CdM High to get $1M

The Newport Beach City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved giving $1 million to the Newport-Mesa Unified School District to expand parking at Corona del Mar High School.

It means a lot to our school, said Corona del Mar High parent Nadine Turner, who attended the City Council meeting to thank the city for the money.

The funds will allow the school district to complete the construction during the summer, when it won’t interfere with classes and the schools sports programs, Turner said.

Mayor Keith Curry emphasized the importance of Corona del Mar High for the entire community, before voting on handing the money over to the school district.

The funds will come from leftover pot of bond money established in 1998 to build the Bonita Canyon Sports Park on Ford Road.

City officials first explored using the leftover funds to add further amenities to the park, including landscaping and renovating playgrounds there.

After talking it over with attorneys, city officials came to the conclusion that, for legal reasons, Newport Beach could not use the money to further improve the park because of the way the fund was established.

The city will keep $100,000 of the bond money for park maintenance and give the rest to the school district.

The funds will go to add 80 parking stalls to the high school.

School board members said in a letter to the council that parking is severely limited, and that the extra space is greatly needed. The parking expansion project would cost about $1.3 million.