Fairfield School Board Candidate A Convicted Kidnapper

FAIRFIELD (CBS13) -- Alvina Sheeley sounds like she has the experience to be considered for a spot on the Fairfield-Suisun school board.

"I have 22 years in the school district," she said. "I was a teacher, a coach, an athletic director, assistant principal."

But back in 1998, while she was on leave from her teaching position at Fairfield High School, Sheeley was arrested for kidnapping.

She tried to gain custody of a girl whom she knew through family in her hometown of Alton, Ill.

The girl's mother refused to give custody to Sheeley, who then took four other girls, ages 8 to 12. She told the girls she was taking them to California for a better life.

She pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity and spent a year in a psychiatric hospital.

Sheeley was released from the federal psychiatric hospital in June 2000 and put on probation. She was placed under the watch of a state officer and a doctor until her discharge eight years later.

"I look at it as kid of a post war trauma, we had a number of suicides on campus in 1995," she said. "There were terrible troubles at Fairfield High School and this was stressful for me, a depression."

Sheeley, 70, says she's sorry for her actions and that she's stable now. But some of her neighbors think she should have been given a background check before she was allowed on the ballot.

"I worked at the school district last year, I did all kindergarten lunch, and I was a crossing guard," neighbor Kim Letterman said. "They took all 10 of my fingerprints just to do that."

According to Lindsey McWilliams of the Solano County registrar's office, Sheeley is eligible to run for the position. She's one of eight candidates on the November ballot.

"You have to be a U.S. citizen, you have to be 18, you can't be a felon prisoner or on felony parole, and you have to be a resident in the district you are running in," he said.

Now Sheeley says she wants to move forward and try to help children.

But some of her former colleagues were dismayed that she could still run for the office.

"I think it's horrendous that someone arrested for kidnapping kids is running for school board," teacher Frank Billecci said.

(The Associated Press contributed to this story.)