School officials counting ways to spend money

Lolita Harper

COSTA MESA -- The merits of the Home Ranch project may be debatable,

but the possibility of receiving $2 million toward education is a

no-brainer, Costa Mesa school officials said.

“When seven-figure numbers are mentioned around education, it is

extraordinary,” said Estancia High School Principal Tom Antal. “The

amount that we are talking about can do wonderful things for educational

programs and kids.”

The Segerstrom family announced Wednesday it would donate $1 million

to Estancia High and TeWinkle Middle schools and another $1 million to

Costa Mesa High School if the city approves its development deal for Home

Ranch.

The money would be paid in installments of $400,000 over five years,

with the first check to be cut the day the first building permit is

issued, said Paul Freeman, spokesman for C.J. Segerstrom & Sons.

School officials had an idea a donation could be headed their way but

didn’t know the exact numbers until Wednesday.

“I’m still in shock about the amount,” said Costa Mesa High School

Principal Diana Carey.

With a $2-million carrot dangling in front of them, school officials

said they can’t help but start making wish lists.

Carey said her school could use the money for intramural programs,

furniture or after-school programs. Estancia High School has plans for a

comprehensive character education program and enhancing school literacy.

“I’m never short of ideas,” Antal said.

Although parent Matt Montoya recognizes the good the money could do

for his daughter’s education at Costa Mesa High, he is concerned by the

developer’s tactics.

“I know the Segerstroms do a great deal for the community and I care

about my kid’s education, but it sounds like they are trying to buy their

way into the deal,” Montoya said.

C.J. Segerstrom & Sons has been trying to develop the site -- a

91.7-acre lima bean farm bordered by the San Diego Freeway, Fairview

Road, Harbor Boulevard and Sunflower Avenue -- for nearly 20 years, but

has been met with considerable resident opposition.

While visions of dollar signs dance in the heads of Costa Mesa school

officials, opposition mounts against the proposed project. Some members

of the community are concerned about the traffic and environmental

effects of the project, while others are concerned about the lack of

affordable housing.

Officials at the Orange County Community Housing Corp. -- a nonprofit

organization -- and Justice for Janitors said they will rail against the

project.

Allen Baldwin, the executive director of the housing corporation, sent

letters to faith-based organizations in the Newport-Mesa area asking them

to join in the fight against the project.

“The use for this land for jobs and not for housing flies in the face

of our current housing shortage and cannot be held as being

environmentally responsible,” the letter states.

Segerstrom’s Freeman acknowledged the lack of affordable housing in

the county but said there was no community support for it in Costa Mesa.

“Even the people who are in support of affordable housing take a

different attitude when it’s proposed within a stone’s throw of them,”

Freeman said.

In fact, C.J. Segerstrom & Sons originally proposed apartments as the

residential component of the project but were told to change it, Freeman

said.

Baldwin said it is the same conflict that developers have seen for

decades, but when it concerns one of the last pieces of developable land

in Costa Mesa the need for housing becomes more dire.

* Lolita Harper covers Costa Mesa. She may be reached at (949)

574-4275 or by e-mail at o7 [email protected] .