NEWPORT BEACH : School District OKs $86.8-Million Budget

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District has approved a tentative $86.8-million budget for the upcoming school year that aims to reduce class sizes slightly and increase teacher salaries by 1%.

The budget plan, which was adopted last Thursday by the Board of Education on a 7-0 vote, also reintroduces physical education into the elementary schools with the hiring of five roving gym teachers.

The tentative plan includes shifting $761,000 from some programs into others. The district cut $100,000 by eliminating the Costa Mesa High School farm program and saved $250,000 because of teacher retirements, said Michael Fine, the district’s budget director.

That $761,000 will be used for such things as reducing class size and providing more supplies for students.

Newport-Mesa will reduce class sizes for grades seven through 12 from 29.5 students per teacher to 29 to 1. The kindergarten through sixth-grade class sizes will remain about the same as last year at a ratio of 29 to 1, Fine said.

In the coming months, the district will evaluate the money it receives from state property taxes and adjust the budget accordingly.

The district will place $2.9 million in its reserve fund.

By state law, the district is supposed to hold at least 3% of its operating budget in reserve.

Stephen A. Wagner, the district’s former chief financial officer, was convicted of embezzling $3.7 million. He is serving a six-year prison sentence concurrently with a 57-month federal sentence.

The Newport-Mesa district is scheduled to approve a final budget at the end of August.