Cerritos : Lawsuit Seeks to Reinstate Lottery Sales at College

Trustee Robert Epple has filed a lawsuit against Cerritos College to force the school administration, which canceled the sale of lottery tickets at the student bookstore Oct. 15, to reverse the decision. A hearing has been scheduled for Nov. 26 by Judge Ralph Biggerstaff in Norwalk Superior Court.

Epple, a lawyer, said he believes the administration’s action was illegal because it was done a day after the Board of Education split 3-3 on a vote to continue lottery ticket sales.

Epple said the state Education Code requires that no action be taken without the support of a majority of board members. The board is without a seventh member because Richard Goul resigned last summer and his unexpired term will not be filled until Tuesday’s election. Epple and board member Ada Steenhoek are seeking reelection.

The position of the college is that the administration, which had approved lottery ticket sales on campus, could also halt the sales until trustees reach some agreement, said Patrick Sisneros, the school’s attorney.

Ticket sales at the campus bookstore began Oct. 3 as a way to raise money for the Associated Students of Cerritos College, which runs the bookstore and incurred a $41,000 deficit in fiscal 1984-85, according to student body President David Mittleman. After eight days of sales, 4,900 tickets had been sold.

At the Oct. 14 board meeting, three of the board’s six members said they were so opposed to the lottery that they would be in favor of refusing the college’s share of state lottery receipts--an estimated $300,000 for fiscal 1985-86.