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Newport-Mesa schools superintendent’s pay upped to $275,945

The Newport–Mesa Unified School District Superintendent Fred Navarro received a bump in pay and had his term etended to June 2019.

The Newport–Mesa Unified School District Superintendent Fred Navarro received a bump in pay and had his term etended to June 2019.

(SCOTT SMELTZER / Daily Pilot)
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The board of trustees approved on Tuesday the extension of Newport-Mesa Unified Supt. Fred Navarro’s term to June 2019 and a new base pay of $275,945.

This is one of several salary raises in Navarro’s three years as the district’s superintendent.

When hired in summer of 2012, the superintendent was given an annual base salary of $230,000, according to district reports.

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Then in 2013, he received $245,590 in regular pay, as listed in Transparent California’s data.

The board also unanimously approved a salary of $269,214 a year plus an extra $10,200 for transportation and communication allowances in the summer of 2014. That was considered a cost-of-living adjustment and coincided with a 6% cost-of-living increase for all the district’s classified, supervisory, confidential and management employees.

Supt. Terry Walker of Irvine Unified School District, which serves more than 30,000 students in kindergarten through high school, currently receives a base salary of $275,516, according to Irvine’s superintendent office on Wednesday. Newport-Mesa serves 21,800 students.

Under the existing agreement in Navarro’s contract, an annual merit and performance salary supplement is considered and given by the board based on the results of his annual evaluation. He will continue to receive the transportation and communication allowances.

The standards on which the superintendent is evaluated involve community engagement, leadership, governance, finance and board relationships. The board began this evaluation process in February and completed it in June.

This new base pay, or annuity, was approved Tuesday as a result of Navarro’s recent evaluation.

“We value him,” board President Martha Fluor said. “The board addresses certain priorities and he exceeded the goals versus just meeting them. This is in recognition of his service.”

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