Our View: The last thing the board needs is to be caught in an ideological battle where personalities and politics may overwhelm the best interests of students, teachers and parents.

Like any school district in a fast-growing area, Murrieta Valley Unified faces some serious challenges in the next few years if it is to maintain its reputation as one of the best in the region. It has struggled over the years to keep up with growth, yet has always maintained the highest standards. But money gets tighter every year and now they have to search for a new superintendent.

Eighteen-year Trustee Austin Linsley decided to retire from the board, throwing the field wide open, with eight candidates vying for the two seats in the Nov. 8 election, the other being held by incumbent Kris Thomasian.

When Thomasian was elected four years ago, she was the outsider, the questioning voice on a board that had been largely a rubber stamp for district administrators. Some see her as divisive and accuse her of micromanaging, but we think her questioning and challenging of widely held assumptions have helped make the district more responsive and encouraged debate, forcing officials to look more closely at their spending priorities.

She has been criticized for helping chase out Superintendent Chet Francisco, who resigned last month. But she is correct when she asserts that while he was a good educator, Francisco did the community a disservice by eliminating a number of committees that used to give public input to the district and the board. He was also apparently as unresponsive to at least some board members as he was to the public.

Thomasian, on the other hand, has shown herself to be very accessible. She has long been active in the district's and regional PTAs, where contacts she has made serve the district well. One of the most important things the board will be doing in the next few months will be searching for Francisco's replacement, and Thomasian's focus on openness, respect and community input will help assure a good hire is made.

The remaining seat —— Linsley's —— would be best filled by someone not aligned with either camp on the board, and in our view the clear choice is Sheree Jederberg. Something of a dark horse in this hyperpolitical battle being waged by the supporters of Robin Crist and Richard Ackerman, Jederberg's credentials are impeccable and her commitment to education unimpeachable.

An education researcher and consultant, her strong understanding of the way the system works give her a huge edge going in, essentially eliminating the learning curve. As a former teacher and an administrator, she understands what both sides need, what the limitations are and knows how to work around them. Like Thomasian, she values open debate and a healthy dose of skepticism.

The Murrieta school board faces some critical decisions in the coming year —— replacing Francisco, persuading voters to support a third school bond in eight years to build an essential third high school, and maintaining the high academic standards parents have come to expect in the face of rapid growth and tightening budgets. The last thing the board needs is to be caught in an ideological battle where personalities and politics may overwhelm the best interests of students, teachers and parents.

Thomasian has earned a second term, and we believe Jederberg will provide the best mix of experience, knowledge and moderation to solidify the board and give it the best chance of success.

Perris Union High School District

Our enthusiasm is much more muted in the race for two seats for the Perris Union High School District, which serves the Menifee, Sun City and Quail Valley areas, chiefly through its governance of Paloma Valley High.

Two incumbents —— John Denver and Barry Busch —— are being challenged by two retired teachers —— William Hulstrom and Carolyn Twyman —— and a systems administrator, Virginia Pinero. The biggest issues facing the district are dealing with the explosive growth in its southern region, and determining when it is appropriate for the high school district to dissolve, allowing its four "feeder" elementary districts to begin serving students for the length of the school careers.

The Twyman name will be familiar to Menifee residents who last year elected her husband, Fred, to the elementary school board. Both Twymans are staunch advocates of unifying the districts as soon as feasible. Busch, Denver and Hulstrom also see the benefits and the inevitability of the change, but differ on the pace, arguing for a little more diligence and a little less haste. (Pinero appears uninterested in the race, declining to be interviewed by The Californian, or to respond to the questionnaires three of the candidates answered.)

The incumbents seem a little too complacent in the face of the serious issues facing the district, including poor test scores, but both Hulstrom and Twyman are a little too aligned with the teachers union to persuade us they would be the best stewards of the district's scarce financial resources.

Denver's and Busch's more conservative approach to both matters make them the better choices in an uninspiring field.