School shuffle riles Newport Ridge parents

Michael Miller

A neighbors’ group in Newport Ridge is complaining about a proposed

plan by the Newport-Mesa Unified School District that would change

which elementary school their children would attend.

Under the plan, which district spokeswoman Jane Garland said is

still “in the talk phase,” a number of children in Newport Ridge

would be assigned to Lincoln Elementary School instead of the local

school, Newport Coast Elementary School. The Newport Coast Advisory

Committee, a seven-member group that addresses concerns in the

neighborhood, opposes the plan, which it says would divide the

neighborhood and force some students to travel an unfair distance to

school.

“The issue really relates to where kids in the Newport Coast are

going to be required to go to school,” said Jim McGee, chairman of

the committee. “It creates a situation where families who are in the

same neighborhood are going to end up with children in different

schools when redistricting takes place.”

McGee said the committee plans to hold a meeting on the

redistricting issue May 2 at Newport Coast Elementary, with district

officials, parents and other community members invited to attend.

Garland said the rezoning idea came because of the growing number

of students at Newport Coast Elementary, which has an enrollment of

597 children. The district wants to divert Newport Ridge residents to

other schools to prevent overcrowding at Newport Coast.

“If it continues the way it is, Newport Coast would be affected

beyond its capabilities in terms of accepting more children,” Garland

said. “The bottom line is that Newport Coast is not going to be able

to handle the number of children moving into the building.”

In the district’s rezoning plan for Newport Ridge, incoming

students who have older siblings at Newport Coast would be able to go

there, but others would have to start at Lincoln, which is about

three miles away from the neighborhood.

“There’s nothing wrong with Lincoln,” said Newport Beach Asst.

City Manager Dave Kiff. “It’s just an expectation that when you move

into a community, you’ll go to a certain school. Kids at Newport

Ridge can walk to Newport Coast. You can probably walk to Lincoln

too, but there’s a pretty steep hill on the way home.”

Anna Schlotzhauer, whose family recently purchased a house in

Newport Ridge, said she had planned to send her daughter to Newport

Coast in the Fall of 2006 before learning about the rezoning plan.

“We closed escrow yesterday and found out about the proposed

redistricting four days after we removed the contingencies for our

sale,” Schlotzhauer said.

She added that she believed residents of the neighborhood should

be involved in any plans to change school zoning.

“I’ve been told that there is overcrowding [at Newport Coast] and

I understand that,” she said. “Some measure needs to be taken, but

the people who should be involved first and foremost are those who

stand to be affected by it.”

If redistricting becomes a reality, it would not happen until the

2006-07 school year. At present, all children in the Newport Ridge

area -- located on the eastern tip of the Newport Coast community --

attend Newport Coast Elementary. The rezoning, Garland said, would

likely lead to a “domino effect,” with children being transferred to

Lincoln and others being diverted, in turn, to Eastbluff and Harbor

View elementary schools.

“Everyone’s looking at numbers and seeing where to draw the line,”

she said.

* MICHAEL MILLER covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at michael.miller@latimes.com.