Four candidates running for the Cerritos College Board of Trustees answered questions from the California League of Women Voters and students at Norwalk City Hall on Monday night.

Ballot initiatives, school funding and the Cerritos College class registration system were among the topics discussed.

The candidates running for the three available seats are incumbents Bob Epple, Board Vice President Bob Verderber. Also running for office are former Cerritos College director of disabled student services, Bob Hughlett and Carmen Avalos a South Gate city clerk.

Board member Eric Gutierrez will not be running for reelection.

The candidates will also answer questions next Thursday at 5 p.m. at the Burnight Center Theatre. The Cerritos College Faculty Federation and the California School Employees Association chapter 161 will sponsor the forum.

Proposition 74 that states that teacher will have a five year probationary period before becoming fully tenured in their jobs.

Currently, teachers are tenured after two years.

Carmen Avalos, former schoolteacher, said that Proposition 74 is “unfair because it takes so long to be a teacher.”

Epple and Verderber agree.

“Proposition 74 does nothing,” Epple said.

“I think that the responsibility should fall on the school districts,” Verderber said.

Proposition 73 the abortion initiative is another issue of concern.

Hughlett believes that Proposition 73 should be voted down.

“Roe v. Wade is the law of the land,” he said.

Avalos agreed.

She said, “We as a society should respect what we have, but the most important thing when talking to a child about abortion is to communicate.”

Avalos added, “The most important, however, is to respect Roe v. Wade.”

Proposition 76 which limits school funding was one of the points of interest to Avalos.

“We have to have an increase,” Avalos said, ” in part-time teachers and courses.”

Cerritos Colleges students agree.

Jarell Green, cinematography major, said, “Avalos was clear in what she was talking about.”

He continued, “Proposition 76, dealing with limiting of school funding, was of most interest to me.”

He hopes that school funding would be a priority to the candidates.

Jack Wu, civil engineering major, also agreed that school funding should not be limited.

Hughlett supported the idea, but added, “the funding is not enough because community colleges need more money for additional teachers, counselors.”

That is why, Andy Liu, psychology major, said, “Hughlett made sense.”

He commented that Hughlett had spoken about positive things he wanted to do.

Epple believes Cerritos College “needs time for growth” because students attend college more often on Friday, Saturday and Sunday.

PeopleSoft, the Cerritos class registration software, was one of the issues that students had a problem with.

Hughlett agreed that there are challenges with the new software.

“There could be,” he said, “adjustments that will have to be made.”

Avalos says that despite the stress and chaos of PeopleSoft, “the students will have to take time to get used to the software.”

Karen Chui, art major, disagreed.

She said that she has had problems with PeopleSoft.

“The grades I received for my class last semester, Chui explained, “were not the grades recorded on the PeopleSoft system.”

She says that PeopleSoft has affected her GPA.

Giving students the opportunity to voice their opinions was one of the things that the California League of Women Voters President Sally Havice had hoped to accomplish during the forum.

“That is why students should know who the candidates are and what the candidates have to say about the issues students have.”