School bond in voters’ hands

Danette Goulet

NEWPORT-MESA -- School bond supporters may find it difficult to get any

work done today as they keep their fingers crossed in hopes that at least

two-thirds of voters mark “yes” on their ballots.

It is a day that parents, teachers and administrators at Newport-Mesa

Unified School District have anxiously awaited.

For months, hundreds of volunteers have made phone calls, canvassed

neighborhoods and sent glossy fliers asking voters to support the

$110-million bond measure intended to repair all 29 of Newport-Mesa’s

aging schools.

They have done all they can to ensure passage of the school bond --

almost. The campaigners’ final task will be getting the voters out to the

polls.

“Our whole effort now is on making sure our supporters vote,” said Mark

Schultheis, co-chairman of the campaign committee, Citizens to Rebuild

Our Schools.

Faced with the daunting task of gaining two-thirds of voter approval

today, the committee will make one last push.

About 100 volunteers are expected to man the phones one more time,

calling each resident that promised to support the school bond and

reminding them to vote.

“My concern is that we always do what’s best for our kids,” said Supt.

Robert Barbot. “I think this would be good for the kids in our community,

so we’re going to all hope and pray for positive results.”

If the bond passes, the school district will apply to the state for

matching funds in the amount of $53 million -- bringing the grand total

to $163 million for the repairs.

District officials have calculated that the total amount is needed to

bring each of the 29 schools up to standard, which is outlined in the

facilities master plan developed by a committee of 30 community members.

Outlined in the facilities master plan are the specific repairs -- from

seismic retrofitting to repaving driveways and fixing leaky roofs -- for

each campus.

After the facilities master plan was presented in January, the school

board voted in February to put the task of repairing Newport-Mesa’s

schools into the hands of voters in a special June election.

School board members remain confident in their decision.

“I have received a lot of positive input from friends and neighbors --

people have been very receptive,” said Dave Brooks, a school board

member. “I think we’re going to be successful with it.”

Brooks said he feels the board and the district have done all they can to

assure voters that their tax dollars would be used wisely and safely.

And if the school bond fails to pass?

“We’re going to have to come up with some sort of miracle,” Brooks said.

“We will do whatever we need to do. I am confident that the citizens of

this community really want this.”

FYI

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. today. For directions to the

polling place nearest you, and for live election results, call the Orange

County Registrar of Voters at (714) 796-8322, or visit the Web site at

o7 https://www.oc.ca.gov/electionf7 .