Wishing for more time and energy

EDITOR’S NOTE This is the third of three parts of the Daily Pilot’s salute to the three outgoing members of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District board of trustees.

During the last few weeks in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District boardroom, it became a ritual. At the end of the meeting, when each trustee gave his or her own report, Tom Egan would adjust the microphone and in his calm, scratchy voice, relay the latest news about the global economy.

He called it his Postcard from the Flat World — named after Thomas L. Friedman’s book “The World is Flat,” which argues that America’s job market is increasingly in danger of drifting overseas. No other trustees warned about China and India in their reports, but Egan was set on reminding Newport-Mesa to train students for modern careers.

That was Egan as a Newport-Mesa board member — technologically savvy, and just a bit contrary.

A retired engineer, he defeated former trustee Wendy Leece in 2002 and entered Newport-Mesa with an eye for detail. Right after joining the board, he lobbied the district for two technical innovations: giving Newport Beach residents quicker access to films of trustee meetings, and allowing classrooms to broadcast their projects to other schools.

Neither change ended up occurring, but Egan continued to question the status quo during his time on the board. Sometimes, he butted heads with his colleagues.

In August 2004, he reprimanded trustee Martha Fluor at a meeting for sending an e-mail to a state official on behalf of the board; Egan saw it as a violation of the Brown Act, which prevents trustees from acting as a unit outside of official meetings.

Shortly before leaving the board, Egan pushed to change the rule that required three trustees to place an item on an agenda, saying it impeded the democratic process. At Egan’s final meeting earlier this month, the agenda featured a revised policy allowing a single board member to submit an item.

“He’s willing to be the odd person,” said Steve Glyer, Newport-Mesa’s director of technology. “He’s not a conformist, so he does stand out in that sense. It’s not a rebel without a cause.”

Like former trustee Linda Sneen, Egan opted not to run again this year. Serving in Newport-Mesa for four years was a hectic process, he said, but he wouldn’t change anything if he could live it again.

“I just wish I had more time and energy,” he said. “That’s my regret.”