OCEANSIDE: MiraCosta race revolves around two years of turmoil

By PAUL SISSON - Staff Writer | Friday, October 31, 2008 6:13 PM PDT ∞

OCEANSIDE ---- The race for four seats on the MiraCosta College board of trustees is shaping up to be a referendum on the last two years.

For the first time in more than a decade, all incumbents are contested by challengers who are using recent accreditation problems and a $1.6 million settlement with MiraCosta's former president as arguments that voters should opt for wholesale change when they mark their ballots on Nov. 4.

Incumbents counter that they have acted in the college's best interests and add that they have made great strides in healing the acrimony that was part of the reason a state accreditation panel to put MiraCosta on warning status.

The election is likely to serve as a kind of demarcation point for MiraCosta's board, which disagreed bitterly about how the college's former president, Victoria Munoz Richart, handled an investigation of illegal palm tree sales from the school's Horticulture Department. That investigation ultimately led to a vote of no-confidence from MiraCosta's Faculty Senate.

Regardless of who gets elected, the new board must find a new president to replace Richart. That task is already under way, with a committee looking for and interviewing candidates.

Trustees also must find a way to cope with a shrinking property tax base. As homes are reassessed and sale prices drop MiraCosta, which gets all of its revenue from property tax collections, will likely have to reset some budget priorities.

MiraCosta candidates include:

-- Carolyn Batiste, 50, Oceanside. Batiste, who is the current board chair, co-owns Geopacifica Inc. in Oceanside with her husband, James Knowlton.

-- Gloria Carranza, 62, Carlsbad. A board member since 1994, Carranza owns a translation service called Inter-Lingua with her husband, Luis.

-- John Ford, Carlsbad. Ford is a retired MiraCosta anthropology professor.

-- George McNeil, 67, Oceanside. McNeil is a retired high school teacher and administrator.

-- Steve Scheibe, Encinitas. Scheibe owns All Abroad, a consulting firm that works in South America.

-- Jacqueline Simon, Encinitas. Simon is seeking her second term on the board. She is a community college teacher.

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.