When my son was in Little League 15 or so years ago, many of his games were played at Ensign and I got to know the school and the area quite well.
Yesterday, I took some time to reacquaint myself and found the neighborhood as charming today as it was back in the day. There is pride of ownership throughout and I like the differences in the home styles dotting the streets. I live in a nice neighborhood but it’s a tract and I sometimes do miss the mix of designs.
What I don’t understand from yesterday’s visit – my big disconnect – is why the district has not maintained the appearance of the school to keep it in line with the neighborhood. The school needs and deserves a makeover – everything from paint to landscaping and this should have been done years ago.
It’s not as though the district doesn’t have the money: Voters passed two bond measures going back 20 years which gave them access to well over $400 million to take care of exactly these types of issues. “Brick and mortar” stuff was the language from the first bond.
Ensign needs and deserves both. Now.
So perhaps if you are attending the do-over meeting on Sept. 16 you can inquire about this.
Save the trees, indeed.
Yesterday’s Ensign journey was an eye-opener. Inspiring, too. Walking on the sidewalk up and down the front of the school, I counted 23 beautiful, old-growth trees with yellow ribbons attached. Many of the trees, perhaps most, looked like this one. If the district ever gets around to bringing the Ensign campus up to par with the surrounding community, the one thing they should not do is touch these trees.
In this so-called security fence debacle, however, that’s exactly what they want to do. Oh, yes, there was some mumbling at the last regular meeting about relocating the trees, but that misses the point. Plus, I don’t believe them. If past performance is the best predictor of future behavior, there is a lot about which residents should be concerned.
New readers, if you need a precedent, an example, search for “Adams fencing” and read the history of the committee that was formed to address the same issue there. Best to do that on an empty stomach.
On the sidewalk surrounding the school, there were multiple chalk messages like the one pictured above. What the district did not seem to understand early on is the neighborhood’s commitment to maintaining a certain look. It’s the look I described above, and removing these trees or even relocating them, disrupts the overall environment.
But ultimately, the Ensign Fence Mess is not about the fence or the trees or security or any of that. This is about respect. The administration thought that they could do their usual thing and hold the required public meetings, hope that no one shows up so that there is no opposition to the plans they’ve already made, and go along their merry way, just as they have been doing for years, thank you very much.
Then the sap hit the fan.
Forced to delay the serious part of the construction process by an unforeseen burst of community activism, the administration scheduled a fake meeting for March 16 with a strict time limit of 6 to 7 p.m. to help limit the outrage.
I’ve received word that another Ensign Fence Mess meeting is pending for March 9. No confirmation yet. If it’s true, that one is between the district and the city of Newport Beach and as of this writing, you’re not allowed to attend.
I’m a big believer in transparency with some radical ideas on the concept. One of the tame ones is that all meetings of any public entity should be open to the public, with the exception of personnel matters, health issues, and perhaps a couple more.
But planning and construction? We should be allowed. There is no better constituency for this than the residents around Ensign. These are homeowners, this school is a reflection of their neighborhood, and when it comes down to it, they’re paying the bills for the school district, including the high salaries of the Keystone Kops involved in the Ensign Fence Mess.
Setting expectations
Walking around the school, I saw construction equipment in place.
It was around 5 p.m. and the work may have halted for the day, but I’ve also been told that work has stopped until the Fence Mess is resolved. If so, that is a positive development. I’m cynical, however, based on my nearly 20 years of witnessing these shenanigans, and if that equipment truly is idle, it’ll just be until the district finishes their minimal due diligence in response to the activism, then we’ll see the trucks and dozers fired up.
Everything, you see, is in place. The day after the regular board meeting in which the Fence Mess was approved, the construction update appeared on the district’s website. The tow-away signs are still there, dated Feb. 27 to March 3.
The flyer
Or is it “flier?” I’ve seen it written both ways and it’s sort of like “irregardless” in that it has been around so long that even if it’s wrong, no one cares anymore.
I found this one on the sidewalk outside the school:
I don’t know who created it and it has been distributed to the affected homes. Gotta love the headline, which nails the true purpose of the activism.
So, there you have it. Not all of it, but most of it – most of the “Ready!’ “Fire!” “Aim!” that has accompanied so many district projects over the years.
I’ll leave you with my regular thought… As important as it is to the Ensign residents, the Fence Mess is not the problem, it is a symptom. The problem is that this type of bungling has been going on so long that it’s, pardon me, mind-bungling.
Taxpayers have suffered for too long with a board and an administration that has taken a steamroller to the concepts of transparency, accountability, and fiscal responsibility.
Now the steamroller is headed for those beautiful trees.
Steve Smith