Assembly hopefuls focus on education

BURBANK ? On a night when millions of Americans were waiting to find out who would win this year's "American Idol" competition, a handful of residents turned out at Burbank's Buena Vista Library to educate themselves about the candidates vying against each other in a very different type of contest.

Keith S. Parker of the UCLA Government and Community Relations Department thanked the more than 50 people attending his university's candidates' forum for the 43rd Assembly District and shunning the popular talent show's finale. Glendale City Councilman Frank Quintero, Burbank School Board member Paul Krekorian, and engineers Michael Agbaba and Steve Myers ? who all appear on the June 6 primary ballot ? turned out for the event, which focused mostly on the topic of education.

Krekorian and Quintero, who are vying for their Democratic party's nomination to the 43rd District, each saw eye to eye ? most of the time ? on education during the forum, which featured questions from the audience, with 90 seconds for each candidate to reply.

Krekorian stated his support for adequately funding California's schools, noting that over the years the state has gone from tops in the country in terms of per-pupil funding to near the bottom.

"This is a disgrace," he said, adding that the state is also 50th in the nation in terms of school counselor-to-student ratio. "We cut the equivalent of $50,000 per classroom in funding throughout the state over the past four years."

Lowering tuition for California State University, University of California and community college students would be a priority for Quintero if he is elected to the Assembly, the former Glendale mayor said.

"These fees continue to inch up every year, affecting mostly low-income families," said Quintero, who started his career helping train Vietnam veterans for new jobs. "I would also want to increase spending in career education. There used to be a tremendous array of opportunities for 11th- and 12th-graders in career education. We can't have a few going to college and the rest sitting around after graduating, being unprepared for the workforce."

As the sole Libertarian running in the 43rd District, Myers, a Los Feliz resident who works for Warner Bros. in Burbank, stuck to his party's principles of minimal government involvement and bureaucratic dismantling.