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Expansions approved by NTAC


The North Tustin Advisory


Committee met on Dec. 17 to consider two projects proposed by homeowners. Cliff and Lori Chew sought ap-


proval for a 364-sq.-ft. extension to their single-family residence on La Palmas Drive, together with a 460-sq.-ft. expansion of their ex- isting two-car garage, a new spa and a five-ft. barrier fence within the front yard setback. There was discussion regard-


ing the fence height, but NTAC unanimously approved the proj- ect, providing that five-gallon (or greater) plants are used to obscure the fence. Mike Sabahi requested a vari-


ance for a side yard setback of nine feet instead of the required 13.5 ft. to accommodate an ad- dition of 1,766 sq. ft. on the first and second floors to his existing 6,196-sq.-ft. family home. No op- position was raised by neighbors, and there was no public comment. NTAC approved the request by a 3-1 vote. The North Tustin Advisory


Committee is comprised of seven members: Sara Gerrick, Bud Hen- ry, Lance Jensen, Gail Michelsen, Manny Padilla, Peter Schneider and Pat Welch.


Orange city manager to retire


Orange CityManager John Sib-


ley has announced his retirement after 14 years of service. Starting as assistant city man-


ager in 2001, Sibley was appoint- ed acting city manager in May 2005, and was confirmed as city manager by the city council that July. During his tenure, Sibley saw


Orange through the greatest fi- nancial crisis to hit the country since the Great Depression, when the economy collapsed in 2007. Working with the city council, and supported by the entire city staff, Sibley helped guide Orange through several tough budget years. It was a point of pride that, in 2012, the first balanced budget that passed since the recession be- gan was done without sacrificing customer service or laying off a single employee. “For the past 14 years, John


has served the citizens of Orange with distinction,” said Mayor Tita Smith. “During his 10 years as city manager, John’s focus on world-class customer service and responsible stewardship of the public’s trust has left an indelible mark on the Orange community. All of us wish him well on his re- tirement.” Sibley will work closely with


the city council to transition to a new city manager, and has not yet set his final date of departure.


WCO to mark centennial


The Woman’s Club of Orange


will celebrate its 100th anniver- sary of community philanthropy on Monday, Feb. 16 at noon. Tick- ets for the event are $25, including lunch. Call (714) 750-1300 for res- ervations and more information. Mark your calendar for the


club’sannualflowershow,“Stroll- ing Through the Garden,” to be held on Thursday, April 16 from noon-5 p.m. at the clubhouse, 121 South Center Street, Orange.


By Tina Richards The Orange Unified School


Foothills Sentry


Taking charge Ortega’s


District trustees returning for ad- ditional four-year terms on the board were sworn in Dec. 11 at the onset of the regular board meeting. Rick Ledesma and Tim Sur-


ridge were reelected by voters; Diane Singer returned to her seat unopposed. With the board membership unchanged, the ma- jority bloc of Ledesma, Surridge, John Ortega and Mark Wayland quickly voted to ensure that the existing officeholders also re- mained the same. Singer nominated Alexia


Deligianni-Brydges for board president, but she lost out in a 4-3 (Moffat, Singer, Deligianni) vote. In turn, Ortega was nomi- nated to retain his chairmanship, and was reinstated by the same 4-3 vote. Deligianni was sub- sequently nominated for vice president and then secretary, los- ing each time to the current of- ficeholder by an unwavering 4-3 decision. Secretary Wayland, Vice President Surridge and President Ortega will continue to lead the board as they have in the past.


likely a political move, rather than a reflection of his prowess at the helm. This past November, he adjourned the meeting before it was over, cutting off Kathy Mof- fat before she finished speaking. Engaged in a discussion with an audience member, Moffat paused to take a breath before continu- ing on another topic, but Ortega abruptly ended the meeting. He then had to reopen it to allow her to complete her comments. During the December meeting,


Ortega skipped over an agenda item and had to be told of his er- ror by the board clerk. During the same meeting, he struggled to ex- plain the Brown Act (regulations that cover public meetings) to a constituent and had to be bailed out by Moffat. The discussion of the Brown


Act was brought up when How- ard Kirschner, a public com- menter, asked the board members to tell the audience what they planned to do to upgrade district high schools, following the defeat of Measure K. Kirschner had ap- peared at the previous month’s meeting and requested a public forum on that topic. “I asked you


for it, nothing happened,” he said. “Thirty days have gone by, and I’ve seen no progress.”


Tuesday, January 13, 2015


OUSD board retains status quo, facilities remain a priority reinstatement was


No ad-libbing Disappointed that the item


did not appear on the agenda, he asked board members to talk about it anyway. Ortega attempt- ed to explain why they couldn’t, that by law the board had to stick to the agenda. Kirschner did not accept Ortega’s explanation and questioned the president’s reluc- tance to tackle the issue. It took Moffat to explain that accord- ing to the Brown Act, the public must be given notice of topics to be discussed at any public meet- ing. “It’s not fair to the people who aren’t here,” she said. “We have to agendize the subject in advance.” “I asked for it to be agendized


last month,” Kirscher retorted. “But it wasn’t. Time is passing, how long do you plan to wait?” Surridge assured the speaker than he would agendize it for the next meeting. “I’ll be here,” Kirschner said. Despite the delay in meaning-


ful discussion regarding post- Measure K funding for school upgrades, the district is getting


serious about maintenance. As- sistant Superintendent Joe Sor- rera asked the board to increase the maintenance budget beyond state requirements. During the recession, the state required dis- tricts to allocate just one percent of their budgets for deferred maintenance. That is expected to increase to three percent next year. Sorrera wants to boost it to $11 million, $4 million more than the state requires.


Better than a band-aid That budget allotment, Sorrera


said, would be used to pick up the slack in staffing and repairs that resulted from cuts made during the recession. His priorities are increasing custodial staff at each high school, adding grounds crews and renovating bathrooms. The board agreed that additional


funds need to be targeted for main- tenance. “We need to put a chunk of unappropriated funds back into this,” Deligianni-Brydges said. “We need to funnel what we


can into deferred maintenance,” Ledesma agreed. “Every line item of budget has to step up.” And so do the trustees. Howard


Kirschner, for one, is waiting to hear from them.


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