Newport-Mesa school district fights state fines over rat infestations and other problems

A rodent infestation at Newport Harbor High School that was punctuated last year when students staged a walkout resulted in the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health hitting the Newport-Mesa Unified School District with nearly $20,000 in fines for a range of workplace issues across three campuses.

The district is contesting the fines, which were highest at Costa Mesa High School over rats and problems with plumbing in the science wing.

Here is the breakdown of the fines, according to Cal/OSHA reports filed after inspections in May, June and November 2018:

• Newport Harbor High School, Newport Beach: $2,690 total for four alleged violations, including “harborage of insects, rodents or other vermin,” failure to verify that a hazard assessment had been done for custodians, a lack of plans for prevention of worker heat illness and a lack of a respiratory protection program

• Corona del Mar Middle and High schools, Newport Beach: $3,420 total for five alleged violations, including failure to document inspections and maintenance of school heating, cooling and ventilation systems, blocking electrical equipment, and rodent, hazard assessment and respiratory protection violations similar to those alleged at Newport Harbor

• Costa Mesa High School: $13,095 total for nine alleged violations, including improper chemical storage, an open electrical cabinet, a blocked exit, and rodent, hazard assessment and respiratory protection issues

The biggest-ticket problems cited at Costa Mesa High were poor water flow in an emergency eyewash station in a science lab and failure to activate the eyewash stations and showers in several science classrooms each month to test and flush the lines, as required by state law. Eyewashes and showers are intended to rinse off hazardous chemicals in case of accidental splattering or other exposure.

All fines were due in December 2018, though the district appealed the previous month. That’s where the matter remains. The district board of trustees has periodically met in closed session about the issue, most recently Oct. 7.

District spokeswoman Annette Franco said Newport-Mesa would not comment about the Cal/OSHA process because it involves legal matters.

“We prioritize safety of our students and staff and continually evaluate and improve upon our practices,” she said.

The Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers filed a complaint with Cal/OSHA after the April 2018 protest at Newport Harbor High.

Newport Harbor High School students and teachers demonstrate in April 2018 to protest what they described as a rat infestation at the school’s Dodge Hall, where math and world language classes are held.

(File Photo)

About 150 students, chanting and holding signs bearing slogans such as “Congrats, we have rats” and “The plague, Part II,” protested in front of the campus administration building during a school day.

Teachers and students said they had complained for months about a rat infestation at the school’s Dodge Hall, where math and world language classes are held. They told about live and dead rodents, rat urine and blood from a rat crushed in a trap on and around desks.

Around the same time, representatives of the Orange County Mosquito and Vector Control District visited the campus, and a county health worker who was at the school for a routine inspection reported vermin evidence elsewhere, including rat droppings around a cafeteria trash bin.

The district said at the time that it was limiting rodents’ potential access by sealing holes in walls, adding screens in vents, installing sweeps under doors and adding rodent-resistant trash cans.

Newport Harbor’s rat problems stretched back to at least 2016, when several were seen and trapped in Dodge Hall classrooms. School administrators blamed that infestation on construction work on the school’s stadium and a nearby church, saying it likely drove the pests into the classrooms.

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