Newport-Mesa Unified School District, California
Newport-Mesa Unified School District |
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Orange County, California |
District details |
Superintendent: Wesley Smith |
# of school board members: 7 |
Website: Link |
Newport-Mesa Unified School District is a school district in California.
Click on the links below to learn more about the school district's...
- Superintendent
- School board
- Elections
- Budget
- Teacher salaries
- Academic performance
- Students
- Staff
- Schools
- Contact information
Superintendent
This information is updated as we become aware of changes. Please contact us with any updates. |
Wesley Smith is the superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District. Smith was appointed superintendent in September 2021. His career experience includes working for 24 years in California public education, including 13 years as a site or district leader and eight years as an educator and influencer. Smith served as the executive director of the Association of California School Administrators.[1]
Past superintendents
- Russell Lee-Sung was the superintendent of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District from 2010 to 2021.[2] Lee-Sung's previous career experience includes working as the district's deputy superintendent and as the assistant superintendent of human resources in the Anaheim Union High School District.[3]
- Frederick Navarro served as superintendent from 2012 to 2020.[4][5] Navarro's previous career experience included working as an assistant superintendent, principal, and director of secondary instruction.[6]
School board
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District school board consists of seven members elected by district to four-year terms.[7][8]
Office | Name | Date assumed office |
---|---|---|
Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education Trustee Area 1 | Leah Ersoylu | December 11, 2020 |
Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education Trustee Area 2 | Michelle Murphy | December 9, 2022 |
Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education Trustee Area 3 | Carol Crane | December 11, 2020 |
Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education Trustee Area 4 | Lisa Pearson | December 9, 2022 |
Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education Trustee Area 5 | Andrea McElroy | July 3, 2025 |
Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education Trustee Area 6 | Krista Weigand | December 11, 2020 |
Newport-Mesa Unified Board of Education Trustee Area 7 | Ashley Anderson | January 1, 2019 |
Elections
Members of the Newport-Mesa Unified School District school board are elected to four-year terms. Three or four seats are up for election on a staggered basis every even-numbered year in November.
Three seats on the board were up for general election on November 5, 2024.
Ballotpedia covered school board elections in 367 school districts in 29 states in 2024. Those school districts had a total student enrollment of 12,203,404 students. Click here to read an analysis of those elections.
Join the conversation about school board politics

Public participation in board meetings
The Newport-Mesa Unified School District school board maintains the following policy on public testimony during board meetings:[9]
District map
Budget
The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[10]
SOURCE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
---|---|---|---|
Federal: | $29,469,000 | $1,588 | 7% |
Local: | $319,820,000 | $17,233 | 79% |
State: | $57,666,000 | $3,107 | 14% |
Total: | $406,955,000 | $21,928 |
TYPE | AMOUNT | AMOUNT PER STUDENT | PERCENT |
---|---|---|---|
Total Expenditures: | $365,027,000 | $19,668 | |
Total Current Expenditures: | $332,885,000 | $17,936 | |
Instructional Expenditures: | $191,699,000 | $10,329 | 53% |
Student and Staff Support: | $38,797,000 | $2,090 | 11% |
Administration: | $46,571,000 | $2,509 | 13% |
Operations, Food Service, Other: | $55,818,000 | $3,007 | 15% |
Total Capital Outlay: | $22,755,000 | $1,226 | |
Construction: | $21,509,000 | $1,158 | |
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: | $428,000 | $23 | |
Interest on Debt: | $5,585,000 | $300 |
Teacher salaries
The following salary information was pulled from the district's teacher salary schedule. A salary schedule is a list of expected compensations based on variables such as position, years employed, and education level. It may not reflect actual teacher salaries in the district.
Year | Minimum | Maximum |
---|---|---|
2024-2025[11] | $66,494 | $159,400 |
2023-2024[12] | $62,144 | $148,973 |
2019-2020[13] | $58,766 | $130,439 |
Academic performance
Each year, state and local education agencies use tests and other standards to assess student proficiency. Although the data below was published by the U.S. Department of Education, proficiency measurements are established by the states. As a result, proficiency levels are not comparable between different states and year-over-year proficiency levels within a district may not be comparable because states may change their proficiency measurements.[14]
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020-2021 | 46 | 72 | 25-29 | 28 | PS | 70 | 61 |
2018-2019 | 52 | 77 | 35-39 | 33 | <50 | 72 | 69 |
2017-2018 | 51 | 75 | 35-39 | 31 | <50 | 65 | 67 |
2016-2017 | 49 | 72 | 35-39 | 29 | 21-39 | 67 | 66 |
2015-2016 | 50 | 72 | 40-44 | 29 | 21-39 | 65-69 | 67 |
2014-2015 | 47 | 67 | 40-44 | 25 | <=20 | 55-59 | 64 |
2013-2014 | 68 | 75-79 | <50 | 48 | PS | >=80 | 84 |
2012-2013 | 68 | 84 | 50-54 | 50 | 60-69 | 75-79 | 82 |
2011-2012 | 67 | 82 | 50-54 | 51 | 50-59 | 60-69 | 80 |
2010-2011 | 65 | 82 | 55-59 | 46 | 60-69 | 60-79 | 80 |
The following table shows the percentage of district students who scored at or above the proficiency level each school year:
School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2020-2021 | 58 | 75-79 | <50 | 48 | PS | >=80 | 65 |
2018-2019 | 63 | 78 | 50-54 | 46 | >=50 | 79 | 77 |
2017-2018 | 59 | 76 | 50-54 | 41 | >=50 | 75 | 75 |
2016-2017 | 58 | 76 | 50-54 | 39 | 40-59 | 74 | 74 |
2015-2016 | 57 | 75 | 50-54 | 38 | 40-59 | 70-74 | 73 |
2014-2015 | 54 | 72 | 45-49 | 32 | 60-79 | 65-69 | 71 |
2013-2014 | 65 | 70-74 | >=50 | 44 | PS | >=80 | 81 |
2012-2013 | 65 | 79 | 50-54 | 45 | 50-59 | 80-84 | 82 |
2011-2012 | 66 | 80 | 55-59 | 45 | 60-69 | 80-89 | 83 |
2010-2011 | 64 | 79 | 55-59 | 43 | 70-79 | 40-59 | 82 |
The following table shows the graduation rate of district students each school year:
School year | All (%) | Asian/Pacific Islander (%) | Black (%) | Hispanic (%) | Native American (%) | Two or More Races (%) | White (%) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2019-2020 | 88 | 85-89 | >=50 | 84 | >=50 | 80-89 | 92 |
2018-2019 | 92 | 90-94 | >=50 | 91 | PS | >=80 | 93 |
2017-2018 | 90 | 90-94 | >=50 | 88 | >=50 | >=80 | 93 |
2016-2017 | 91 | 90-94 | >=80 | 86 | >=50 | 60-79 | 94 |
2015-2016 | 94 | >=95 | >=50 | 89 | >=50 | >=80 | 97 |
2014-2015 | 94 | 90-94 | >=80 | 90 | >=50 | >=80 | 96 |
2013-2014 | 93 | 90-94 | >=80 | 90 | PS | >=80 | 95 |
2012-2013 | 93 | 90-94 | >=90 | 91 | >=50 | >=50 | 95 |
2011-2012 | 94 | 90-94 | >=80 | 90 | PS | PS | 96 |
2010-2011 | 93 | >=95 | >=80 | 87 | PS | 96 |
Students
Year | Enrollment | Year-to-year change (%) |
---|---|---|
2022-2023 | 17,816 | -0.8 |
2021-2022 | 17,962 | -3.3 |
2020-2021 | 18,559 | -8.7 |
2019-2020 | 20,173 | -2.3 |
2018-2019 | 20,641 | -2.9 |
2017-2018 | 21,234 | -1.6 |
2016-2017 | 21,581 | -0.7 |
2015-2016 | 21,736 | -0.8 |
2014-2015 | 21,905 | -0.5 |
2013-2014 | 22,018 | 0.1 |
2012-2013 | 22,003 | 0.7 |
2011-2012 | 21,857 | 0.2 |
2010-2011 | 21,811 | 0.4 |
2009-2010 | 21,718 | 1.0 |
2008-2009 | 21,507 | 0.8 |
2007-2008 | 21,338 | -0.4 |
2006-2007 | 21,421 | -3.3 |
2005-2006 | 22,122 | -1.6 |
2004-2005 | 22,487 | 0.5 |
2003-2004 | 22,383 | 0.5 |
2002-2003 | 22,275 | 1.6 |
2001-2002 | 21,919 | 1.2 |
2000-2001 | 21,658 | 1.4 |
1999-2000 | 21,364 | 0.0 |
RACE | Newport-Mesa Unified School District (%) | California K-12 STUDENTS (%) |
---|---|---|
American Indian/Alaska Native | 0.1 | 0.0 |
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander | 5.7 | 0.0 |
Black | 0.8 | 0.0 |
Hispanic | 47.0 | 0.0 |
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander | 0.4 | 0.0 |
Two or More Races | 6.8 | 0.0 |
White | 39.0 | 0.0 |
Note: Percentages for race and ethnicity may add up to more than 100 percent because respondents may report more than one race and the Hispanic/Latino ethnicity may be selected in conjunction with any race. Read more about race and ethnicity in the census here.
Staff
As of the 2022-2023 school year, Newport-Mesa Unified School District had 902.77 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 19.73.
TYPE | NUMBER OF TEACHERS |
---|---|
Prekindergarten: | 0.00 |
Kindergarten: | 89.37 |
Elementary: | 503.21 |
Secondary: | 310.19 |
Total: | 902.77 |
Newport-Mesa Unified School District employed 20.00 district administrators and 51.70 school administrators as of the 2022-2023 school year.
TYPE | NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS |
---|---|
District Administrators: | 20.00 |
District Administrative Support: | 66.88 |
School Administrators: | 51.70 |
School Administrative Support: | 94.75 |
TYPE | NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF |
---|---|
Instructional Aides: | 289.33 |
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: | 13.00 |
Total Guidance Counselors: | 38.00 |
Elementary Guidance Counselors: | 4.00 |
Secondary Guidance Counselors: | 11.50 |
Librarians/Media Specialists: | 4.66 |
Library/Media Support: | 0.00 |
Student Support Services: | 105.60 |
Other Support Services: | 756.08 |
Schools
Contact information
Newport-Mesa Unified School District
2985 Bear Street
Costa Mesa, CA 92626
Phone: 714-424-5000
About school boards
Education legislation in California
Bills are monitored by BillTrack50 and sorted by action history.
See also
California | School Board Elections | News and Analysis |
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External links
- Search Google News for this topic
- Newport-Mesa Unified School District
- Newport-Mesa Federation of Teachers
- California Department of Education
- California School Boards Association
Footnotes
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "Newport-Mesa Board of Education Selects Dr. Wesley Smith as New Superintendent," September 9, 2021
- ↑ LA Times, "Newport-Mesa Unified board, overriding concerns, names Russell Lee-Sung district superintendent," August 5, 2020
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "Newport-Mesa Board of Education Announces Mr. Russell Lee-Sung as Superintendent," accessed May 17, 2021
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "Agreement for Employment of Superintendent," accessed October 9, 2019 (dead link)
- ↑ LA Times, "Fred Navarro to retire as superintendent of Newport-Mesa school district," June 13, 2020
- ↑ Orange County Register, "Newport-Mesa district names new superintendent," June 22, 2012
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "Board of Education," accessed July 27, 2015
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "Trustee Area Boundary Map," accessed May 17, 2021
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "Bylaw 9323: Meeting Conduct," accessed December 14, 2023
- ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed June 17, 2024
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "2024-2025 Teacher Salary Schedule," accessed April 16, 2025
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "2023-2024 Teacher Salary Schedule," accessed February 5, 2024
- ↑ Newport-Mesa Unified School District, "2019-2020 Teacher Salary Schedule," accessed May 17, 2021
- ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2018-19 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed February 25, 2021
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