NEWPORT BEACH : School Board Chief Vows Improvements
In the wake of a financial scandal that has hit the Newport-Mesa Unified School District, the new president of the Board of Education promised this week to do “whatever is necessary” to improve the quality of education.
Jim de Boom said district administrators have been directed to review management practices and develop new policies.
“Looking at the big picture, this Board of Education will do whatever is necessary and within our resources to protect the integrity and improve the quality of education our children receive,” he told a packed auditorium of angry parents on Tuesday.
The parents called for the dismissal of the district’s three top administrators and complained of inadequate classroom conditions.
De Boom begins his new job for a district plagued this past year with financial woes including the recent alleged embezzlement of at least $3 million by the district’s former top financial officer.
“We have problems, and we need to deal with them in order to win back the community’s trust in public education,” he said.
Despite the district’s troubles, De Boom added: “I feel confident in the leadership of (Deputy Supt. Carol A. Berg and Assistant Supt. Thomas A. Godley) to aid the board in the coming weeks as we tackle the issues involved head-on.”
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