MURRIETA —— Kris Thomasian is no rubber stamp.

Thomasian, a Murrieta Valley Unified School District trustee running for a second four-year term, is prone to asking several pointed questions of district officials when they present items to the board.

When they seek board approval to charge students transportation fees for extracurricular activities, she questions whether it is some sort of student busing subsidy for different sports.

When they seek a board vote affirming there are enough textbooks in schools for every student, she brings up an algebra II class that, prior to the vote, did not have enough math books to go around.

When they seek permission to send students to Hawaii and Europe for field trips, she reminds trustees that many students cannot afford such expensive jaunts and, because of that, asks if the trips are even legal.

Whether Thomasian is a school board rabble-rouser, as some trustees have charged, or just someone looking out for the best interests of kids, as she and her supporters maintain, is up for voters to decide this November, when they cast their votes for two candidates in the race for two board seats.

Thomasian, an incumbent, is challenging seven other candidates: attorney Richard Ackerman, small-business owner Jan Fletcher, teacher Jacqueline Hanny, market researcher Wyatt Haupt, educational research consultant Sheree Jederberg, and pastor John Wells.

The other seat up for grabs belongs to Austin Linsley, who is not running for re-election.

Thomasian, 53, was elected to her first term on the Murrieta school board in 2001 after an unsuccessful bid for a seat in 1999 that she narrowly lost.

In the past six months, other trustees have said she tries to micromanage district staff. Thomasian said it's a difference in philosophies.

"There are three board members who put all their faith in the professional staff and really don't want to be involved in the developing of policy," she said, referring to Ken Dickson, Margi Wray and Linsley. "I believe the role of the school board is to act as the liaison between the community —— parents, teachers, businesses, students."

She said she questions and examines what is brought before the board, saying she believes she is acting on behalf of the community.

Thomasian said she hopes to continue to be a representative of "all district stakeholders."

Diane Bynum, a longtime friend of Thomasian's and a fellow PTA member, described the candidate as a person with integrity and chutzpah.

"She is very honest, almost to a fault, but I appreciate that," Bynum said. "She won't decide an issue just off the cuff. She'll dig. She'll do the research. She'll ask stakeholders what their thoughts are and put that together and make a decision."

One of her biggest goals if re-elected, Thomasian said, is to improve communication between the community and the school board through the establishment of an annual district goal-setting workshop and other community-type meetings and committees.

She said she also wants to work to ensure the high schools establish more vocational opportunities. Respect is also an issue in her campaign, and something she said she wants to work to improve.

"This is something I hear from teachers, that they don't always feel respected," she said.

While serving as a trustee, Thomasian continues to be active in local and countywide PTAs and booster clubs. She also worked on a bill with area Assemblyman John Benoit to get more funding for school district for busing, although the bill did not become law this year.

Thomasian, the co-owner of a dental company, has lived in Murrieta for nearly 15 years and her daughter attends Vista Murrieta High School. Before that, she worked for more than two decades as a special education consultant.

She has long been involved in Murrieta city politics and education issues, helping to lead a slow-growth movement in the late 1990s and chairing a committee that kept a watchful eye on how the school district spent its 1998 bond money.

Her husband, Gary Thomasian, is a city planning commissioner who recently ran for election to the council.

"We are not trying to take over," Gary Thomasian said with a chuckle about his involvement in city politics and his wife's re-election bid. "I think she has the right philosophy behind running for this type of position. She wants to be inclusive, to reach out to everybody to help the school district be the best."

Said Kris Thomasian: "Gary and I both believe that if you look around and see something that could be better, you don't sit around and complain to your neighbor; you get involved."

Thomasian is one of two candidates who has been endorsed by the Murrieta Teachers Association.

Contact staff writer Jennifer Kabbany at (951) 676-4315, Ext. 2625, or jkabbany@californian.com.