TimesOC: Reopening of Orange County schools linked to social class

Good morning, and welcome to the TimesOC newsletter. It’s Wednesday, Sept. 16.

My name is David Carrillo Peñaloza, the author of the TimesOC newsletter and an editor for Los Angeles Times Community News.

The reopening of school classrooms in Orange County can be linked to social class.

Reporters Paloma Esquivel, Howard Blume and Andrew J. Campa wrote about how school districts in more affluent areas of the county are planning to welcome students back for in-person learning this month, sooner than in districts serving low-income Latino households like Santa Ana. The coronavirus has hit Santa Ana the hardest in the county, ranking No. 1 for cases (9,824) and deaths (260), and those numbers are reasons why the Santa Ana Unified School District won’t have its elementary students back in class until at least November.

“We have some of the highest COVID rates in all of Orange County,” said Santa Ana district spokesman Fermin Leal, whose district might allow high school students back on campus in early 2021. “We’re not going to reopen just because the state tells us it’s OK or the county gives us the go-ahead.”

While Orange County is on track to reopen schools on Sept. 22, districts in cities with lower COVID-19 rates appear better equipped to open this month.

The Capistrano Unified School District and Newport-Mesa Unified School District, both of which serve wealthier households, plan to bring students back to their campuses at the end of the month.

Reporter Sara Cardine wrote that not everyone in the Newport-Mesa district, which operates schools in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa, is in agreement with the proposed start date.

“We want nothing more than to see our students in person,” said Tamara Fairbanks, the president of the Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers, “but the lack of information on safety and instruction demonstrates to us that NMUSD is not ready for reopening.”

More O.C. stories

— Kenneth Mullinix doesn’t want people to feel sorry for him. The Newport Beach resident survived a stroke in 2015. Five years later, from Memorial Day to Labor Day, the 63-year-old swam 100 miles in the ocean.

— The case against Mohamed Sayem, a Black man who was beaten by Orange County sheriff’s deputies in 2018 and charged with resisting arrest, is falling apart. The county district attorney’s office has dropped the felony charge against Sayem.

— Angels slugger Albert Pujols hit his 660th career home run on Sunday, tying him with Hall of Famer Willie Mays for No. 5 on baseball’s all-time home-run list.

— An Orange County sheriff’s deputy has been arrested on suspicion of repeatedly breaking into and burglarizing the Yorba Linda home of a deceased man.

— Costa Mesa High School football coach Jimmy Nolan, whose youngest daughter, Micki, 3, died in a car crash last week in South Carolina, gave an update on the condition of his three family members who survived the two-vehicle accident.

— Samuel Johnson became the first Black person to lead Orange County’s Transportation Corridor Agency. The Irvine resident has almost 30 years of experience in the industry.

— Max McKennon, 18, of Newport Beach, is headed to the French Open to play in the boys’ singles main draw.

— People from as far as Santa Clarita drove down to Huntington Beach to watch a movie. While movie theaters in Orange County are open, they are still closed in Los Angeles County due to the pandemic.

— The Laguna Art Museum has opened its doors. But the Laguna Beach museum will hold this year’s Gala fundraising event online on Sept. 26.

— The Fountain Bowl, which has been in business for almost half a century and hosted professional tournaments, is on the market. Owners Dave Osborn and Gary Forman would like to sell it to a buyer who can keep it as a bowling alley.

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See you Friday morning.