All schools re-created equal

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- If two thirds of the voters in Newport-Mesa favor Measure

A next month, the process will begin to bring every school and classroom

up to the same level.

That standard level, which was determined by members of the citizens

facility committee and architect Fred Good, is the cornerstone of the

district’s facilities master plan.

When committee members began visiting the school sites with the architect

and district staff, it was decided that a standard needed to be set to

evaluate and compare the facilities.

“On the first round [of visits], principals put in things that they would

like to see -- it became a matter of who was the most ambitious,” said

Bob Haskell, a member of the committee that toured all of Newport-Mesa’s

secondary schools. “So we stepped back, and said, ‘let’s not consider

special projects. Let’s figure out a standard and apply it across the

board.’ ”

So before visiting schools in Newport-Mesa Unified School District,

committee members visited various campuses in south Orange County.

“They were absolutely incredible -- the windows opened and closed and

some of them went so far as to have carpeting that was nice,” Haskell

said of the schools.

Using examples from newer districts, input from teachers, staff and the

architect, health and safety codes and a splash of common sense, the

standards were created.

Once the standards were developed, they were used as a checklist at each

site and in every classroom.

Those standards were then consolidated to create the facilities master

plan.

There are, however, things outside the actual classroom to consider, said

former committee member Kurt Yeager.

Covered outdoor seating areas where students eat lunch and the existence

of either a multipurpose room or gym at each middle school, were two

examples Yeager gave of additional priorities.

Facilities used by the entire district -- Davidson Field and Lotts

Auditorium at Newport Harbor High, for instance -- were marked for

repair.

Although committee members said they do not feel there are superfluous

items, the citizens oversight committee can delete an unnecessary item

from the list.

“That’s what we expect the citizens oversight committee to ferret out,”

Yeager said.

District standards for the classroom will include:

* Lighting upgrades

* Tackable wall surfaces

* Two to three marker boards

* Interior painting

* Furniture replacement allowance

* Heating/ventilation/air conditioning

* Technology requirements (six access cables)

* Door and window systems operable

* Drop ceilings

* Digital phone

* New carpet/flooring

* Upgraded clock/bell system

* Teacher center (sliding white boards with video screen and storage

space)

* Public address system

District standards for the exterior school environment will

include:

* Exterior painting of all buildings that have not been painted within

the last five years -- stucco repairs as required

* Upgrade of electrical service/transformer/main panel

* Review of site utilities (water, sewer, storm drainage, natural gas)

for adequacy to accommodate current program needs

* Upgrade playground equipment and regulation “fall zone” material under

equipment

* Fire alarm system upgrades to meet requirements

* Replace wood playground ball walls with concrete/masonry ball walls --

playground equipment allowance

* Remove trees with invasive or surface root problems -- replace with

“deep root system trees”

* American with Disabilities Act compliance

* Repair/replace asphalt paving and/or concrete walkways

Additional school standards will include:

* Two classrooms designated for library space

* One standard-sized classroom for Resource Specialist Program

* One computer lab

* One additional classroom for discretionary utilization