3-Year Member of School Board Resigns

Carol L. Norum, a member of the Brea Olinda Unified School District Board of Education since 1994, has resigned, officials announced Tuesday.

Norum, who has spent 29 years in various aspects of education, said she bought a home in nearby Placentia and must give up her position on the board.

Norum said her move was prompted by her son Jim’s plans to leave home to attend college in the fall and the sudden death of her husband, Richard, of a heart attack last year.

“Things have changed a lot since I was elected,” she said. Her colleagues on the board, she said, “have been very supportive of what I’ve been through.”

In addition, Norum said, she will be closer to her job as a teacher at Esperanza High School in the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District.

Norum described her three years on the board as “barely enough time to get my feet wet” but said it was a learning experience. “Most of my experience has been very positive. I’ve been in education all my life, but this is a different side of the picture,” Norum said.

“In some ways I was very impressed,” she said. “I’ve learned about what a big business education is in California. We educate a lot of students, and there’s so many levels that are away from the classroom teacher.”

Norum, who worked as a volunteer in Brea and served on various school organizations and booster clubs, said she does not have plans to return to public service in the immediate future.

School district officials said the Board of Education will seek applications and appoint a successor for Norum’s seat on the seven-member panel.