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Trustees approved a not-to-exceed $48,248 contract with Hank Bangser, who will serve as a bridge between outgoing Supt. Russell Lee-Sung and a new district head.
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Newport Mesa Unified School District Supt. Russell Lee-Sung who took over leadership of the district in the middle of a pandemic amid much controversy announced Wednesday he would retire this summer, after 36 years in public education.
In a letter to the school community, Lee-Sung, 57, explained his more than six years with the district would come to a close effective Aug. 3.
“I have been extremely honored and grateful to serve the Newport-Mesa Unified School District and our school community,” he wrote, recalling a period of leadership marked by a nationwide pandemic that forced the closure of schools and moved thousands of NMUSD students to online learning.
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A lawsuit filed by the city of Costa Mesa claiming a $32-million theater planned for Estancia High School did not undergo proper environmental review will move forward, despite attempts by Newport-Mesa Unified officials to have the case thrown out.
In a Jan. 15 legal complaint, Costa Mesa City Atty. Kimberly Hall Barlow said school board members supported building a 46,000-square-foot performing arts complex with a 350-seat theater, black box theater and lobby at the Costa Mesa campus in October 2019.
More than one year later, with plans already submitted to the State Architect’s office, trustees determined in a Dec. 9, 2020 meeting the two-year construction project would be exempt from review under the California Environmental Quality Act a move the city has challenged.