District to apply for state aid

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District’s struggling schools may get a financial boost from the state this year, thanks to a program that would pay for class-size reduction, counselors and teacher training.

The Quality Education Investment Act, announced by State Supt. Jack O’Connell and the California Teachers Assn., would provide nearly $3 billion over seven years beginning this fall. To be eligible for funds, schools must have scored in the bottom 20% in the 2005 Academic Performance Index, a state system of measuring students’ growth on standardized tests.

Newport-Mesa had three schools land in that category in 2005: Pomona, Rea and Wilson elementary schools.

Pomona and Wilson are facing sanctions under the federal No Child Left Behind Act, and Rea will join them this year if its students fail to score highly enough again on the California Standards Tests.

The deadline for districts to apply is March 30.

“We will be applying to it,” said Newport-Mesa Deputy Supt. Paul Reed. “It is a lottery process. There will probably be twice as many schools [applying] as will get awarded. It’s not a competitive grant or a grant that evaluates any of the specifics of the schools that are applying.

“You put your ticket stub in and cross your fingers.”

The money for the Quality Education Investment Act, which Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law in September, came from an agreement to settle a lawsuit that O’Connell and the teachers association filed against the governor. In late 2003, the governor borrowed $2 billion from Proposition 98 funds, which cover basic expenses for schools and community colleges. Educators across the state later accused him of breaking a promise to repay the funds.

“He’s trying to right a past wrong, is what I think,” said school board member David Brooks. “I would appreciate if it hadn’t occurred at all, since he put a hurt on our schools, but we’re glad to have the money back.”