School officials approve plan to improve campuses

Deirdre Newman

NEWPORT-MESA -- Jill Money’s sons won’t use the restrooms at Corona

del Mar High School because they’re not clean, their toilets constantly

run and, generally, they’re in disrepair. Karen Yelsey’s daughters, too,

stay away from the restrooms. Their children’s avoidance has both parents

concerned about such health and safety issues.

So they were disappointed that the school board on Tuesday unanimously

approved the districtwide plan for construction improvements that shows

interior school bathroom repairs are ranked fourth of seven priorities.

“It just seems inappropriate,” Yelsey said. “There are parents that

will still be upset that nothing will be done [to start].”

The plan is the culmination of months of work by a citizens oversight

committee that established four main priorities. Health and safety is No.

1, followed by access for disabled students, structural preservation and

interior renovations. Schools will be worked on one at a time, mainly in

the order of their condition. Corona del Mar High School is not scheduled

for improvements until summer 2004.

While properly functioning restroom fixtures remain in the first

priority, upgrading the bathroom interiors is relegated to the fourth

priority for cost and efficiency reasons, said Mike Fine, the district’s

assistant superintendent.

“I could not recommend going into bathrooms and just doing one thing

without doing all the necessary repairs, except to fix the things that

aren’t working,” Fine said.

Fine, who has two kids in the district himself, said he has also heard

horror stories about district bathrooms, attributing the problem to a mix

of custodial issues and facility problems.

While the original intent of the plan was to create a series of quick

fixes at all schools, Fine said the plan was ultimately ditched for the

good of the total program.

“We recognized early on that things that fell easily into quick starts

were not in priority one or two,” Fine said.

Trustee Serene Stokes suggested sending teams into restrooms to get

them “as clean and bacteria-free” as possible.

“We need a plan in place that the restrooms are looked at more than

once a day,” Stokes said.