Magnet focus a difficult choice

Newport-Mesa Unified School District board members have talked about a magnet school at Davis Elementary for months, hearing results of phone surveys, holding study sessions and, most recently, four focus groups for community members.

But a decision on what kind of school will replace Davis Elementary next year won’t be decided until January, staff and officials said at a study session Tuesday.

When that happens, district staff will release to the public roughly three options that meet community interest in either a science and technology magnet or a visual and performing arts magnet, Supt. Jeffrey Hubbard said.

They will explain the pros and cons of each, and then it will be up to the board to vote.

“We want you to be able to make strong, educationally sound decisions,” Hubbard said. “But this is an issue of opinion and taste. The board is elected because you’re in touch with the community.”

Community members stood up and spoke on each side of the debate between math and science and the arts; some asked for a combination of both, and one person asked for anything but a combination.

“At meetings, people are very enthused about everything,” said Robin Leffler of the Mesa Verde Homeowners Assn. “I hope you don’t go with everything, because that waters down things.”

Board President Martha Fluor said it was precisely that range of opinion that made the choice difficult.

As a result, it might be impending state budget cuts that tip the balance one way or the other, she added.

“My biggest frustration was there was not a clear-cut answer,” she said. “The bottom line is, they want a smart school, they want an arts school, they want a technology school, they want it all.

“That places us in the untenable position of really having to make the hard decision of what’s in the best interest of the district, not only in terms of education, but in meeting the needs of community, and also looking at this in light of a severe fiscal crisis.”

The district will likely be hearing recommendations in early January, complete with the cost of each kind of school and what grades it might cover, and board members should have a chance to vote by the end of that month, Hubbard said.

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at michael.alexander@latimes.com.