Clarifying concerns about construction
Mark Buchanan
In June 2000, voters approved the Measure A bond issue to refurbish,
repair and update all 28 school sites in the Newport-Mesa Unified
School District. The Board of Education created a Citizens’ Oversight
Committee to oversee the implementation of Measure A. This 31-member
committee is comprised of representatives from 15 different
organizations and interested citizens from throughout Newport Beach
and Costa Mesa.
For nearly three years, the oversight committee has actively
assisted the district and McCarthy Builders with the planning and
prioritizing of the refurbishment work. We have closely monitored the
design, bidding, budgeting and construction processes. Overall, we
are extremely satisfied with the quality of personnel involved, the
progress they have made to date and the efforts they make to squeeze
the most improvement possible out of every dollar.
This project is a massive undertaking that will impact all 28
campuses throughout the district. During the course of construction,
20,000 students, 1,500 teachers and administrators and all their
related parents, visitors and neighbors will be affected. Although
the district and the builders have planned their work to minimize
disruptions, these campuses are more than 40 years old; it is
reasonable to expect that there will be surprises, difficulties and
frustrations. The end result will be better and safer learning
environments for our kids.
Refurbishment of the first group of elementary schools is wrapping
up now. Most of the work has upgraded infrastructure, such as
electrical, plumbing, roofs and access for the disabled. More
rewarding improvements, however, are the new classrooms and
administrative offices. Students will now enjoy bright, clean rooms
with windows and heaters that work. Restrooms are new. All rooms are
wired for computers and telecommunications.
The work has gone smoothly overall; however, there have been a few
frustrations. At Harbor View, dry rot in the roofs was more extensive
than expected. The additional repairs delayed the completion of the
summer work, causing school to start a week late. The window
manufacturer was late delivering window systems, which caused some
finished classrooms to operate briefly with boards in the windows.
The committee has watched how the district and McCarthy responded
to these challenges. They shifted crews to repair the roofs as
quickly as possible, modified the school calendar to make up the lost
days and assisted the school staff over weekends to open the campus.
They arranged to have murals painted on the boards and flew a
representative to the window factory to ensure that our windows were
shipped. They have helped teachers unpack boxes, attended parent
meetings and responded to all reasonable questions and concerns.
District officials and McCarthy personnel have consistently acted
above and beyond their duties to make this process as painless and
productive as possible.
Concerned parents have lodged a number of specific complaints.
Most have been constructive and helpful: Kaiser Elementary will have
new windows installed next summer because the existing windows cannot
be refurbished; construction phasing has been extended to provide
more flexibility for students and staff; the district is implementing
a landscaping program outside the scope of Measure A to complete each
campus. Where possible, the district and the builders have
accommodated parents and staff.
Some parents, unfortunately, have been less constructive. At
Kaiser, there has been talk of safety hazards and boycotts. First,
there has never been a safety hazard. No students would be allowed on
campus unless the fire safety systems met fire safety codes. When
combining old classrooms, refurbished classrooms, new portable
classrooms -- marked to stay at the school -- and old portable
classrooms that will be removed, it is impossible to tie them all
together with an integrated alarm system during construction.
Second, the classroom move has been rescheduled for this weekend.
Originally, classrooms were scheduled to relocate over the Dec. 13
weekend for two reasons: it was more efficient from a construction
standpoint and the expectation was that teachers would rather not
relocate during their holiday break.
Third, “punch list” items (that do not affect education, such as
paint touch-up) will be addressed after all phases of construction
are completed rather than at the completion of each phase. The work
schedule was designed this way to be as cost effective as possible.
These explanations have been given repeatedly to the concerned
parents. They may not like the explanations, but their unwillingness
to accept them does not create a “communications problem.” We believe
that the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and McCarthy Builders
have responded appropriately to concerns raised by the Kaiser parents
and staff.
The Measure A refurbishment project is an enormous undertaking
that will effect us all. Frustrations are unavoidable. Due to funding
limitations, we will not see all the improvements and “bells and
whistles” that we would like. We are confident, though, that the
district and the builders will bring our infrastructure up to current
standards and create learning environments for our kids, and their
teachers, that meet the high standards of our community.
* MARK BUCHANAN is the chairman of the Citizens’ Oversight
Committee.
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