Editor's Note: This is the first in a series focusing on candidates seeking one of two seats on the Murrieta Valley Unified School District Board of Trustees. The election is Nov. 8.

MURRIETA —— Richard Ackerman says people are wrong when they say the reason he is running for a seat on the Murrieta school board is because he's a "right-winger with an agenda."

While acknowledging that he has and continues to be involved in a bevy of high-profile lawsuits, Ackerman, a conservative, Christian attorney, said he is running for a seat on the Murrieta Valley Unified School District board because he is passionate about public education.

An admitted slacker in school until several teachers helped set him straight, Ackerman said public education is the "great equalizer" and "the only thing that set me free."

"I grew up dirt poor in a minority neighborhood," Ackerman, 36, said of his youth in the 1970s in Santa Ana, adding that his family was on welfare and he is one of the rare examples from his neighborhood of someone who went to college.

"I'd go through the crap I went through 100 times over to be where I am today," he said. "I feel incredibly blessed."

Ackerman said he wants to harness his concept of how public schools should operate within the Murrieta school district —— mainly with much more parental involvement than now.

His goals, if elected, include getting parents more involved in educating their children through neighborhood tutoring groups and parent and community committees.

Ackerman said he also hopes to improve communication between the board of trustees and the community to create an overall "team environment" within the district.

"There seems to be a disconnect from what is happening at the front lines," Ackerman said of what he contends is a lack of communication among board members and teachers. "The board needs to be much more in tune with what's happening in individual classrooms."

Ackerman is one of two attorneys at the helm of the conservative Temecula-based law firm Lively & Ackerman, described as a "partnership of Christian attorneys" on its letterhead.

Formerly serving with an Escondido-based conservative law firm, Ackerman was involved in several lawsuits, including one claiming schools that participate in Mexican "Day of the Dead" celebrations promote religious ceremonies with taxpayer money.

During his tenure with that firm, the United States Justice Foundation, he also helped sue several school districts over student fees, alleging that fees for items such as student identification cards, textbooks, gym clothes and various classes goes against students' rights to a free education in public schools.

More recently, he sued the Murrieta Valley Unified School District and current Trustee Austin Linsley, alleging Linsley had violated state law by deleting e-mails pertaining to district matters on his personal account and asking officials to save business e-mails on a district server. The two parties are currently working on finalizing a settlement.

He is also currently involved in a lawsuit against Planned Parenthood, representing a former employee of the organization who is alleging he was fired after questioning "unlawful, unfair, and unethical" billing practices.

Said Ackerman of his many lawsuits: "If I don't step up to bat, the other side wins by default. I have got my beliefs. I have no regrets. … But contrary to popular belief, I am not a bull in a china shop when it comes to getting everyone working on the same team. You put your differences aside and work together."

A resident of Murrieta for about four years and a father of four, Ackerman said his children are just starting to enter the Murrieta school district.

Ackerman recently finished a two-year term as vice chairman of the district's Measure K Citizens Oversight Committee.

Other election experience includes an unsuccessful run for a seat on the Corona City Council in 2000, in which Ackerman placed fifth out of eight candidates.

Corona resident Kathy Walker, 63, a former Riverside County Republican Central Committee chairwoman, described Ackerman as a "very honest, very intelligent" person.

She said he could have won the Corona election in 2000 if he would have spent more money on his bid, but the other candidates had better name recognition.

"He knows the law," Walker said. "It would be a big advantage to have him on the board."

Locally, Temecula City Councilman Mike Naggar said he supports Ackerman.

"He would make a fine school board member," Naggar said. "We share similar conservative values. I have always watched him fight for truth and justice. He is a doer, not a talker."

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