Parents urge delaying school

Deirdre Newman

Some parents at Newport Heights Elementary School have asked the

district to delay the opening of their school because they are

concerned that the campus isn’t safe and that teachers won’t have

enough time to set up their classrooms.

The request comes on the heels of the Newport-Mesa Unified School

District’s announcement last week that the opening of Harbor View

Elementary School will be delayed a week. Problems uncovered during

construction at the school pushed the opening to Sept. 8.

This afternoon, a site committee monitoring the construction at

Newport Heights will hold a meeting to discuss the status of the

school.

The elementary schools are two of seven schools under construction

as part of Measure A, the districtwide facility improvement program.

Parents are mainly concerned about the lack of electricity in

classrooms, making it difficult for teachers to set up their learning

environments. Part of the reason Harbor View’s opening was delayed

was to provide time for setup.

“From what I’ve heard as of the status today, it doesn’t sound to

me, because there’s not electricity on, that they’re ready,” parent

Wendy Thompson said Wednesday. “If things don’t improve between today

and Friday, then I would say, ‘No they’re not ready.’ On the other

hand, the district is supposedly assuring us that they would not open

the school without those things being in place.”

Assistant Supt. Paul Reed said there is no reason to delay the

opening of the school because teachers there are under the same kind

of pressure as at the other schools under construction, except for

Harbor View.

“It’s no different at Newport Heights than anywhere else, although

I understand Newport Heights wants to believe it is,” Reed said.

“We’re asking all teachers in the [modernization] sites that have to

move in to put out an extra effort for the good of the rehabilitation

of the school and for the [entire modernization program].”

Reed emphasized that the district is trying to provide as much

support to the teachers as possible.

Voters overwhelmingly approved the $110-million Measure A

construction bond in June 2000. The funds have been spread out and

applied to the neediest areas at the schools.

Construction on the first schools broke ground in April, but the

bulk of the work could not be done until the students cleared out in

June.

Some parents are also concerned that the fire alarm system hasn’t

been tested yet, parent Robert Shaw said. He is also worried that the

eight port-a-potties that will be available when school starts won’t

be enough for all the students and staff.

Reed said there will be as many bathroom units available as there

were when school closed in June and there will be more when the

renovation is finished.

He urged parents to look at the big picture and be patient until

the entre modernization effort at the school is complete.

“We had eight weeks to do Herculean labor and, for the most part,

we have,” Reed said. “If people’s expectations were [that] it would

be absolutely perfect the third week in August so it could open the

way it normally would, those expectations are unreal. Anyone who’s

ever moved into a new house knows that it’s not perfect on day one,

and Measure A will continue on all those sites until November. In the

end, it will all be worth it.”

Bonnie Martin, a project director for McCarthy Building Co., which

is handling the renovation effort, could not be reached for comment

Wednesday.

* DEIRDRE NEWMAN covers Costa Mesa and may be reached at (949)

574-4221 or by e-mail at [email protected].