Newport Harbor students would be as safe learning in an

intersection

The front page headline “Major quake could damage school” in

Friday’s edition of the Daily Pilot was followed by details of

unacceptable earthquake risk in two buildings at Newport Harbor High

School. However, nothing will be done about this unacceptable risk

before summer because there is no place to relocate students and

administrators and others.

I think that is completely acceptable if we could schedule any

future earthquake (not if, just when) to occur after summer begins.

In the meantime, if we were to have this major earthquake sooner

rather than later and people were injured or killed because they were

in Robbins Hall and Loats Theater, I believe the responsibility would

lay with district officials and the Newport-Mesa Unified Board of

Trustees. But the legal and financial repercussions would be felt by

the whole district, and ultimately the students. The only people that

would come out ahead would be the attorneys.

If we put a child in the middle of a busy intersection, it is only

a matter of time before that child gets hit by a car, so why would we

allow that child to be there in the first place if we know it’s

dangerous? Tell me what the difference is, please.

As far as the statement by Lisa Boler, PTA president, that the

people involved know what they’re doing and wouldn’t put children or

staff at risk, then what in the world does it mean when the engineers

say that the two buildings pose unacceptable risks in event of a

major earthquake?

In the meantime, we all have to have blind faith that there will

not be a major earthquake before summer, ignore common sense and the

engineers’ “unacceptable risk” warnings, and dutifully and without

reservations send our children to school.

Of course there’s that intersection ...

* PAUL JAMES BALDWIN is a lifelong Newport Beach resident.