Which school subjects? ‘All!’

Residents who showed up at four focus groups have weighed in with their thoughts on a magnet school at the closing Davis Elementary.

But on the central question — focus on the arts, or on math and science — the answer appeared to be “Both!�

A report released on results from the focus groups, held over the last couple of weeks, shows enthusiasm for both kinds of magnet schools. That’s an issue Newport-Mesa Unified School District board members will have to sort out now.

“They want it all,� said board President Martha Fluor, who attended three of the four meetings. “They’d like to have both an arts magnet and a science-and-math magnet. I’m very encouraged. I’m hopeful we will be able to look at both and have a clear direction on where the board is leaning.�

Whatever the focus of the magnet, the 50 to 70 residents who showed up at the focus groups had a few things they were fans of: “high accountability for parents as well as students� and “career exploration.�

But some had worries about the proposed kindergarten-through-sixth-grade age range of the school, suggesting it ran too young to help kids find direction in life and career paths.

Fluor said that changing those grades “absolutely� had to be on the table, and that any magnet school would be a change from the fourth- through sixth-grade configuration of the current school.

“I think that conversation needs to take place,� she said. “Because it was raised from community members, I think it cannot be taken off the table.�

A bigger question raised is whether the phone survey and focus groups were large enough to gauge what the community really wants. Some, including members of the Mesa Verde Homeowners Assn., have questioned whether enough outreach was done to get public opinion. Fluor said that would also be addressed at the meeting.

“The board may say that’s not good enough, want a greater representation, or they may say that enough people really interested were there to provide input,� she said.

The study session will be at 5 tonight at the district offices, 2985 Bear St., Costa Mesa. A final decision on the magnet, set to open in September, isn’t expected until early January, officials said.

MICHAEL ALEXANDER may be reached at (714) 966-4618 or at [email protected].