INSIDE THE SCHOOL DISTRICT Here are some...

INSIDE THE

SCHOOL DISTRICT

Here are some decisions and discussions from Tuesday night’s

Newport-Mesa Unified School District meeting.

NEW BOARD HIERARCHY

Trustee Serene Stokes took over as the new board president

Tuesday.

Stokes took over duties from Dana Black, who will continue to

serve as a liaison to the district’s Citizen’s Budget Advisory

Committee and student board. David Brooks is vice president, Linda

Sneen is clerk and Supt. Robert Barbot continues as chief executive

and board secretary, per board policy.

Trustees selected one another as delegates to school board

associations at the county and state level, to youth councils and to

the Costa Mesa, Newport Beach and Corona del Mar chambers of

commerce.

The board also elected representatives to the Newport-Mesa Gang

Task Force, the Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation and the district’s

Investment Advisory Committee, among others.

Each board member made out lists of which committees they’d like

to serve on.

WHAT IT MEANS

Stokes won the presidential duties hands down after being the only

board member nominated. She will preside over the seven-member board.

As vice president, Brooks will act as presiding officer at all

meetings where Stokes is absent.

Representatives to the committees will try to maintain and

increase ties to various community organizations throughout the year,

Black said.

NEW SCHOOL BUSES

Board members unanimously authorized the purchase of 10

fuel-efficient school buses as it begins to phase out some of the

district’s older ones.

WHAT IT MEANS

The 10 2005-model, 84-passenger Thomas Saf-T-Liner HDX school

buses will cost more than $813,000, payable through a multi-year

equipment lease-purchase program. The district has received $600,000

in grants from the Mobile Source Air Pollution Reduction Review

Committee to offset the price of each bus.