Opposition rumblings heard

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- As the June 6 special election approaches, the faint

rumblings of opposition to Measure A have begun to grow louder.

Until now, there has been no organized opposition to the proposed

$110-million school bond. The main voice of contention has been that of

Daily Pilot columnist Steve Smith, who has repeatedly attacked the school

board and the facilities plan.

But now two groups, the Orange County Young Republicans and a small group

of Newport Coast residents, have emerged with the intention of crushing

Measure A.

Newport Beach resident Kurt English, a past president of the Orange

County Young Republicans, said the organization intends to fight the

bond measure.

After meeting with Newport-Mesa Unified School District officials,

English said he is more convinced than ever that the bond must be

defeated.

English was particularly concerned about the district’s proposed

endowment fund, which theoretically will remain intact while the school

board scrapes the interest off the top to fund future repairs to schools.

The problem with that plan, English said, was that after 25 years when

the school bonds are paid off, the school board can spend that large

endowment fund however they like.

Furthermore, the board is under no obligation to ever put money into that

endowment fund to begin with, he said.

English’s complaints, however, are not quite accurate, said Mike Fine,

assistant superintendent in charge of finances.

After the 25-year life of the bonds, the money in the endowment fund may

be spent on the repair of facilities or construction of new facilities,

Fine said. Another option is to just leave the funds in place, he added.

As for the district being obligated to put money into the endowment fund,

Fine said, the plan is to create the endowment with the proceeds from the

sale of the district’s Banning Ranch property.

The district, however, cannot specifically commit money that they do not

have yet, he said.

English also criticized the board for spending taxpayer money on a

special election.

“The perception is that they are trying to sneak this through,” English

said.

Although he will not share the group’s plan of attack, English promises

an interesting few weeks leading up to the special election.

“Let’s just say there is going to be some activity against it,” English

said.

Meanwhile, a handful of Newport Coast residents is mounting an attack of

their own against the proposed tax.

Lead by resident Alfred Willinger, a small group from the coastal

Mello-Roos district have begun to encourage their neighbors to vote “no”

on the measure, mainly because they feel they already pay more taxes than

other Newport-Mesa residents.

“We strongly believe that another layer of tax is unfair an unjustified,”

Willinger said.

Newport Coast is one of several Mello-Roos areas in the district.

Residents there pay a special tax to pay off bonds that fund public

improvements, such as roads, post offices, and schools.

In their campaign to defeat the bond measure, the residents are

concentrating their efforts solely on those Mello-Roos districts, which

include Newport Coast, Newport Ridge, Bonita Village, Castaways and

Harbor Cove, Willinger said.

“There will be a mailer to all [Mello-Roos] residents outlining the

reasons for a negative vote on the measure,” He said. “That is going to

be the extent of our efforts.”

The one other action the group will consider taking, Willinger said, is

placing an ad in the paper.

The residents in these areas are not opposed to supporting public

schools, but simply feel they already pay more than their fair share of

taxes and should be exempt from the bond, Willinger said.

Measure A supporters, however, say it would be unfair to exclude the

residents of these areas.

“We don’t believe we can equitably exclude them,” said Kurt Yeager, a

proponent of the bond and a former member of the facilities committee.

“Their Mello-Roos taxes pay for new facilities to accommodate the growth

stimulated by the Newport Coast development -- this is for refurbishment

of schools, which many of their children will attend.”

But these groups, while vocal, are not the biggest concern for bond

proponents.

If Measure A supporters are nervous about their success, it’s because of

the area’s silent anti-tax voters, who will vote down the bond without

voicing any opposition.

“We have a two-thirds majority to gain, which is a really hard number to

get and it’s doubly hard in a very diverse community like we have,”

Yeager said. “I think we run scared because we know how high the hurdle

is.”