Byline: Carol Rock Staff Writer

ACTON - Wanted: someone with a passion for children, willing to give long hours, adept at reading and understanding volumes of reports and materials, amenable to being approached at grocery stores and the mall to discuss classroom issues.

In the first week of the filing period, four challengers have registered as candidates for the Acton-Agua Dulce Unified School District board.

Seeking three seats up for election Nov. 8 are attorney Larry Layton, civil servant Mark Distaso and Acton Town Council members Michael Hughes and Leona Sexton. Incumbents Max Duran, Steven D. Harbeson and Fred E. Heslep had not filed candidacy papers as of Friday.

``I am running for the school board because I want to see the school district become more appealable and serviceable to the Acton Agua Dulce communities,'' Layton said in a prepared statement.

``I'm concerned with the lack of a long-term financial plan,'' said Distaso, who considers himself a ``government bureaucrat.'' He has worked for the city of Glendale for 30 years and his two children attend Acton's public school. ``The district is small and struggling and doesn't seem to utilize its resources in the most productive way. I want to make it operate as smoothly as possible.''

``The school board and the district have been in a downward spiral for the last several years,'' said Hughes, a health care manager and mediator who has three children in district schools. ``There have been a lot of efforts from community members, but there is still a lot of work to be done. We need to do more planning and stop putting out fires by making snap decisions.''

Filing for the open positions will close at 5 p.m. on August 12.

Carol Rock, [phone]

carol.rock(at)dailynews.com