Building projects keep Newport-Mesa busy as new school year draws near

For campus administrators, teachers and students, school officially goes back in session Tuesday as classes begin in the Newport-Mesa Unified School District.

But there was no summer break for maintenance crews and construction teams that continued to work through the off-season on several major projects and completed some long-awaited updates to campuses throughout Newport Beach and Costa Mesa:

Corona del Mar High School: sports fields

Corona del Mar High School is getting two lighted synthetic-turf sports fields.

One of them will include a rubber track at its perimeter.

The updates also will include scoreboards, fencing, gates and upgraded walkways. Both fields will include bleachers, with seating for up to 664 spectators at the main field and 200 at the second field.

Corona del Mar is the last high school in the district slated for sports field upgrades.

The project is expected to be completed by graduation. The total approved budget is $14.6 million.

Estancia High School: Jim Scott Stadium turf replacement

Plans to replace the synthetic turf at Jim Scott Stadium have been delayed due to reports of saturated soil.

It is anticipated the turf replacement will be completed by the start of the winter sports season.

In an Aug. 5 statement issued to Estancia parents and students, Principal Mike Halt said district staff was making improvements to practice fields along with working to reschedule this season’s home football games.

Other school events also may be rescheduled, Halt said.

District spokeswoman Annette Franco said staff is continuing to work with engineers and contractors to finalize plans to resolve the issue.

Estancia High School: 50-meter pool

Construction continues for a new 50-meter pool and support facilities at Estancia.

The project is being done in two phases — the pool is being constructed first, and work on amenities such as locker rooms and concessions is expected to begin by the end of 2019.

Estancia is the last of the district’s four comprehensive high schools to have an Olympic-size pool. Planning and budgeting for the aquatic center was initially approved in January 2016.

It will replace the school’s L-shaped pool, which will be filled in and replaced with an outdoor courtyard.

Completion of the pool is slated for early 2020.

The total approved budget for the aquatic center is $9 million.

Districtwide: air conditioning, lighting and AEDs

Routine maintenance such as deep cleaning of classrooms and preventive care for air conditioning equipment and roofs also took place this summer.

Additionally, Harbor View, Mariners, Newport, Newport Heights and Whittier Elementary, Ensign Intermediate and Back Bay/Monte Vista High schools had air conditioning installed.

Six other sites — Davis Magnet and College Park, Wilson, Pomona, Kaiser and Woodland Elementary schools received air conditioning the previous summer.

Costa Mesa and Newport Harbor High schools, which have partial heating, ventilation and cooling systems, require “major installations,” district officials said in February. Complete installation is expected by 2020 and 2021.

LED lighting fixtures and automated external defibrillators, or AEDs, have been installed districtwide. The AEDs — portable electronic devices used to help those experiencing sudden cardiac arrest — cost about $32,000.

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