Ex-Chief of Schools Runs for Board That Ousted Him : Election: There is acrimony among the seven candidates vying for three seats. Former Supt. Caldwell and his lawsuit for reinstatement are at the center of the controversy.

PARAMOUNT — Richard B. Caldwell lost his job last year as superintendent of Paramount schools, but he plans to return in a big way: as a member of the school board that forced him into retirement, a board that he also is suing.

He and two supporters are among seven candidates vying for three seats. The contest includes candidates who are disgruntled with each other or the school system.

Seeking reelection to the board are incumbents Janet Miller and Shirley Elliott. Incumbent Joseph M. Montoya III decided not to run.

Besides Caldwell, the challengers are E. Betty Harkema, a retired Paramount school secretary; Josephine Ponce, a part-time district bilingual instructional aide; Bertha Alicia Pena, also a bilingual aide and Loren Campos, a telephone company lineman.

At the center of the acrimony is Caldwell, who is running on an informal slate with Elliott and Pena. Caldwell said the school system has declined since his departure, but he refused to be interviewed about his plans to improve the district. Critics accuse the veteran school official of seeking revenge against a board of trustees that ousted him and administrators who, after his departure, openly faulted his leadership.

The former superintendent is suing the school district and board members over their refusal to renew his contract. Caldwell alleges that he lost his job because of his age--he is 68--and his ethnicity--he is Anglo. The board voted 3 to 2 not to rehire Caldwell, who served as superintendent from August, 1979, through June, 1992.

Board members deny any wrongdoing and, on the advice of attorneys, refused to comment on the lawsuit, Caldwell or Caldwell’s candidacy.

Challenger Harkema, however, is not so hamstrung. The retired secretary said her main reason for running is to oppose Caldwell.

“I see no point in Caldwell running for the school board, except for revenge,” Harkema said. “Why can’t he just say goodby and be glad the good Lord has been so good to him?”

Her husband, Henry Harkema, and Caldwell’s wife, Esther Corona Caldwell, are members of the Paramount City Council and have often clashed over city issues.

Betty Harkema said that Caldwell’s 14 years of experience heading Paramount schools should not be considered a plus.

“Everything I’ve heard is from other people’s mouths, but I’ve heard he did a lousy job,” said Harkema, who retired from the district before Caldwell became superintendent. “I have no proof of that.”

Elliott praised Caldwell. She has served on the board since 1977. She was one of two board members who wanted to keep Caldwell as superintendent.

“He has a lot of knowledge about what school districts are about,” said Elliott, who has six children. “I feel he would make a very good board member.”

Her view is shared by Pena, a district parent. “He’s an asset,” she said of Caldwell. “He knows the district and is a very intelligent man.”

The names of Caldwell, Elliott and Pena appear on the same posters and signs throughout the city. If all three win, the five-member school board will have a new majority and probably a new direction.

Caldwell and Pena are critical of Caldwell’s successor, Supt. Michele Lawrence. In particular, they say her decisions have damaged programs at the Paramount Adult Education Center. The adult school offers high school diploma programs and courses in English as a second language, among other classes.

Pena’s husband, a teacher at the adult school, was laid off in June during a round of budget cuts. Ignacio Pena had been openly critical of district management.

Caldwell has faulted Lawrence’s recommendation to fire Ed Quesada, the popular adult school director, amid allegations of mismanagement and misuse of funds. An administrative hearing on Quesada’s dismissal has been postponed until after the election.

Candidates Campos and Ponce said they knew too little about the disputes over Caldwell and the adult school to comment.

Campos, 40, said he wants to give parents more power to control their children’s destinies and schools by improving communication and working to involve more parents in education.

“If you help the parents, they can help the students and that’s a good thing for everybody all around,” said Campos, who has three children attending Paramount schools.

Ponce, a 45-year-old mother of four, said she is concerned about school safety and district communication with parents. “If parents have a concern, they should be able to speak with anyone, one-on-one,” she said. “I’m not in this (race) to be political. I’m just a concerned parent.”

Equally silent on the Caldwell controversy is incumbent Miller. But the 56-year-old mother of six, who lives in the South Gate portion of the school system, praises Caldwell’s successor, saying Lawrence’s administration will provide the district with the leadership to “prepare our students for later on in life.”

Miller, a board member since 1989, joined trustees Vivian Hansen and Montoya in voting against rehiring Caldwell. They are defendants in Caldwell’s lawsuit against the district for alleged age and race discrimination. The case is scheduled for trial Nov. 29 in Los Angeles Superior Court. Caldwell is seeking more than $450,000 in damages and reinstatement as superintendent.

Age has not been an issue in the board race. At 68, Caldwell is younger than Elliott, 69, and Harkema, 70.

While still superintendent, Caldwell took sides in the 1991 school board election in an effort to keep his job. He supported two candidates he hoped would vote to rehire him. However, those candidates lost.

But no one is counting Caldwell out of this election Nov. 2. He has lived in Paramount for 30 years, and his wife has won several reelection bids to the City Council.

The teachers union steered clear of Caldwell’s slate and endorsed Miller, Harkema and Campos, calling them “better qualified.”

“Our association has endorsed people in favor of moving forward, not backward,” said John Burritt, executive director of the Teachers Assn. of Paramount.

A Caldwell victory would put the former superintendent on both sides of a lawsuit and on the same board as the people he is suing.

Caldwell’s attorney said the awkward situation would not prevent Caldwell from being an effective, valuable board member.

“Dick’s an old pro,” Dale Gronemeier said. “I don’t think he’s going to have any problems working with anybody. I don’t think that’s a problem for him.”

Community correspondent Suzan Schill contributed to this story.