New faces, some old problems for schools

Jessica Garrison

NEWPORT-MESA -- More than 21,000 students will stream into

classrooms next Thursday. They will be welcomed into a school system that

has undergone massive changes in the last year -- and is bracing for even

more.

From how to address the district’s crumbling buildings to what to do

about students who abuse alcohol to how to make sure underachieving

students aren’t held back a year, district officials have their work cut

out for them.

“It’s full steam ahead and try to follow the bouncing ball,” said

School Board Member Martha Fluor. “We’ve got a full plate, and I think

the board is absolutely committed to keeping on task and accomplishing

those goals.”

And with Supt. Robert Barbot entering his second year at the helm of

the district, parents and teachers should also expect him to start

putting in place the long-term plan that he developed with board members

and community leaders last year.

Facilitating changes

Many parents and community members think the biggest challenge facing

the district is how to pay for the estimated $127 million in repairs to

crumbling classrooms, leaky roofs, and aging wiring that plague district

schools.

The cash-strapped district cannot afford to pay for even a small

percentage of the repairs out of its general fund. To figure out what to

do, Supt. Robert Barbot this summer convened a committee of community

leaders to study which repairs are absolutely necessary, and how to pay

for them.

Options include selling district property, pursuing state money or

floating the district’s first-ever general obligation bond. Larry

Tramutola, a consultant hired by the district to study public opinion,

told board members last June that the district has a chance to muster the

two-thirds majority needed for a bond issue -- but it won’t be easy.

Last week, board members voted to submit the district’s first

application for state funds. State officials had blocked the district

from applying for a piece of the massive school funding pie because

district officials sold the Bear Street School in 1995 and put the money

into its general fund. District officials believe their application will

be accepted, but just in case it’s not, Assistant Superintendent for

Business Serives Michael Fine has been working with state Sen. Ross

Johnson (R-Irvine) to pass a bill allowing the district to apply for

state money. The bill has passed several legislative committees, and is

currently before the Senate.

Back on the home front, the committee has until Sept. 28 to prepare a

recommendation to the board about what should be done. If committee

members and board members decide to put a bond on the ballot, the board

then has time to consider the idea before the deadline to put a measure

on the March primary ballot.

Switching classrooms, changings schools

While massive construction projects are a long-term solution, district

officials, parents and principals underwent an innovative process last

year to address overcrowding and changing demographics in the short term:

grades and even boundaries at more than half the schools in the district

were shuffled.

After a summer of hammering and painting to ready classrooms, these

far-reaching changes go into effect Thursday. They range from the minor

to the major.

In the Costa Mesa High School zone, so many schools got shuffled that

some parents feel like their heads are spinning.

“I have children all over town,” said Killybrooke Elementary School

PTA president Joyce Christianson, who led the fight to keep the school’s

fourth- and fifth-graders from leaving the school and going to Davis

Elementary. Fourth-graders from all the other elementary schools in the

zone will be at Davis.

To make room for them, a county program for special education students

moved from Davis Intermediate School to California Elementary School.

“We’re looking forward for the fourth-graders coming,” said Davis PTA

president Linda Sneen, noting that parents spent a few hot August days

painting stars leading from the parking lot to the office and putting up

a tile wall.

Also for the first time this year, administrators at Davis will

cluster gifted students in the same classes, so teachers can give them

extra attention, and keep them interested and motivated in school. If the

program is a success, it will be expanded to other schools.

At TeWinkle Middle School, district officials are opening the doors on

a brand-new sixth-grade academy, designed to help ease the transition

from elementary school to middle school. The academy was one of the

compromises to come out of the reconfiguration process in the Estancia

High School zone.

“We decided whenever we’re down, we’re going to go to the sixth-grade

academy,” said TeWinkle Principal Sharon Fry. The program is that much

fun, she added.

At Andersen Elementary School in Harbor View, the crowded school

changed its boundaries, sending some students to Lincoln and newly opened

Eastbluff elementary schools to free up cramped classroom space.

For the first time, the school also put up portable classrooms -- five

-- to make room for smaller student-teacher ratios in kindergarten.

“I think everyone is pleasantly surprised,” said PTA president Lockie

Russell, referring to parents who had feared the portables would spoil

the look of the school. “You don’t really notice them.”

And there are more changes to come.

With the tractors barely departed from newly renovated Eastbluff

Elementary School, school board members are preparing to attend a

groundbreaking ceremony Sept. 15 for the district’s first new school in

20 years, Newport Coast Elementary.

And to address the concerns of parents on the Westside of Costa Mesa

who say TeWinkle Middle School is too far from their homes, district

officials will be meeting throughout the year to discuss the idea of

opening a middle school at Rea Elementary School.

Parents in the Mesa Verde neighborhood, meanwhile, are pushing forward

with a proposal to open the district’s first-ever charter school to lure

back into the district children who now attend private school. The

proposal is set to go before the board of education for the first time

Sept. 13.

Many parents and principals said they are excited, although a bit

nervous, about what the year will bring.

“We have a lot of changes,” said California Elementary School PTA

President JoAnne Russell, noting that students from the county’s special

education program are going to be integrated into some programs at the

school. “We’re trying to bring everyone together.”

New teachers for a new year

Many of the teachers and principals working in the newly configured

schools will be new as well. More than 130 teachers arrived in the

district over the summer, many of them fresh out of college and barely

into their 20s.

“This year is going to have its challenges, but I think in change there

is opportunity,” said Linda Mook, president of the teachers union.

Having so many new teachers is a double-edged sword, she said.

“It infuses a lot of energy and excitement into the faculty, but the

experience is the other side of the equation,” Mook said.

In addition, the district hired three new principals: Julie McCormick

at Pomona Elementary; Jane Holm at California and Tom Antal at Estancia.

Antal said he is looking forward to taking the helm at Estancia, a

school many parents feel does not get its due.

Estancia Student Body President Megan Fay said she was excited about

working with Antal to build school spirit, something she feels is lacking

at the school. She also wants to find a way to fund extracurricular

programs, such as sports and music, for students who cannot afford them.

The money to make things happen

And to help schools pay for things they cannot afford, parents all

over the district are starting foundations, private nonprofit

corporations that raise money for schools.

California and Newport Heights elementary schools are both working to

start foundations this year, and Estancia High School’s fledgling

foundation, Eagle Pride, will be stepping up its fund-raising efforts.

The model for all the foundations is Corona del Mar High School’s, which

parents formed four years ago. Already, it has raised $2 million dollars,

paying for computers, counselors and refurbished classrooms.

Despite the aging buildings, things around Newport-Mesa are also

getting increasingly high-tech. Estancia High School will start putting

in place a $300,000 digital high school grant designed to upgrade

computers at the school, and Corona del Mar High School and Newport

Harbor High School are both in line to receive such a grant. The district

also hired its first-ever head of technology, Steve Glier, over the

summer.

Deciding how tolerant to be

Another big issue in the district is something students shouldn’t be

spending their money on, but many may be: alcohol and drug abuse.

The district has a zero-tolerance policy on drugs and alcohol, which

calls for students who are caught drinking or abusing drugs to be

transferred to another school after the first offense. Three board

members -- Jim Ferryman, Martha Fluor and Dana Black -- have called for

the community to revisit this controversial policy, charging that it is

not an effective deterrent for students and does not help students who

may have problems.

Supt. Barbot has met with board members over the summer, and will

likely convene a task force to study the issue this fall. Already, it’s

heating up, and has even landed Ferryman on television. He appeared on

the Orange County News Channel Thursday to talk about his ideas.