Committee backs bond plan to upgrade school facilities

Jessica Garrison

NEWPORT-MESA -- After a two-month-long study of the school district’s

crumbling classrooms, a committee of community leaders said Thursday they

agree with most of the findings in the district’s master plan for

schools.

Last June, that plan was released calling for $127 million in necessary

repairs and modernization.

Committee members said that the most realistic local source for paying

for repairs is a general obligation bond.

Mark Schultheis, co-chair of the committee, said school officials and

committee members also hope to receive millions of dollars from the

state, but in order to get that money, the distinct must have local

matching funds.

“The committee believes the district can and should raise some of the

matching funds from all possible sources other than a bond measure,”

Schultheis said. Those include selling distinct property and

renegotiating leases.

“But in the final analysis,” Schultheis added, “a bond measure would

have to be part of the local funding package if the district wants to

make repairs on the scale identified in the master plan.”

The committee will make a formal report to the school board at

Tuesday’s meeting.

“The condition of our school facilities is bad,” a draft of the report

states. “The roofs leak, the plumbing is rusty, and the carpets are worn.

The electrical systems are inadequate, the heating systems are

antiquated, and the restrooms are in disrepair.”

“The conclusion is inescapable,” the report continues. “Our schools

need attention, and they need it now.”

Among the committee’s other conclusions:

* Any repairs and modernization should be equal across the school

district, and the district should set up clear construction and

technology standards for all schools.

* The district must educate the community about the need for repairs,

and must convince the community that the repairs are essential.

Because general obligation bonds require support from two thirds of

voters, they are not easy to pass.

“If we’ve got a chance in hell of making this work, we need a buy in

from everybody,” said committee member Del Hein.

Chuck Cassis agreed: “We need to make sure everyone is behind this and

no one feels like they’re getting the short end of the stick.”

* The district must find long-term solutions to its maintenance

problem, so, in the words of several committee members, “we never have to

do this again.”

District officials said they will explore options for setting aside

money in the budget to pay for ongoing maintenance of computers,

buildings and classrooms.

* More research must be done before final decisions on facilities can

be made. Committee members said they wanted more information about what

districtwide standards should be, for everything from air conditioning to

lunchtime coverings to whether money should be spent to make schools

earthquakes.

Committee members also said they believe that once those standards

have been decided upon, teachers and parents should be able to give more

input into what their specific school’s needs are.