NEWPORT BEACH : Schools to Pay for Fund-Raising Study

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has decided to spend $33,000 for a study to evaluate prospects for its first fund-raising campaign.

The study will test the fund-raising climate in Orange County before the district decides to go ahead with an effort to raise $1 million, possibly in the fall, officials said.

The study will be paid for with interest earned on a $2-million donation from the Irvine Co. for education enhancement programs, said board member Jim de Boom.

The Board of Education voted unanimously last week to fund the study.

ST Enterprises Inc., based in Pasadena, will interview scores of potential donors from the corporate and private sector in Orange County and report its findings to the district.

It will also map a strategy for the fund-raising campaign.

If the climate is favorable, the board will consider hiring ST Enterprises or another public relations firm to conduct the actual fund raising.

The embattled district is attempting to rekindle the public confidence lost when its financial officer confessed last year to embezzling almost $4 million from district coffers.

The district would use the money to fund athletic and music programs, said De Boom, so that other funds could be spent on maintenance of school facilities.