NEWPORT BEACH : School District May Consolidate Offices

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District plans to hire an expert to help the district consolidate three of its administrative offices into one or two sites.

New district Supt. Mac Bernd, who took office in July, said he has made the consolidation one of his top 10 priorities on the job.

The district superintendent’s office is located about a mile from the Board of Education meeting room on East 18th Street, which is 5 1/2 miles from its transportation, food services and finance offices at the intersection of Baker and Bear streets in Costa Mesa.

“It is really crazy,” Bernd said. “It causes us to spend a lot (for) clerical services. . . . (Our offices) are fragmented, inconvenient for everybody who has to get things done around here.”

Bernd said the district may either rent or sell some of its property to raise money for the move but first needs to consult a space-planning expert. The Board of Education unanimously approved the hiring of a space planner earlier this week, and it plans to pick the low bidder for the job.

Bernd said he believes the district can bring mobile home-like offices onto the Baker-Bear site and use the extra space to move other offices onto the property.

But Tom Godley, assistant superintendent, said the district may also consider moving some of its offices into Bear Street Elementary School, which is being used by the county as a preschool and is located only a few blocks from the Baker-Bear street offices.

Godley said the space-planning firm, which has not yet been hired, should finish its work before spring. “We would like them to move quickly,” he said.

As for the consolidation itself, Bernd said, “it will take two to three years to get this done.”