28 Newport-Mesa Schools Share Alike--Up to a Point : Education: Well-off district parcels out tax money equally but parental involvement brings big disparities.

By any standard, the Newport-Mesa Unified School District is a relatively rich one. Unlike districts that are heavily dependent on state funding, Newport-Mesa gets its money mainly from tens of millions of dollars in local property taxes, and that money is equally distributed among 28 schools.

Yet, while students at Newport Elementary School romp on sparkling oceanfront playgrounds, students at Sonora Elementary School in Costa Mesa share precious supplies that teachers in many cases have obtained through an in-house bartering system. While Harbor View School in Corona del Mar funds field trips not only for its students but also for impoverished students from Long Beach, students at TeWinkle Middle School in Costa Mesa scramble to scrounge up $50 each to go to a summer math institute.

The contrasts between schools in Newport-Mesa are a reflection of the contrasts between the cities that make up the district--affluent Newport Beach and Corona del Mar on one hand, and middle-class Costa Mesa on the other.

Historically, the district’s wealthier parents have pumped extra funds into already well-heeled schools to support extracurricular activities and other programs. While less-wealthy parents have also done their share, donations to Newport and Corona schools traditionally have been higher.

Now, the disparities between the district’s schools are becoming more evident as parents less able to cope with the tough economic times are finding themselves unable to give their schools a fiscal boost.

“Every school is equally funded,” said Assistant Supt. Thomas A. Godley, who is in charge of budget matters for Newport-Mesa. “(But) if some school has a more active PTA to raise more funds to supplement that allotment, there’s nothing I can do about that.”

Indeed, no one has faulted affluent parents for contributing to the well-being of their schools and their children’s education. However, some critics say that donations should be spread equally throughout the district to allow all students to benefit.

The differences can often be striking. At Newport Harbor High School, the aquatic boosters recently raised more than $160,000 from parents and the community for a new $580,000 Olympic-size pool. By contrast, “the biggest project our boosters have done this year is build new benches in the swim team locker room and paint the aquatic team logo” on the side of the gym, said Michael Murphy, principal at Costa Mesa High School.

“We do have the interest of the community, but they just don’t have that kind of money,” Murphy said. “It’s much more different in a less-affluent community, where some (parents) can’t take out a checkbook and write a check. . . . They don’t have the ability to buy the big-ticket items.”

In Corona del Mar, parents at Harbor View Elementary School have raised enough funds to take kindergartners from a poorer school in Long Beach on field trips with their youngsters. Corona del Mar High School recently raised $200,000 for a new student weight room.

But in Costa Mesa, Estancia High School faculty members bring in fabric for students in the sewing class. And at Sonora Elementary School, a homemade sign written on white freezer paper hangs in the faculty lounge advertising swaps for basic goods the school cannot afford--”Bottles of Magenta Tempura Paint (in exchange for) 2 Bottles Brown Tempura Paint.”

“Our PTA does a great job, but they’re so limited. They all work,” said B. Juan de Jesus, principal at Sonora. He adds that schools in more affluent areas, where parents can volunteer time, “are fortunate to have so many (wealthy) parents who aren’t working. It must be a neat thing.”

Parents in Newport Beach and Corona del Mar are likely to have more money and time to give to their child’s education than those in Costa Mesa because they are more educated and have better jobs.

According to the 1990 census, the wealthy in Newport Beach--those earning more than $75,000 annually--make up nearly 40% of the households, but in Costa Mesa, almost 20% of the households have annual incomes of less than $15,000.

Further, almost half the households in Costa Mesa reported incomes of $35,000 or less, whereas 68% of Newport Beach households earn more than $35,000 annually.

Census figures also show that 18% of Costa Mesa families with children in the district have a single parent or guardian running the home--more than double that of Newport Beach, where just 7% of the households are headed by one parent.

Newport Elementary School Principal Bill Knight knows that helpful parents at his school are an asset to the quality of his students’ education.

“The PTAs here are very valuable to us. . . . We’re never short of hands,” Knight said. “When both parents in a family work, the schools don’t get the volunteer time.”

Newport-Mesa and the Laguna Beach Unified School District are the only two in Orange County that are basic-aid districts, which means that property taxes are high enough to fund school budgets without supplemental money from the state. Schools in those districts receive only the constitutionally guaranteed minimum of $120 per student from the state.

In California, there are about 30 basic-aid districts. Newport-Mesa is the largest, bringing in $58 million annually from property taxes--almost two-thirds of its annual budget.

Newport-Mesa schools are given identical chunks of money from the district each year, based on the number of students they are going to teach. Schools in less affluent areas also receive the benefits of government programs, such as free lunches and bus rides, that give students a fiscal boost.

While each school gets an equal slice of the funding pie, the pie itself is becoming smaller, and thus the backing of booster clubs and donations from parents is expected to become even more vital. On Tuesday, the district trustees tentatively agreed to a number of cuts in after-school activities to aid in closing a projected $2.6-million budget gap.

Among the cuts was a tentative plan to lop $75,000 from the athletic transportation budget, which provides funds for sports teams’ rides to other schools. If approved, the teams will have to raise money independently to pay for those trips. Schools with wealthier parents are likely to be better able to weather that problem and others where private funding is expected to pick up the slack.

Most principals agree that the district is doing the best job it can to distribute funds equitably, and the fact that some communities help their schools more than others is partly the luck of the draw.

“I think the district is very fair,” said TeWinkle Principal Mary Ann Ehret, a longtime employee who has worked in both Newport Beach and Costa Mesa.

Adds Sonora’s de Jesus: “I think the money’s distributed well here. . . . I think Sonora gets just as good as anyone else.”

Still, some suggest the district could intervene to make sure that equal funding results in equal educational supplies, environments and experiences.

Some say a districtwide group such as the Newport-Mesa Schools Foundation--a nonprofit organization that last year raised $39,000 and awarded grants to 61 teachers in the district--could operate as a clearinghouse that would collect funds or gather volunteers from throughout the community and distribute them equally to all the schools.

“What the district could do is say, ‘OK, we’re going to take 75% of what we get from this school and 25% is going to go to one of these other schools,’ ” said Sandra Silva, a fiscal consultant with state Department of Education.

But critics of such a plan counter that factors such as school spirit and alumni pride that contribute to how much parents are motivated to donate could be undermined. Not knowing exactly which school would get the dollars and volunteer hours could make some would-be donors skeptical of a general pool, they say.

Besides, district officials say, there is no way the district could prevent separate, private fund-raising efforts from cropping up again.

“There’s going to be differences,” Murphy said. “(But) the educational offering is as similar as possible. . . . We try to bridge the gap. It’s a big job.”

District of Differences

Some Costa Mesa schools in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District don’t receive the same time and financial support from parents that many Newport Beach schools get. Costa Mesa households have a lower average annual income and more single-parent families.

District at a Glance

1991-92 budget: $86 million

Students: 16,990

Number of schools Elementary: 17 Intermediate: 2 High: 4 Other*: 5 * For special education, teen-age mothers, continuation schools

Racial and Ethnic Makeup White: 65.8% Latino: 24.9% Asian, Pacific Islander: 8.3% Black: 0.9% American Indian: 0.1%

More Single Parents in Costa Mesa

More than twice as many single-parent families live in Costa Mesa than Newport Beach Married Costa Mesa families: 45.8% Married Newport Beach families: 26.0% Single Costa Mesa families: 18.7% Single Newport Beach families: 7.5% Note: Other include families headed by a non-relative: 1.4% in Costa Mesa, 0.6% in Newport Beach

High Incomes in Newport Beach

A greater percentage of Costa Mesa households earn less than $15,000, while a greater percentage of Newport Beach households earn more than $75,000. A look at estimated household incomes for 1991:

Costa Mesa Newport Beach Under $15,000 17.1% 11.0% $15,000 to $34,999 31.5% 19.4% $35,000 to $74,999 36.6% 31.8% More than $75,000 14.8% 37.8%

*Estimates based on 1980 census; 1990 income data not yet released

Source: U.S. Census Bureau; National Planning Data Corp.; Newport-Mesa Unified School District