Residents say old campus an eyesore

Deirdre Newman

Neighbors of the Lindbergh School site on the east side of the city

want the property cleaned up.

Don Knipp and his wife, Ann, along with two other couples, feel

the property is in such a state of disrepair that they want it to be

returned to a neighborhood school, as it was until 1989, or sell the

property.

“It has been nothing but a problem to the neighborhood because the

facilities are really going to pot,” Don Knipp said.

The site is owned by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District,

which leases part of the property to the Orange County Department of

Education.

Negotiations to renew that lease are currently ongoing.

Neighbors’ concerns with the aesthetics of the site are being

addressed, Supt. Robert Barbot said, but the school district is not

planning on reopening a school at this time or selling it.

“The truth of it is the community might need it there someday,”

Barbot said.

When the school closed down because of shrinking enrollment, the

district entered into a long-term, lease-purchase agreement with the

Mesa Consolidated Water District, which built an underground

reservoir next to the school. Neighbors’ complaints include people

parking on the street and getting in the way of street sweeping;

people dumping large pieces of trash on the site and the general poor

condition of the site. They say it’s basically a

commercial/industrial site in the middle of a residential

neighborhood.

“The place is in shambles,” Knipp said.

The district is addressing the tangible complaints of the

neighbors, Barbot said. It fixed the cord on the flagpole so the flag

is flying again. To combat people tossing their trash, like old

furniture, on the site, the county offered to pick up large trash

pieces whenever they see it, Barbot said.

The neighbors had also complained about the housing of animals

on-site that the county uses for its outdoor educational programs.

The county had always intended to eventually move the animal program

off the site as part of its master plan and will be doing so this

summer, said Ellin Chariton, executive director of school and

community services with the Orange County Department of Education.

The county, which also has administration offices for its school

and community services division and an outdoor science program on

site, has been doing its best to address the neighbors’ concerns,

Chariton said. They have asked people not to park on the street, she

said, but that’s difficult sometimes because there isn’t enough

parking in the lot.

“It’s important for us to be good tenants for the school

district,” Chariton said.

The district has entered into multiple-year agreements with the

county in the past, but recently Barbot has favored shorter leases to

keep the district’s options open, he said. The district knows how

quickly enrollment in a neighborhood can change from its experience

with Andersen Elementary School, Barbot said.

“We went from talking about closing it because of shrinking

population to adding five [portable classrooms] on the site,” Barbot

said. “It’s not all related to birthrate. It’s related to the value

of the homes, the age of citizens and the economy.”

If the district doesn’t reopen a school on site, Knipp’s group is

asking that the city buy it and expand Lindbergh Park and maybe add a

neighborhood library or community center. But the city’s hands are

tied since the school district owns the property, City Councilman

Allan Mansoor said.

“I think the only thing we can do at this point is try to work out

Mr. Knipp’s concerns with the school district,” Mansoor said. “As far

as purchasing the property, I am open to looking at all options, but

it’s up to the school district whether they want to sell it or not.”