Foundation supports its students

Jeff Benson

It’s about the simplest mission statement you’ll ever see on a high

school website -- “Providing educational opportunities for Costa Mesa

High School students.”

The newly-formed Costa Mesa High School Foundation has done

exactly that in just its first year of existence, donating more than

$50,000 to the high school and the adjoining middle school for

student needs.

The foundation gave the high school $20,000 to buy new books for

its honors and advanced placement programs, as well as another

$10,000 for computers and other technological needs.

Costa Mesa High School also purchased pins, academic letters and

novelty items to recognize its outstanding students, Principal Fred

Navarro said.

And the high school was also to buy band instruments and choir

robes, he said.

“Anytime they help the band program, they help the entire

population, because it’s a mandatory elective for kids to be in

music,” Navarro said. “That works out well for us.”

The middle school fared nicely also, with $5,000 allocated to an

eighth-grade field trip to the Museum of Tolerance in Los Angeles. A

new indoor/outdoor sound system and video equipment were among other

items purchased, Navarro said.

“Part of the goal is to apply for grants, to collect donations and

to have some fundraisers to augment the money that’s been donated,”

he said.

Money from the foundation represented a year’s accrued interest on

a $1-million endowment from the Segerstrom family, Navarro said. The

Segerstroms own South Coast Plaza and much of Costa Mesa’s land.

Through the Home Ranch development project, the Segerstroms made

an equal endowment to the Estancia and TeWinkle Schools Foundation,

which benefits Estancia High and TeWinkle Middle schools. Both

foundations are made up of volunteers, including community

representatives and parents from each of the four schools, said

Bonnie Saryan, Costa Mesa High foundation board president.

“We did have limited funds to give, but I feel we’ve made good use

of the funds we have,” Saryan said. “We’ll be doing more fundraisers

in the future, so we’ll have more money to give.”