INSIDE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT Here are some...

INSIDE THE

SCHOOL DISTRICT

Here are some of the decisions coming out of Tuesday’s school

board meeting:

NEWPORT HARBOR HIGH POOL

WHAT HAPPENED

Newport-Mesa Unified School District staff presented a request to

the school board regarding a $1-million two-phase project to address

the deteriorating condition of the swimming pool at Newport Harbor

High School. The pool has posed health and safety concerns in a

number of areas and, as a result, must be either repaired immediately

or shut down.

Staff recommended that the board approve the first phase of the

project, which would cost about $450,000, to put the pool back in

working condition. Since repairs to the pool fall under priority six

of Measure A, and Measure A construction at the school sites is only

expected to go through the priority four level, staff said they are

also looking to other sources for funding.

“The pool is used by hundreds and hundreds of kids, as well as

people in the community,” said Robert Barbot, the district’s

superintendent. “When we look at the other priorities, we think this

is justified.”

Since the pool isn’t used only by the students at Newport Harbor,

but also by the city of Newport Beach for about 23% of the time, by

the city of Costa Mesa for about 33% of the time and by a few other

community organizations, the school seeks funding for the project

from them as well.

However, in order for the pool to be operational by Aug. 26, when

the high school’s water polo team begins practicing for its season,

the district is in a rush to get started. While some trustees did

express concerns about the cost, the board approved the

recommendation to move ahead.

WHAT IT MEANS

By agreeing to move ahead with the first phase of repairs and

renovations of the pool, the board gave authorization to staff to

advertise for bids and accept the lowest bid for the work pending

subsequent approval by the board.

LANGUAGE ARTS TEXTBOOK ADOPTION

WHAT HAPPENED

Bonnie Swann, director of elementary education for the district,

gave a presentation to the board recommending the adoption of the

Houghton-Mifflin Language Arts textbooks for grades K-6. In

accordance with the state of California’s textbook adoption cycle,

the school board is responsible for selecting instructional materials

that would best meet the needs of the students.

After conducting an extensive test of the Houghton-Mifflin

product, which would cost about $100 per student, staff, faculty and

parents agreed that the text, along with the materials it includes,

would maximize students’ achievement and enhance teachers’ abilities

to teach.

WHAT WAS SAID

“It’s designed to make a teacher’s job more efficient and give

them more time to work with students,” Swann said.

WHAT IT MEANS

While the board approved the recommendation to purchase the

Houghton-Mifflin text, exactly when or if they will have the funds to

purchase them is unknown.

“The funds for this will be a primary concern,” Barbot said. “We

want to be prepared and it’s important that we [make this decision]

critically ... I’m pressed to see this happen.”

-- Compiled by Christine Carrillo