Mailbag: School board fails to put ‘students first’

Once again, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Trustees showed its true colors (“Parents question school board,” Nov. 10). They chose not to help fund the sixth-grade camps under the guise, according to Trustee Dave Brooks, that budget cuts from Sacramento loom over school districts.

These same six folks voted 6 to 1 to give Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard five-months paid leave to the tune of $125,000, which must have gone a long way to help him pay for his legal expenses. None of these six would even second a motion by Trustee Katrina Foley to come up with a few bucks to support students on the Westside, whose families might not be able to help fund the camps.

A second to a motion is not a vote. By not offering a second, there can be no discussion. End of story.

Sorry, kids. You lose again.

Whatever happened to the “students first” philosophy?

Jane Hilgendorf

Corona del Mar

* Trustees put selves first

The N-MUSD trustees showed exactly where their priorities lie Nov. 9 — with themselves (“Parents question school board,” Nov. 10). They voted so that the board members maintain can their travel and entertainment budget for a conference of their choosing instead of sending the entire district’s sixth-graders to science camp.

That is having the students’ best interests at heart? I think not. Very sad and disturbing.

Liz McNabb

Costa Mesa

* A most interesting boat

In The Harbor Report in the Nov. 9 edition of Daily Pilot, you mention that you will be announcing Newport Harbor’s 20 most interesting boats in your article at the end of November (“Interesting sailors in our midst”).

I’d like to nominate Oasis V, the Oasis Sailing Club’s Catalina 34 Mark II for inclusion on your list because of what the boat has accomplished for the city of Newport Beach. During the 13 months that we’ve had her, she’s sailed 310 times, affording about 1,560 senior citizen sailor members of the OASIS Senior Center in Corona del Mar the opportunity to sail, virtually whenever they desire.

In addition to this almost-daily sailing activity, Oasis V led the American Legion’s Opening Day Parade through the harbor; participated in the Legion’s sailing for the visually impaired adults program; hosted aboard the winning bidders from the new senior center’s grand-opening gala for a deluxe dinner cruise while viewing the Newport Beach Christmas Boat Parade; and hosted the lucky winners from the Friends of Oasis Casino Night, a fundraiser for the senior center, in a dinner cruise around the harbor.

There is little doubt that Oasis V is the most active recreational sailboat in Newport Harbor, likely the most active up and down the California coast, possibly one of the most active recreational sailboats worldwide, and clearly one of the 20 most interesting in Newport Harbor.

Malcolm Read

Newport Beach

The writer is vice commodore of the Oasis Sailing Club.