COSTA MESA : Special-Education Shifts Are Delayed

Plans to relocate about 40 special-education students from two schools to make room for increasing general enrollment have been shelved because of a tight budget this year at the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

The plan has been postponed until next year, which is unlikely to pose a problem at the schools involved, said Carolyn Stocker, the district’s director of management support services.

“The advantage would have been to create additional space for growth,” she said, “but we realized we would not have enough room until next year.”

Involved in the swap would have been Paularino and Sonora elementary schools, which together would have sent about six special classes to Killybrooke Elementary School.

The district had hoped to buy new modular classrooms for Killybrooke but was unable to buy as many as needed because of the district’s unexpected budget shortfall.

The entire district has had growth in its elementary schools in the past few years, and Paularino and Sonora have been scrambling to adjust to the upswing.

The special-education program would not be altered by the move, and the program director said that at either location the students will receive the same courses.