School District Plans for More Students

Preparing for an influx of students as home development continues along the Newport Coast, the Laguna Beach school board Tuesday is expected to finalize a development agreement that could eventually yield more than $6 million for the district to upgrade campuses.

According to a mitigation agreement with Irvine Co., the developer will pay the district $10,225 for each single-family home with 2,400 or more square feet and $1,740 for smaller homes, interim Supt. Jackson E. Parham said.

Irvine Co. Vice President Carol Hoffman said the agreement could yield a maximum of $6.6 million.

The money will not help the fiscally strapped district with its current financial woes, however, because it will not be received immediately and can be spent only to improve the schools so they can accommodate the new pupils, Parham said.

The homes may not be built for three years, he said, so “there’s no immediate positive impact at all.”

Ultimately, though, the new homes could be a significant benefit to the district because of the property taxes they will generate. Laguna Beach Unified is the only school district in Orange County that relies on property tax revenue rather than on attendance-based state funding.

“I think there will be more money generated by the development than kids,” Parham said. “So long term it will help our financial circumstances.”

The district, which has been in a financial crisis and is still working to balance its budget for the current school year, has two elementary schools, one middle school and a high school. The younger children from the Newport Coast development will attend El Morro Elementary School, the oldest school in the district.

A total of 2,600 homes are to be built along the coast between Newport Beach and Laguna Beach. About 825 of them will be in the Laguna Beach district, Hoffman said. The others will be in the larger Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

The school board meets at 7:30 p.m. at 550 Blumont St. Information: (714) 497-7700, Ext. 202.