NEWPORT BEACH COSTA MESA : 2 District Sites Chosen for Possible Sale

A committee considering eight vacant or leased Newport-Mesa Unified School District properties for possible sale has reviewed half the sites and designated two as candidates so far.

Jerry King, chairman of the surplus property committee, told the school board this week that the vacant Balearic School was selected for sale because it is too small to operate as an elementary school and that nearby schools, including Adams, Mesa Verde and California elementary schools and TeWinkle Middle School, could absorb any new students in the area.

The vacant Banning property, at 16th and Whittier streets in Newport Beach, was also listed as surplus.

The committee found its proximity to the city’s new reservoir and ground-water development project and the Newport-Inglewood earthquake fault impractical for school construction.

The committee rejected selling the closed Costa Mesa High School farm site, however, saying it could be used as an athletic complex.

District officials are negotiating such a plan with Costa Mesa and Orange County Fair Board officials, who would put up the money for construction and maintenance of a football field, rubberized track, soccer fields, basketball courts and other amenities.

The panel also will recommend keeping Mesa Verde School, which has been closed but might be reopened if population demand is great enough.

The committee review of the Eastbluff, Lindbergh and Monte Vista school sites and the 16th Street administrative facility are still in the works.