COMMUNITY COMMENTARY:Responding to concerns about school board

As president of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District board of trustees, I am often asked the same questions, and many facts tend to be ignored in election years. Here are answers to those questions and a listing of some facts that school board members often encounter.

Why didn't the district approve the charter school petition?

The answer is very long, in fact the staff of the state board of education took 59 pages to answer this when it was appealed. The petition as presented had many shortcomings: It was not for the students of this school district; only six of more than 100 people signing the petition were from Newport-Mesa; nine of 16 elements required for a charter school were not there or answered as "uncertain."

The state board staff report stated: "The petitioners personally lacked the necessary background in the following areas critical to the charter schools success … they do not have a plan to secure the service of individuals who have the necessary background in curriculum, instruction, assessment, finance and business management."

Had this been approved, it would have cost the district about $5 million a year. Who would have been blamed for not fulfilling their responsibility if the charter was approved, the money gone, and the charter school in shambles?

Why was it necessary to have two bonds to bring the school facilities up to date?

Proposition 13 and the Serrano v. Priest court decision shortly afterward changed how school district finances were directed. The result was that local taxes were sent to the state and redistributed by average daily attendance to school districts. This paid for teachers and programs but did not consider maintenance of facilities. The state legislators recognized their obligation but only funded 1% of the requested amounts. In poor years they only funded 0.5% or none at all. With the thousands of students who went through the facilities each year, and almost no funding to maintain facilities, it did not take long for the facilities to fall into disrepair.