OCEANSIDE ---- The North County Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transsexual Coalition is focusing some of its attention on Oceanside, working with local officials and planning events that celebrate diversity, organizers with the group said this week.

Coalition Chairman Max Disposti said the organization is talking with city and school district officials about better diversity training for employees. He said he hopes the effort will give gays and lesbians better and easier access to government services.

The coalition has also rented out the recreation center just south of the Oceanside Municipal Pier on Saturday, Oct. 11, for a new event it calls Coming Out Day. Disposti said the event ---- which will feature games, music and food vendors ---- is intended as a simple celebration and as a way to give the coalition better visibility in the community.

"This is not just for us," Disposti said. "The whole community, everybody is invited."

A write-up on the event published on the organization's Web site adds: "It is for those who stand up daily against any kind of discrimination, and for those that want to live in a safer community where diversities are respected and not marginalized."

Formed in January, the coalition is a collection of smaller gay and lesbian groups throughout North County. Though those groups still exist, Disposti said the coalition ---- which has a board of directors, bylaws and nonprofit status ---- will have a greater ability to hold community events and advocate for specific change.

"The main point that we all agree on is the need for educational programs in North County," he said.

Toward that end, the coalition has approached the Human Resources Department at the city of Oceanside and asked that the city do more to train its employees on sensitivity of gender issues in the workplace.

"These programs are mandated by the state," Disposti said. "This is all about education."

Some of the education, Disposti said, concerns the proper use of language, how to refer to the children of gay or lesbian couples or referring to transgender citizens by their chosen gender.

He said training for employees can also be focused on different departments, such as the Police Department, that regularly interact with residents.

"One of the big ones is that (police officers) are not trained to recognize domestic violence when it's between same-sex couples," he said.

Brian Kammerer, the city's personnel director, said Thursday that every city employee must attend a diversity training class. Materials for that class list sexual orientation as one of six basic aspects of diversity, along with race, age, gender, physical ability and ethnicity.

Kammerer said he believes the city's existing program meets the requirements for diversity training as specified by California law. But he added that the city is willing to change how it conducts the classes if the coalition has better ideas.

"We have invited them to come to one of our classes and see what we're doing already," Kammerer said. "They haven't done that yet. If there is anything we can improve upon, let's try to improve."

Disposti said the coalition has had similar conversations about diversity training with the Oceanside Unified School District.

District spokesman Steve Lombard said Friday afternoon that the district is open to discussing the training but offered no specifics.

"We would be interested in doing some work with them," he said.

Contact staff writer Paul Sisson at (760) 901-4087 or psisson@nctimes.com.