SCHOOL RACE ISSUES EYED LANCASTER INCUMBENTS, 2 OTHERS SEEK 3 SEATS.

Byline: Karen Maeshiro Staff Writer

LANCASTER - Keeping campuses safe, improving test scores, building more schools and maintaining the system's fiscal health are some of the issues in the Lancaster School District election.

The three incumbents, Keith Giles, Greg Tepe and Richard White will face two challengers - Bill Lindoff, a teacher, and Judy Swanson, a homemaker and college student - in the Nov. 6 election for three board seats.

Giles, Lindoff and White have been endorsed by the Lancaster teachers union.

Giles, 38, of Lancaster works in his parents' business, Antelope Valley Produce. He is seeking his second term.

Giles said he is running again because he still has children in district schools and has a vested interest.

``I saw a lot of things started and want to see it through. We are starting to get good curriculum in there, and I want to follow that through,'' Giles said.

He and the other incumbents cite the district's use of the Saxon math program, which emphasizes math basics and thinking skills. ``It's basic math that kids can learn and teachers can teach,'' Giles said.

He said he would like to stay on the board through completion of the district's building projects.

``We got a gym built and a middle school built, and we're working on building a new West Wind Elementary and getting ready to start on Jack Northrop. I would like to see that all finished up real nice,'' Giles said.

Giles said the district has stayed financially sound despite increases in energy costs and other strains on its budget. ``There are districts in worse shape than we are, having to cut jobs and programs, but we are keeping it ... far away from the classrooms,'' Giles said.

Two of his children are district graduates, two now attend school in the district, and one will start school in the district next year.

Lindoff, 47, of Lancaster is a kindergarten teacher at Cottonwood School in the Westside Union School District. This is his 16th year of teaching.

Lindoff said he is running because he thinks there's a need for a teacher's voice on the board, ``so that information about what happens in the classroom is received by board members when they make their decisions.''

Lindoff said he would work to ensure that teachers have adequate supplies and materials, to improve school safety and to allow for more input from teachers and students on the way money is budgeted and spent.

``I want to make sure that what's needed in the classroom is there, so that the excellent education can go on, because without the right tools and equipment, it's hard to prepare a student for the future,'' Lindoff said.

He said he would also like to improve communication among the teachers, administrators and nonteaching staff.

Lindoff said district officials must plan for periods of economic downturns and for maintaining programs that are costly.

Lindoff has no children in the district.

Swanson, 52, is a Lancaster homemaker and an Antelope Valley College student studying sign language interpretation and childhood education. She moved to the Antelope Valley from Redondo Beach about nine months ago.

``I have a deep-rooted interest in the education of all children, whether they are mine or ones in the community,'' Swanson said. ``I want to make sure each child gets the best education ... and grows up to be productive in the community.''

Swanson said school funding and safety for students are major concerns. ``The world we live in is changing as we speak. We need to ensure safety so they have a good learning environment,'' Swanson said.

She said growing enrollment, school crowding and attracting qualified teachers also are issues.

``For me the biggest thing is I would never ask of anyone more than I would give myself. The bottom line is what is in the best interest of every single child,'' Swanson said.

Swanson said board members have to make tough decisions that sometimes are not popular. ``So in that respect I have a little bit of an advantage. I haven't lived here that long. I don't owe anybody anything. I'm pretty steadfast in my thinking,'' she said.

Swanson has no children in the district.

Tepe, 34, is a teacher at Challenger Middle School in the Wilsona School District. He is seeking his third term on the board.

Tepe said one issue is providing support for teachers to help them with the demands of achieving state standards, improving test scores and meeting the needs of the district's diverse population.

With the district experiencing enrollment growth, Tepe said he would continue to work on getting more schools built. ``Our growth is pretty high. We need to build a new school every year, it seems like,'' Tepe said.

Tepe noted the district succeeded in passing a bond measure that has provided money to build Amargosa Creek Middle School and to modernize older schools.

Tepe said adoption of the Saxon math program was good, and he would like to improve performing-arts programs, primarily at middle schools. Students involved in band or music programs have higher test scores, he said.

Tepe said he is also is thinking about suggesting district officials consider offering ``creation science'' as an elective.

Creation science advocates generally hold that evolution did not happen but that the universe was created by God, according to the Ontario Consultants on Religious Tolerance. Laws requiring its teaching alongside evolution in Arkansas and Lousiana public schools were ruled unconstitutional in the 1980s.

``They would look at it from a science aspect - what evidence is there to support creation theory. Right now kids are only taught evolution theory,'' Tepe said.

Tepe has five children, four of whom are in the district.

White, 74, retired in 1985 after working as a principal and teacher in the district. He has served 16 years on the board and is seeking his fifth term.

``We've got a lot of good things going in the district. We've got schools to build yet, and we have curriculum that needs to be improved. Iwould like to see that through,'' White said. ``We need to work on safety at schools. Even though I feel they are safe, there are always things we can do to make them safer.''

White said he would work to improve standardized test scores by looking at the curriculum. ``As a board member, you have one vote of five. You try to go along with what is suggested to you and what happens as far as curriculum is concerned. We need to become involved with what's happening with the curriculum,'' White said.

White said he would work to maintain the district's fiscal solvency, which he called increasingly difficult when other levels of government need to spend for the war against terrorism and the energy crisis.

``It's been a very difficult task. Our district has gone in on a saving-energy binge, and we've done real well with it,'' White said.

White's children and grandchildren have gone through district schools.