Citizen panel to oversee school repair funds

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- The school board tonight is expected to form an oversight

committee made up of local residents who will be charged with making sure

that any money designated for school repairs is spent properly, officials

said.

The need for a citizen committee of this kind has been recommended by

fiscal experts, taxpayer groups and community members alike.

Board members say the creation of the panel is the most important aspect

of the discussions on how to regulate the more than $160 million in

repairs needed for the district’s aging schools.

“It is really the key piece,” said school board member Wendy Leece. “For

me personally, the discussion and what we end up with is really important

because it will say to the voters ‘you can trust us because it will not

be school board members on the committee -- it will be citizens.”’

It is both an acknowledgment of the public’s blatant mistrust of the

district following the embezzlement and bankruptcy scandals of recent

years, and a safeguard that officials recognize as essential in order to

pass a bond.

District officials will present various recommendations to the board and

the public from the facilities committee as well as models used by other

school districts.

“We’re talking about the parameters of the committee -- how many people

will be on it and how they will be elected,” said board member Serene

Stokes.

The facilities committee’s recommendations include the creation of a

two-tiered citizens panel -- the idea being that there would be an

oversight committee for the whole district, then subcommittees at each

site.

Although thorough, the plan does draw the concerns of several school

board members who question the ability of such a large group to function

effectively.

“We just have a lot of questions about timing,” said school board

president Dana Black. “When do we start organizing? Do we strategize now?

There’s lots of questions that I have.”

Tonight’s will be the second of five study sessions. It will be an open

session and offers an opportunity for not only the board, but also the

public, to have their questions answered.

“I’m very much in favor. This is a key ingredient,” Black said. “As a

parent and community member, I’d want to see this so we don’t have to

deal with it again.”

FYI

The study session begins at 6 p.m. tonight in the board meeting room at

the District Education Center, 2985-A Bear St., Costa Mesa.