Voters will decide on tried-and-true or new blood in pivotal Newport-Mesa schools election

As the November election draws near, the race for three open seats on Newport-Mesa Unified’s seven-member school board is intensifying in public and online forums.

While the candidates agree that some of the major issues include improving schools on Costa Mesa’s Westside, retaining students across various zones and making facilities’ improvements, many of them disagree with how to implement change.

Over the years, the board has been comprised of many of the same people, often running in uncontested elections. However, in this election season four of the seven seats were up for grabs, resulting in three races and one uncontested seat.

A handful of the current trustees, Martha Fluor, Dana Black and Judy Franco, have sat on the board for decades. The school board does not have term limits for trustees and has been criticized by candidate Steve Smith for “rubber-stamping” instead of focusing on major issues.

Veteran school board members counter Smith’s assertion, saying trustees cooperate as an efficient body that should not be mischaracterized as one that indiscriminately rushes through plans.

Here’s a look at each race.

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Area 7

Current trustee Walt Davenport is running for reelection against parents Lisa Manfredi and Fidel Mora to represent Area 7, which is made up of several Westside elementary schools.

Davenport, 79, has spent the past eight years on the board. This is the first time his seat has been contested.

“It’s definitely a new experience for me,” he said.

Davenport’s now-grown children attended Newport-Mesa schools and his wife was a teacher at California Elementary.

“I don’t think having a long tenure on the board is something that’s negative,” he said. “It gives you time to delve deeper into the issues and workings of the district.”

Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers President Kimberly Claytor blasted Davenport during Tuesday’s board meeting for saying that he had helped keep the board from laying off staff during times of financial hardship.

She pointed out that he voted in favor of layoff notices in 2012.

Davenport said that vote never resulted in job losses.

The teachers’ union endorsed Davenport’s opponent, Mora, as well as Smith and Metoyer.

Both of Mora’s daughters have attended Newport-Mesa schools.

If elected, the 42-year-old candidate said he plans to help reduce class sizes on Costa Mesa’s Westside and provide ways for parents to become more involved in their children’s education — something that he believes is lacking in many parts of the district.

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Area 1

Some say the most controversial matchup in the election pits appointed board member Vicki Snell against Smith, the vice chairman of the Fairview Park Citizens Advisory Committee. The candidates are facing off to represent the Estancia High School Zone.

Trustees appointed Snell in March to fill the seat vacated by former Trustee David Brooks, who sat on the board for nearly 16 years before retiring.

Snell said that after a few months on the board she has a much better understanding of how the school district operates.

However, Smith has centered his campaign around being a new voice for the zone — one that provides an alternative to the perceived complacency of the current board, especially when it comes to Costa Mesa’s lower-performing schools.

“Sometimes we feel like we’re being treated like stepchildren,” the former Daily Pilot columnist said of families on the Westside during a candidates’ forum earlier this month. “We’re not getting the attention we need.”

Snell said Smith’s solutions are simplistic and don’t take into account “unique challenges” faced by many schools.

“It shows me that he doesn’t understand how the district works,” she said. “He doesn’t choose to educate himself on the simplest of things. That’s infuriating to me.”

Since the beginning of the campaign, Smith has kept a blog where he’s shared new ideas for the district each week.

His most-recent school improvement idea was: “Don’t elect another rubber-stamper.”

The post was written after Snell made a comment during a candidate forum — he excused himself to use the restroom and she said she was glad he was gone — that he found rude.

Snell said she was joking.

“I had been discussing alternatives to the tired way of doing things while she was defending the status quo and it had gotten to her,” Smith wrote on his site.

Snell said it’s necessary for everyone on the board to be collaborative in order to make improvements. It’s something she’s not sure Smith can accomplish.

“You can make a lot of noise and be a lone wolf, but you need to be able to work with everyone to come up with a good solution,” she said.

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Area 2

Former trustee and current Newport-Mesa parent Michael Collier will battle former district principal Charlene Metoyer to represent the Costa Mesa High School zone.

Collier spent four years on the board before losing his seat in 2010 to Trustee Katrina Foley, who is leaving to run for City Council.

While Metoyer has thousands of dollars more than her competitor, Collier believes he has the name recognition necessary to garner votes.

While the pair have different perspectives when it comes to the Costa Mesa High School zone, they have remained friendly throughout the election.

“We both said we would run a positive campaign,” she said.

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Uncontested Seat

Board President Karen Yelsey has also served on the board for eight years. Her seat representing the Corona del Mar High School zone was up for grabs this election, but no one filed to run against her.

Before she defeated incumbent Serene Stokes in 2006, Yelsey admitted that it appeared the board agreed on nearly every issue. However, after a short time on the dais, she realized that wasn’t the case.

“I definitely don’t think it’s a rubber-stamping board,” she said. “Sometimes it may seem like that because for the most part things run smoothly. Newport-Mesa is a very well-run district.”