District considers selling more bonds

COSTA MESA — The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education is looking into selling more bonds to help fund the construction of new theaters and middle school facilities at Costa Mesa and Corona del Mar high schools.

At a school board study session Tuesday, Paul Reed, the district’s chief business officer, devoted nearly an hour to explaining the potential benefits of selling bonds in the spring to take advantage of low interest rates and recessionary construction costs.

Board member Dana Black said that she thought it made “good fiscal sense” to look into the possible sale of the bonds allowed by Measure F, which voters approved in 2005.

So far, the district has sold $70 million in bonds and still has $5 million left over to spend on the design and planning costs associated with the two new theaters and the two new enclaves, which act as areas for middle school students at the high schools.

In all, voters who live within the school district authorized $282 million in bond sales when they passed Measure F. A future sale would be in accordance with the measure’s terms.

Measure F has so far helped pay for construction of Costa Mesa High School’s Olympic-size swimming pool and Jim Scott Stadium at Estancia High School and other projects.

Supt.

Jeffrey Hubbard said that he thought the sale could be a “real coup for the community” because taxes wouldn’t see a significant increase but the community would see “huge improvements” at their schools.

—Tom Ragan