EDUCATION Family, school district disagree about nurses...

EDUCATION

Family, school district disagree about nurses

The family of Leilani Gutierrez, a quadriplegic first-grader at

Newport Heights Elementary, filed a hearing request with the state

Department of Education on Wednesday, claiming that the Newport-Mesa

Unified School District had violated Leilani’s special education

needs.

Last month, the district assigned Leilani a new nurse without her

family’s consent, a move which the family said went against the

student’s Individualized Education Program. June Gutierrez, Leilani’s

mother, said her daughter would stay home from school until the

matter was resolved.

* Dozens of parents filled the multipurpose room of Newport Coast

Elementary School on Monday, voicing concerns about a Newport-Mesa

district plan to rezone their neighborhood. District officials have

said that they want to prevent overcrowding at the school, which

opened in 2001. Many Newport Ridge residents were concerned that

their children would be sent to other schools in 2006.

* On Tuesday, McCarthy Building Companies announced that the

Measure A renovation project at Newport-Mesa schools has reached its

halfway point. The district, which began improvements on 28 school

sites in March 2003, plans to have the $173.3-million project

completed by January 2007.