Schools Considering Bond Issue, New Tax
Members of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District Board of Education said they may have to consider a bond issue or parcel tax to help pay for school repairs.
District officials have estimated that schools in Newport Beach and Costa Mesa need about $15 million worth of repairs, but that the district has too few resources to pay for the work. Board members said they are worried about one problem in particular this year: leaky roofs.
Nearly all the schools complain about roof leaks, and board members said they want those problems solved because weather forecasters are predicting that an El Nino condition will bring a wetter-than-normal winter.
The district raised $7.1 million that it hoped to spend on repairs in 1995 when it sold the former Costa Mesa High School farm to the city of Costa Mesa. But that figure does not come near meeting the district’s needs.
District Supt. Mac Bernd said the district does not know exactly how much it would try to raise through a bond issue or parcel tax.
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