Heavily taxed residents say bond is too much

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT COAST -- Several members of the Newport Coast community, who

already pay more property taxes than other homeowners in Newport Beach,

are confident they can gain enough support to keep Measure A from passing

June 6.

But other residents of the coastal community who support taxing

themselves to fix crumbling schools say they don’t foresee the group

garnering adequate opposition to stop the proposed $110-million school

bond.

Newport Coast resident Al Willinger is spearheading the effort to stop

the school bond in its tracks, saying it is unfair to homeowners in

Mello-Roos districts such as his.

Residents of Mello-Roos districts pay a special tax, which pays off bonds

to fund public improvements.

Willinger is trying to gain support in his community as well as Newport

Ridge, Bonita Village, Castaways and Harbor Cove, where they also pay an

additional tax.

“In these communities the folks are paying their normal 1% property tax

and in addition they’re paying their Mello-Roos of $1,000 to $2,500 per

year, per home,” Willinger said. “All of us who purchased here were aware

of this obligation ... We just strongly believe another layer of taxes is

unfair and unjustified.”

Although they say they understand their neighbors arguments, other

Newport Coast residents disagree.

“I feel that our kids are going to be going to these schools later on and

I don’t see any other way for these schools to get refurbished,” said

resident Gianna Drake-Kerrison, who has been very active in the Newport

Coast PTA and who has a 2-year-old son. “I’m not happy about it -- if

someone can think of another idea I’ll listen, but I just don’t see any

other way.”

Mark Schultheis, who has spearheaded the Measure A campaign, said the

Mello-Roos argument poses no real threat to the bond campaign.

“I agree with Willinger that it’s unfair, but he’s got it all wrong,”

Schultheis said. “They’re absolutely right -- it is an unfairness issue

here -- it would be entirely unfair for us to exclude them because the

money they are paying out of Mello-Roos goes to mitigating the impacts of

growth in our schools, it does not go to the repair and upgrades that

would be paid for out of the bond measure.”

Since the children of Newport Coast will eventually be attending Corona

del Mar middle and high schools, their parents should not be exempt from

a tax to repair it, Schultheis said.

“What the coast people want is eminently unfair because they would get a

free ride at Corona del Mar,” he said. “I’d be paying for it -- the good

people of Costa Mesa would pay for it.”

With the school district needing to win over two thirds of Newport-Mesa’s

residents, however, Willinger said he feels the opposition should have no

trouble prevailing.

“We are gaining momentum,” he said. “In those [Mello-Roos] communities I

mentioned we will certainly get the majority and... two-thirds is

historically very hard to obtain.”