Harbor View start looks primitive

Marisa O’Neil

Students starting classes Monday at Harbor View Elementary in Corona

del Mar might be in store for some old-school learning.

As of Friday afternoon, construction continued on the school,

which will open a week later than other schools in the Newport-Mesa

Unified School District. Teachers and administrators at the school

are hoping for the best when classes begin but are prepared for the

worst.

“That school has needed a lot of attention for a long time,” said

Tom Holtom, the district’s representative for Measure A construction.

“We understand it is an inconvenience, but it’ll be great when it’s

done. Just bear with us.”

Teachers moving into their classrooms on Thursday, the first day

they were allowed on campus, found some challenges. Phones weren’t

connected, whiteboards weren’t up, and though the lights were on,

electrical outlets weren’t installed.

On Friday afternoon, Director Bonnie Martin of McCarthy

Construction said that electricians and phone technicians were

working to get everything ready for the first day of class.

“We’re buttoning up the campus, getting the temporary fences up,

making sure there are no safety hazards anywhere,” she said.

“Everything is coming together. It’s not perfect, but it is doable.”

The short lead time means that teachers have to get their

classrooms set up much more quickly than they normally do. One

teacher, who asked not to be identified, said that she worked 11

hours on Thursday and moved about 60 boxes to have things ready for

her students on Monday.

Some parents also pitched in on Friday. The teacher said that

she’s prepared to turn the conditions into a learning opportunity.

“Things will have to be more organized,” she said. “There will be

more old-fashioned teaching -- no kids running off when the bell

rings. They’ll have to wait for us to tell them when to go. It’ll be

back to ‘old school.’”

Martin said that interior construction will continue after school

starts, behind a safety fence. Major projects, like pouring concrete,

will be done on Saturdays. The city does not allow any construction

on Sundays.

The delay in construction, which is expected to finish in

December, has also forced a little creative improvisation on the part

of school officials.

Because the bathrooms are still under construction, the district

has brought in portable toilets. Until they have phone lines in

classrooms, each classroom has a cell phone. And instead of water

fountains, students will bottled water.

Holtom said that an extended bidding process for construction

delayed renovations, but saved $500,000. Unexpected termite and dry

rot problems and plan approvals took up more time, but he said they

are now through the toughest phase in Measure A construction.

Voters passed Measure A in 2000 to improve local schools. Combined

with state matching funds, it freed more than $150 million.

Six other elementary schools that are under renovation with

Measure A funds opened Tuesday without any major glitches, district

spokeswoman Jane Garland said.

“By Monday, [Harbor View] will be as good as the other schools,

and they’ve managed fine.”

* MARISA O’NEIL covers education and may be reached at (949)

574-4268 or by e-mail at [email protected].