$110-million bond needed, panel says

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- The school board will hear a recommendation tonight to

place a bond measure of up to $110 million before voters sometime this

year.

The recommendation will come from the district’s facilities committee,

which was convened by Supt. Robert Barbot for the purpose of studying the

issue.

After months of examining the district’s crumbling schools and combing

through its tight budget, the facilities committee determined that a bond

will be necessary to fund the $163 million in school repairs.

The remaining $53 million is expected to come from the state in the form

of matching funds, said Mark Schultheis, co-chair of the facilities

committee.

The committee held its final meeting last month and is now ready to

present its conclusions -- and the recommended amount of the bond -- to

the board tonight.

Two other major components of the group’s proposal are geared toward

preventing this issue from haunting the district again in the future.

The first is establishing a citizens review committee, which would be a

safeguard for voters that their tax money is being used properly.

The second is a special fund to ensure the school board has the means to

maintain the schools once they are repaired, Schultheis said.

The matching state funds the district is applying for require that 3% of

the general fund be set aside for the purpose of maintaining the improved

facilities.

With the current general fund of $120 million, the district would need to

set aside $3.6 million each year for upkeep.

As part of its recommendation tonight, the facilities committee will

propose several sources where the district may gain those additional

funds.

The first key source, Schultheis said, would be from the sale of the

Banning Ranch and Balearic properties owned by the district.

The revenue from those sales should then be invested, where it could earn

interest in the neighborhood of $600,000 annually for the maintenance

fund, Schultheis said.

A second source would be money from the state if the district qualifies

as a basic-aid district -- a designation that would allow it to receive

the base amount per student, plus some additional revenue from its own

tax base.

Although officials are waiting on confirmation, that amount is

anticipated to be about $800,000 for the next five years, Schultheis

said.

“That gets us to $1.4 million,” he said. “In addition, the district has

lease revenue from some properties.”

Revenue from leased properties such as Mona Vista and Back Bay average

about $600,000 a year, he said.

“Now we’re at $2 million,” Schultheis said. “That will leave $1.6

million to fund from the general fund, which we think will be straight

forward to accomplish.”

With these recommendations in hand, the school board must decide on the

package it will put before the electorate and whether to place the

measure on a general- or special-election ballot.

FYI

The Newport-Mesa School Board meeting will be held tonight at 7 p.m. in

the Roderick H. MacMillian Board Meeting Room, in the district education

center, 2985-A Bear St., Costa Mesa.