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Jeff Benson

School board members offered their New Year’s resolutions for 2005

and the common theme was keeping the welfare of the students the

number one priority in their meetings.

Trustees expect to fully implement the district’s new five-year

strategic plan across the curriculum and maintain student and

teacher-accountability standards. Monitoring the district’s financial

stability was also a goal. Each of them said their resolutions are

attainable enough to include on board agendas this year, and each of

them offered a range of prospects for the upcoming year.

* School board President Serene Stokes said she plans to push for

a districtwide high school career fair, perhaps in October, so the

district’s students can explore different career paths.

Trade schools and the military require strong work ethics,

timeliness and teamwork that high school programs provide, she said.

“We’re not saying don’t go to college, but what we are saying is

that there are trades desperately seeking people,” Stokes said. “You

need two years of college for many of these programs, but after those

two years, I mean, you can still make good money.

“There are mechanics making $100,000 a year and electricians

making $150,000 a year. We’ve never really emphasized this.”

* Trustee Dana Black wants to make progress on high school

restructuring, which is expected to implement more online classes and

flexible student scheduling into the curriculum.

Her hope is that high schools are expanded to make them more

student-friendly and efficient.

* Board member Martha Fluor said she hopes the district can find

funding to purchase a performing arts center at Newport Harbor High

School, a project that is already on the books.

The Norman R. Loats performing arts center and adjoining Robins

Hall were condemned after they failed seismic inspection in June,

forcing the school’s arts and science classes to portables.

* Another trustee, Linda Sneen, stressed the importance of family

partnerships and creating a culture where parents are more actively

involved in their children’s lives and feel more welcomed by their

children’s schools.

Sneen and Trustee David Brooks hope to see the district receive

funding for an all-purpose athletic facility at Estancia High School

and an aquatic center at Costa Mesa High School.

The district is sponsoring a golf tournament at Mesa Verde Country

Club, with all proceeds funding the sports facilities. But Sneen

anticipates that additional donations will be needed.

“We really want to push it this year,” Sneen said. “We’ve been

talking about this way too long.

“We have the means in the city and in nearby communities, because

it’s a worthwhile project.”

* Board member Tom Egan kept his resolution simple, saying the

district should try “to get enough starch into the system so that

parents will be delighted to send their kids to their neighborhood

public school.”

But Egan feels the district should, as many teens are now saying,

“keep it real” in financial terms.

“At a fundamental level, I resolve to cut down on ‘mission creep’

in the district,” Egan said.

“All of public education over the past 50 years has bitten off

more than it can chew, promising more than it can deliver.

“A first step in correcting this is to begin aligning district

expectations with the actual resources available to us.”

* State Supt. of Education Jack O’Connell released 10 of his own

New Year’s Resolutions Wednesday.

In 2005, O’Connell hopes to, most notably, develop

pre-kindergarten-quality standards in preparation for a universal

preschool, increase the rigor and relevance of coursework in high

schools to better prepare graduates for college or careers, and to

encourage reading and going to college.

“In the coming year I hope we will all rededicate ourselves to

work even harder to improve student test scores, so our children will

have even more options for success,” O’Connell said.

* JEFF BENSON covers education and may be reached at (714)

966-4617 or by e-mail at [email protected]