School board to vote on drafts

The school board on Tuesday is scheduled to vote on allowing its architects to draft designs for two theaters and two middle school “enclaves” at Costa Mesa and Corona del Mar high schools.

The projects are expected to be financed through Measure F funds, which allows the school district to buy bonds for school projects, said Paul Reed, district deputy superintendent and chief business officer.

Estimates of project costs are not available yet, he said.

The middle school enclaves will separate seventh- and eighth-graders who now attend the high schools, Reed said.

“That is where most of their classes will be, where their lockers will be, and where they’ll assemble and gather,” he said.

The enclaves will not be schools within the two high schools, but a sheltering space to allow for a transition for the middle school students, Reed said.

The two theaters are expected to be top-of-the-line performing arts venues, Reed said. The district has one performing arts theater at Newport Harbor High School.

“The theaters were one of the main interests for the people who campaigned for Measure F,” Reed said.

The project has been in the works for the last two years. The district’s architects and staff have been working with committees from the community on the design of the project since spring of last year, Reed said.

Construction is expected to begin in the summer and be completed by fall 2013, he said.

The meeting will take place 4 p.m. at the District Education Center - Roderick H. MacMillian Board Room, 2985-A Bear St., Costa Mesa.