LETTER OF THE WEEK

The voters of Costa Mesa and Newport Beach will soon be deciding the

outcome of Measure A and in the process shaping the future of our worn

out schools. Measure A is not about equipping our classrooms with

state-of-the-art computer systems or providing our children with the

latest in sports equipment. It’s not even about raising teachers’

salaries from the embarrassingly low current levels.

Measure A is about raising money to rebuild and repair our decaying

school facilities. Most of the schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District are more than 40 years old. I have two daughters who attend one

of these. Last year, the school’s sewer system backed up and flooded

their playground. There was no money to replace the rotting, root-choked

pipes. The bathrooms are so gross that many children refuse to use them,

electing instead to wait until the end of the day to race home.

Measure A is not going to place an unfair burden on homeowners (the

average homeowner will pay less than $1 per week to fun this measure),

but it will raise $110 million for our schools and qualify us for $53

million in matching funds from the state.

Homeowners without school-age children may ask, “Why should I support

this measure?”

The answer is simple. Your property values are directly affected by

the quality of the school system. The Newport-Mesa area is one of the

most affluent in Orange County. People here spend tens of thousands of

dollars making their cars and themselves beautiful; let’s spend a few

dollars to make our schools safe and inhabitable.

JEFF GRANT

Costa Mesa