HESPERIA - Outside the Sultana High School auditorium, dusk slowly cooled the quiet streets baking in the High Desert heat.

Inside, it was relatively quiet as the Sept. 10 Hesperia Unified School Board meeting droned on.

Even a single protester, holding a large sign ridiculing three of the five school board members speaking on the dais, was silent. The protester, a teacher named Charles Roedell, didn't say a word while holding the sign, and put it down once the board members finished speaking.

But the message was loud and clear: The three trustees are targets of a recall effort.

Days earlier, a different public meeting had featured someone conspicuous by his absence: Councilman Tad Honeycutt, arrested the day before on suspicion of grand theft and misappropriation of public funds.

The mood is slightly uneasy these days in Hesperia, a High Desert community dubbed the "Star of the West" more than a century ago.

Residents are questioning their faith in some of the city and school leaders they've voted into office. Chief among them is Honeycutt, who is under fire for his role in the California Charter Academy scandal.

A vocal group also is pushing for a recall of Hesperia Unified board trustees Hardy Black, Robert Kirk and Lee Rogers.

On a more tragic note, the community continues to grieve with Councilman Thurston "Smitty" Smith over the recent sudden death of his 19-year-old son.

California Charter Academy

The most serious concerns are about Honeycutt, 44, who is at the center of legal troubles involving what was once the state's largest charter school organization, the now-defunct California Charter Academy.

On Sept. 4, a special grand jury indicted Honeycutt and the school's founder, C. Steven Cox, on more than 100 felony counts of misappropriation of public funds and grand theft.

Honeycutt was charged with 15 felony counts of misappropriation of public funds and 15 counts of grand theft. He also was charged with three counts of failing to file a tax return and one count of filing a false tax return.

Honeycutt has pleaded not guilty to all charges. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in prison.

The Victorville-based California Charter Academy closed abruptly in 2004. An audit prompted by state education officials and the San Bernardino and Orange county superintendents of schools followed.

The educators were troubled by the findings.

Of the nearly $140 million in public funding the California Charter Academy received during its four years of operation - 2000 to 2004 - more than $25 million in expenditures were questionable.

The biggest red flag was the charter school's involvement with the Educational Administrative Services Corp., a for-profit company founded by Cox that provided management services to the schools.

The audit indicated Cox steered public charter school funds to EASC and other companies he and Honeycutt ran. Auditors contend Honeycutt also steered charter school money to his other firms.

While some community members are reserving judgment and giving Honeycutt the benefit of the doubt, others - including fellow Councilman Mike Leonard - think he should step down from the council.

"If it was me, I would probably resign," Leonard said in an earlier phone interview. "I just think it's the right thing to do."

Leonard said it would be hard for any politician charged with numerous felony counts to continue in public service.

"I think a lot of citizens may not be completely comfortable with somebody that has been arrested and booked serving their city," Leonard said. "To me, it just brings a bad appearance."

Becky Otwell, owner of Shear Realty in Hesperia and a board member for the Hesperia Chamber of Commerce, feels the same way.

"We knew it was coming. We wondered why it didn't happen sooner," Otwell said. "Hopefully, he will just resign so they could replace him. I feel he should ... just so we could keep going forward and not have any problems with it."

Councilman Ed Pack voiced support for the embattled councilman.

"When it comes to Honeycutt, he's innocent until proven guilty," Pack said. "I look at this very simply. The state attorney investigated and found nothing. The FBI investigated and found nothing. (San Bernardino County District Attorney Michael A.) Ramos - or you can call him `Rambo' - convened a special grand jury for this, but if the FBI can't find anything, then take it for what it is."

Pack also cautioned against anyone believing Hesperia is down in the dumps because of its recent issues.

"Personally, I feel the city is pretty strong. They'll survive what's going on," he said.

"We'll make it, that's basically it in a nutshell."

Plans for the future

The city's most visible leader, Mayor Rita Vogler, is keenly aware of the troubles the city is facing. Footage from the Sept. 5 council meeting, which Honeycutt missed, shows the mayor acknowledging the city's troubles.

"I would just like to say to the people, we're going through some trying times, as you can see," Vogler said during the meeting.

The mayor said she is taking the city's troubles in stride.

"Hesperia as a whole, we rise to the occasion," Vogler said. "We're handling it beautifully, we're doing exactly what the constituents want - we're moving forward.

"Hesperia is a great place to live. Yes, you have pain and tragedy, but this is a very solid community that is fabulous in joining together for a good outcome.

"We will get through this because of that, and you have leaders that pull the community together."

Hesperia officials have major plans for economic development and growth in the High Desert community of 91,627.

"The city's been in a really good place. We've been growing rapidly," said Kim Summers, spokeswoman for the city of Hesperia.

City leaders are working on a specific plan that will affect commercial and residential development along the Main Street corridor and the 15 Freeway.

The city is also trying to revitalize its downtown. A 20,102-square-foot community branch library opened last year. The city's new civic center is next door.

San Bernardino County officials also picked Hesperia to be home to a 30,000-square-foot High Desert county building that will be built adjacent to city hall.

"That will be boost to this area," Summers said. "It will be another two years or so before that is completed."

A large community park also is planned and could be finished by spring 2008.

Big-box retailers have noticed the city, too. A Super Target is planned, as are a Home Depot and a 450,000-square-foot shopping center that will be anchored by a Wal-Mart at the southeast corner of Escondido Avenue and Main Street.

School board issues

The Hesperia Unified School District - which includes Hesperia, south Victorville and Oak Hills - has its own troubles.

Three of the five school board members - Black, Kirk and Rogers, all elected in 2006 - are the targets of a recall effort launched in late July.

Recall proponents contend the board members have mismanaged public funds and are not doing what's best for students. In order for a recall election to take place, the group needs signatures from 20 percent of the more than 34,500 registered voters living in the district by December, or roughly 6,900.

Recall supporters, some of them teachers, have set up a Web site, HesperiaEducationFirst.com, that lists reasons for the recall effort.

Among them: the resignation of Superintendent Hank Richardson and $7 million paid to a consultant to oversee construction of the planned Oak Hills High.

But the major hot-button issue is elimination of the district's sixth-grade-only campuses.

Trustee Black calls the Web site's claims "outright lies."

He said the group is actually rather small and includes some disgruntled sixth-grade teachers, angry over the pending elimination of the sixth-grade campuses.

A building crunch several years ago led to overcrowded schools, Black said, and the school board decided to alleviate overcrowding at the sixth-grade level by building academies on property the district already had.

"At the time it was announced, this was a temporary fix until they could build more schools," he said. "Now we're putting portables ... on existing campuses, and we're maxed out."

The district can't afford to build new sixth-grade academies and new K-5 schools, Black said. So by next fall, the sixth-grade campuses will close.

"We can't do both, so we decided to build comprehensive K-5 schools," he said. "We decided it would be more prudent to service all of the students as a whole, rather than just cater to the sixth grade."

The board's 3-2 decision to close the campuses angered some parents and teachers, throwing fuel on the recall fire.

Jill Seiber, parent and member of Hesperia Education First, said the single-grade campuses benefit sixth-graders, who may not be ready for middle school.

"It gives them a chance to grow that extra year and mature a little before entering junior high, plus our elementaries are getting overcrowded," she said. "Parents and kids love this system."

Seiber said the group is also upset that several administrators have left, including Richardson.

"Since December, we've had 13 fine administrators leave the district," Seiber said.

The school board's and Honeycutt's difficulties stand in stark contrast against a tragedy that struck Councilman Smith. Smith lost his 19-year-old son, Brandon, during an off-road racing event Aug. 24.

More than 700 people attended his funeral.

The city is grieving along with the Smith family, said Summers, who has fielded several calls extending sympathy to Smith.

"That hit all of us on a personal level," Summers said. "He was a remarkable young man. It's not often you can attend a funeral and see everyone from chamber to school board to city council members.

Yvonne Woytovich, executive director of Hesperia Chamber of Commerce, said there hasn't really been any kind of doubt about the city's future, despite its recent perils.

"I would say that it's kind of a tightknit community, so we're more bonding together to find the strength to weather all storms, not just the headlines affecting the community right now," she said.