COSTA MESA : County Department to Lease Closed School
Despite protests from Costa Mesa residents, trustees of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District have voted to lease the closed Lindbergh School to the Orange County Department of Education.
The county department plans to move about 250 students, enrolled in child care, migrant education and outdoor education programs, from the Bear Street School to Lindbergh.
“We are very disappointed,” said Anne Dunlevie, a resident who fears the move will create more traffic in the neighborhood. “They did not consider us or our children or our right to have a peaceful existence here.”
Newport-Mesa recently sold the Bear Street School to a developer to help make up for money it lost when the county declared bankruptcy. The Department of Education needs to find a new home for those programs by Dec. 1.
In its vote Tuesday night, the board did not give the county permission to move its Horizons Alternative Education program to Lindbergh from Bear Street. The program educates students who have been expelled from other schools, including some admitted gang members. Neighbors of the school are concerned about safety.
The school board asked staff to look into other sites for the Horizons program and will reconsider the issue at its next meeting on Oct. 24.
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