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Tustin Unified School District, California, elections

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Tustin Unified School District
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District details
School board members: 5
Students: 21,600 (2023-2024)
Schools: 28 (2023-2024)
Website: Link

Tustin Unified School District is a school district in California (Orange County). During the 2024 school year, 21,600 students attended one of the district's 28 schools.

This page provides information regarding school board members, election rules, finances, academics, policies, and more details about the district.

Jump to a section:
Elections School board Location Budget Academic performance Students Staff Schools

Elections

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Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1

General election

General election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1

Incumbent Allyson Damikolas defeated Joe Portera in the general election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Allyson Damikolas
Allyson Damikolas (Nonpartisan)
 
71.2
 
7,418
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Joe Portera (Nonpartisan)
 
28.8
 
2,997

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 10,415
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Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2

General election

General election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2

Kathy Copeland defeated Bill Pevehouse in the general election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
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Kathy Copeland (Nonpartisan)
 
54.0
 
7,753
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Bill Pevehouse (Nonpartisan)
 
46.0
 
6,599

There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 14,352
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 4

General election

General election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 4

Incumbent Jonathan Stone defeated Mark McCallie in the general election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 4 on November 5, 2024.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jonathan Stone
Jonathan Stone (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
65.4
 
4,040
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Mark McCallie (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
34.6
 
2,135

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,175
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3

General election

General election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3

Incumbent Lynn Davis defeated Kelly Felton in the general election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3 on November 8, 2022.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Lynn Davis
Lynn Davis (Nonpartisan)
 
57.7
 
5,073
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Kelly Felton (Nonpartisan)
 
42.3
 
3,720

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 8,793
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5

General election

The general election was canceled. Jonathan Abelove (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1

General election

General election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1

Allyson Damikolas defeated incumbent Tammie Bullard and Kirk Hahn in the general election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 1 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Allyson Damikolas
Allyson Damikolas (Nonpartisan) Candidate Connection
 
49.0
 
6,297
Image of Tammie Bullard
Tammie Bullard (Nonpartisan)
 
39.5
 
5,081
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Kirk Hahn (Nonpartisan)
 
11.5
 
1,476

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 12,854
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2

General election

General election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2

Incumbent James Laird defeated Susan Stocks in the general election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 2 on November 3, 2020.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of James Laird
James Laird (Nonpartisan)
 
63.2
 
7,562
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Susan Stocks (Nonpartisan)
 
36.8
 
4,403

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 11,965
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 4

General election

The general election was canceled. Jonathan Stone (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 3

General election

The general election was canceled. Lynn Davis (Nonpartisan) won without appearing on the ballot.

Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5

General election

General election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5

Incumbent Jonathan Abelove defeated Elias Teferi in the general election for Tustin Unified School District school board Trustee Area 5 on November 6, 2018.

Candidate
%
Votes
✔
Image of Jonathan Abelove
Jonathan Abelove (Nonpartisan)
 
76.6
 
5,295
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Elias Teferi (Nonpartisan)
 
23.4
 
1,614

Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source

Total votes: 6,909
Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Tustin Unified Board of Education At-large

General election

General election for Tustin Unified Board of Education At-large

Incumbent Tammie Bullard won election in the general election for Tustin Unified Board of Education At-large on November 8, 2016.

Candidate
✔
Image of Tammie Bullard
Tammie Bullard (Nonpartisan)

Incumbents are bolded and underlined.

Candidate Connection = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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About the district

School board

The Tustin Unified School District consists of five members serving four-year terms. To find information about school board meetings, click here.

List of school board members
NameSeatYear assumed officeYear term ends
Kathy CopelandTrustee Area 220242028
Allyson DamikolasTrustee Area 120202028
Jonathan StoneTrustee Area 420202028
Jonathan AbeloveTrustee Area 520182026
Lynn DavisTrustee Area 320182026

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District map

School district map

Overlapping state house districts

Tustin Unified School District
Office NameCurrent OfficeholderParty% School District Covered% Other District Covered
California State Assembly District 73Cottie Petrie-NorrisDemocratic Party 66% 15%
California State Assembly District 59Phillip ChenRepublican Party 26% 3%
California State Assembly District 68Avelino ValenciaDemocratic Party 8% 4%

The table was limited to the lower chamber because it provides the most granularity. State house districts tend to be more numerous and therefore smaller than state senate or U.S. House districts. This provides an impression of the partisan affiliations in the area.

Budget

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[1]

Revenue, 2021-2022
SOURCE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Federal: $29,944,000 $1,352 8%
Local: $200,402,000 $9,052 54%
State: $141,391,000 $6,386 38%
Total: $371,737,000 $16,790
Expenditures, 2021-2022
TYPE AMOUNT AMOUNT PER STUDENT PERCENT
Total Expenditures: $329,157,000 $14,867
Total Current Expenditures: $296,047,000 $13,371
Instructional Expenditures: $189,782,000 $8,571 58%
Student and Staff Support: $37,105,000 $1,675 11%
Administration: $31,047,000 $1,402 9%
Operations, Food Service, Other: $38,113,000 $1,721 12%
Total Capital Outlay: $13,435,000 $606
Construction: $12,888,000 $582
Total Non El-Sec Education & Other: $3,976,000 $179
Interest on Debt: $11,833,000 $534

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. To protect student privacy, percentages are reported as ranges for groups of 300 students or fewer. If five or fewer students were included in a data set, the data will display as "PS."[2]

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 (%)
2021-2022 47 79 25-29 23 21-39 67 58
2020-2021 46 75 21-39 24 PS 55-59 58
2018-2019 52 84 30-34 29 40-59 72 65
2017-2018 52 84 30-34 29 40-59 74 66
2016-2017 52 84 25-29 29 40-59 71 66
2015-2016 52 82 30-34 29 40-49 71 67
2014-2015 49 81 35-39 26 40-59 65-69 64
2013-2014 72 89 40-49 57 >=50 >=90 86
2012-2013 73 92 60-64 57 60-69 85-89 84
2011-2012 73 92 60-64 57 60-69 80-84 84
2010-2011 70 91 50-54 53 50-59 80-84 82

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 (%)
2021-2022 59 84 45-49 38 40-59 75 69
2020-2021 65 85 40-59 50 PS 70-74 76
2018-2019 61 85 40-44 44 40-59 74 72
2017-2018 62 85 45-49 44 40-59 79 74
2016-2017 62 86 45-49 43 40-59 77 75
2015-2016 62 85 45-49 44 50-59 76 76
2014-2015 57 82 40-44 37 60-79 70-74 71
2013-2014 72 87 50-59 55 >=50 >=90 89
2012-2013 71 87 60-64 55 60-69 80-84 85
2011-2012 72 89 65-69 55 70-79 80-84 86
2010-2011 71 89 55-59 53 70-79 80-84 86

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 (%)
2021-2022 96 98 >=80 96 PS >=95 96
2020-2021 96 96 >=90 95 PS >=95 96
2019-2020 95 97 >=90 94 >=50 >=90 94
2018-2019 95 96 80-89 94 PS >=90 96
2017-2018 95 98 >=80 93 PS >=90 95
2016-2017 96 97 >=90 94 >=50 >=90 97
2015-2016 98 >=99 >=90 97 >=50 >=80 98
2014-2015 98 >=99 >=90 97 PS >=90 >=99
2013-2014 97 98 >=90 95 PS >=80 >=99
2012-2013 97 97 >=90 95 PS >=50 >=99
2011-2012 95 97 80-89 93 PS >=80 98
2010-2011 96 >=95 >=90 94 >=50 >=50 97

Students

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[3]

Year Enrollment Year-to-year change (%)
2023-2024 21,600 -1.1
2022-2023 21,830 -1.4
2021-2022 22,140 -2.8
2020-2021 22,761 -3.3
2019-2020 23,521 -1.1
2018-2019 23,768 -1.0
2017-2018 24,015 -0.5
2016-2017 24,130 0.2
2015-2016 24,079 0.1
2014-2015 24,059 0.5
2013-2014 23,949 0.7
2012-2013 23,771 1.1
2011-2012 23,507 1.8
2010-2011 23,093 2.8
2009-2010 22,454 3.4
2008-2009 21,682 3.6
2007-2008 20,909 1.9
2006-2007 20,515 1.6
2005-2006 20,195 2.3
2004-2005 19,736 4.0
2003-2004 18,950 2.3
2002-2003 18,518 3.5
2001-2002 17,863 5.0
2000-2001 16,963 4.5
1999-2000 16,192 0.0
Racial Demographics, 2023-2024
RACE Tustin Unified School District (%) California K-12 STUDENTS (%)
American Indian/Alaska Native 0.2 0.4
Asian or Asian/Pacific Islander 24.7 12.1
Black 1.6 4.9
Hispanic 46.3 56.1
Native Hawaiian/Pacific Islander 0.3 0.4
Two or More Races 7.0 5.8
White 19.8 20.2

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

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[4]

As of the 2023-2024 school year, Tustin Unified School District had 822.71 full-time classroom teachers. The student-teacher ratio was 26.25.

Teachers, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF TEACHERS
Prekindergarten: 0.00
Kindergarten: 71.05
Elementary: 459.80
Secondary: 291.86
Total: 822.71

Tustin Unified School District employed 7.00 district administrators and 49.00 school administrators as of the 2023-2024 school year.

Administrators, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF ADMINISTRATORS
District Administrators: 7.00
District Administrative Support: 50.53
School Administrators: 49.00
School Administrative Support: 87.82
Other staff, 2023-2024 school year
TYPE NUMBER OF OTHER STAFF
Instructional Aides: 304.77
Instruc. Coordinators & Supervisors: 11.00
Total Guidance Counselors: 49.00
Elementary Guidance Counselors: 25.00
Secondary Guidance Counselors: 17.00
Librarians/Media Specialists: 0.00
Library/Media Support: 0.00
Student Support Services: 95.88
Other Support Services: 528.73

Schools

The following statistics were published by the National Center for Education Statistics, which is a part of the U.S. Department of Education.[5]

The Tustin Unified School District operates 28 schools. They are listed below in alphabetical order.
List of schools
SCHOOL NAMENUMBER OF STUDENTSGRADES
Arnold O. Beckman High2,7139-12
Arroyo Elementary577KG-5
Barbara Benson Elementary324KG-5
Benjamin F. Beswick Elementary414KG-5
C. E. Utt Middle5676-8
Columbus Tustin Middle6046-8
Foothill High2,1969-12
Guin Foss Elementary416KG-5
Helen Estock Elementary488KG-5
Heritage Elementary528KG-5
Hewes Middle9086-8
Hicks Canyon Elementary859KG-5
Hillview High (Continuation)1779-12
Ladera Elementary312KG-5
Legacy Magnet Academy9056-12
Loma Vista Elementary462KG-5
Myford Elementary520KG-5
Orchard Hills1,371KG-8
Peters Canyon Elementary448KG-5
Pioneer Middle9416-8
Red Hill Elementary418KG-5
Robert Heideman Elementary490KG-5
Sycamore Magnet Academy1,161KG-8
Tustin Connect243KG-12
Tustin High1,8209-12
Tustin Memorial Elementary621KG-5
Tustin Ranch Elementary528KG-5
W. R. Nelson Elementary463KG-5


About school boards

Education legislation in California

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See also

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External links

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    • Footnotes

    1. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    2. ↑ U.S. Department of Education, Washington, DC: EDFacts, "State Assessments in Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics- School Year 2021-22 EDFacts Data Documentation," accessed October 18, 2025
    3. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    4. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
    5. ↑ National Center for Education Statistics, "Elementary/Secondary Information System," accessed October 6, 2025
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