Board to hear more about improvements

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- The Newport-Mesa School District has made its list of

needed school improvements, and is literally checking it twice.

Earlier this month, the district’s facilities committee, which was

created to determine what improvements are needed at deteriorating

schools, gave school officials two lists of recommendations.

The first was a list of things that needed to be done at each school,

said Mike Fine, assistant superintendent for financial services. The

second was a list of improvementsthat the committee wanted district staff

to consider.

“The staff has been revisiting all those properties,” Fine said. “We’re

out filling in the blanks, if you will.”

On the second list were questions about the earthquake-readiness of

schools, about putting air-conditioning in all classrooms, and about

whether teachers were happy with white boards, instead of chalk boards,

in the classrooms.

The committee also asked staff to check whether improvements on the list

may have been made during routine maintenance, said school board member

Jim Ferryman.

Once all that information is in, Ferryman said, the committee will make a

formal recommendation to the school board. Ferryman said he hopes the

recommendation will be done within the next month.

“Then we can go ahead and do what needs to be done,” he said.

The initial estimated cost of repairing these crumbling classrooms was

$127 million. Once the final reports are in, the board will have a more

precise estimate, Ferryman said.

Fine’s office will be giving a verbal progress report to the board

tonight.

Also at the meeting, school board members will discuss the possibility of

adding a portable classroom to Whittier Elementary School. The estimated

cost of the classroom, which has already been budgeted, is $33,800. The

classroom also would be used for adult education in the evenings.