NEWPORT MESA UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT BOARD MEETING PREVIEW

Here are some items the board will consider today:

GRADE SCHOOL REALIGNMENTLast year, a group of parents in the Costa Mesa zone brought a petition to the school board, asking that the district reconfigure the grade levels at their children’s elementary schools. Three schools in the zone — Sonora, College Park and Paularino Elementary — have classes up to third grade, with students moving to Davis Elementary School for the fourth through sixth grades. Costa Mesa High School serves every secondary level, from seventh to 12th grades.

The parents, including Sonora PTA President Brian Valles and City Councilwoman Katrina Foley, argued that having a single elementary school is less jarring for students, and more than 100 parents signed the petition. Since then, the district has had study sessions to determine parents’ feelings about rearranging the schools.

In a report posted on the district Website, administrators outlined three possible groupings for schools in Costa Mesa’s zone. In two of them, Davis converts to a middle school, while the elementary schools end at either the fifth or the sixth grade. In the third, Davis becomes a magnet school serving kindergarten through the eighth grade and drawing children from all attendance boundaries.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The board is not set to vote on the reconfiguration until February, so the 3 p.m. study session will just be an opportunity for residents to voice their concerns. Expect a few dozen impassioned parents arguing for each of the proposed realignments — as well as a few who argue for no change at all.

BOARD MEMBER STIPENDSSchool board members in Newport-Mesa make $400 a month. State law, however, permits districts to increase stipends 5% annually to keep up with inflation. Shortly before leaving office in June, then-Supt. Robert Barbot asked a state group to compare Newport-Mesa’s board member compensation with similar districts around California.

With the results showing that roughly one-third of districts in the study offered more than the base compensation, Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard and Deputy Supt. Paul Reed have proposed increasing trustees’ stipends by an average of 2.5%. The move would cost the district $840, which would be split between the current year’s and the next year’s budgets.

WHAT TO EXPECT

The board members will likely vote to approve the compensation increase.

IF YOU GO

WHAT: Newport-Mesa Unified School District board meeting

WHEN: Study session at 3 p.m. today; regular meeting at 7 p.m.

WHERE: District Education Center, 2985-A Bear St., Costa Mesa

INFO: Call (714) 424-5000 or visit www.nmusd.us