District seeks Latino representative for oversight panel

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- Although the deadline passed and has been extended, no

one from the Latino business community has applied for the committee to

oversee the spending of $163 million to fix the district’s aging schools.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education developed

a specific list of areas that are to be represented for this 31-member,

districtwide oversight committee.

Smaller 11-member school site-based committees will be formed later.

The committees will help make sure the $110-million school bond -- passed

in June -- and the $53 million in state matching funds are spent

correctly.

At least one application came in for every category except the Latino

business community, with the majority of applicants being senior

citizens, said Mike Fine, assistant superintendent of business services.

“We now need to go out into that community and solicit interest,” Fine

said.

In February, the district distributed 33,000 letters with return cards

to find Newport-Mesa residents interested in serving on the oversight

committees. The district received 325 responses.

The committee was open to all residents, but only those who mailed or

called in with interest received applications, Fine said.

Sixty-seven residents returned the applications by the deadline, which

has been extended to Friday.

Members of the normally active Latino community said they can’t

explain the complete absence of interest -- unless the community simply

didn’t understand what the school district is trying to accomplish by

assembling the committees.

“I don’t think the people that received these letters understand it,”

said Manfredo Lespier, president of the Latino Business Council.

While Lespier is still debating whether he will fill out an

application himself, he said he does have several possible candidates in

mind to fill the slot.

Local community activist Paty Madueno also expressed confusion over

the lack of Latino interest, suggesting that the district did not

advertise the committee positions enough.

Although the need for a Latino business community member exists,

trustee Wendy Leece said she felt it was simply a lack of communication.

“It’s probably because it’s such a new organization that it was a lack

of communication to the right group,” she said.