CORONA DEL MAR TODAY

New Harbor View Principal Named

Harbor View Elementary School’s new principal will be Todd Schmidt, who currently is serving as an assistant principal of Costa Mesa High School, according to a news release.

The Newport-Mesa Unified School District board is scheduled to officially appoint him at a meeting on Tuesday, according to a news release, and plans for his “transition to Harbor View will be shared within the next week,” the release said.

Schmidt has been assistant principal of Costa Mesa High School since 2010, the release said, and has been an educator for 15 years.

“During his tenure, he has taught every grade level from 4th grade to 12th grade,” the release said. “Mr. Schmidt’s experience also spans to other countries. He taught 4th and 5th grade in Taiwan for two years.”

Schmidt replaces Charlene Metoyer, who announced in August that she would retire to take care of her sick father.

About 100 people applied for the Harbor View principal position. Those applications were screened, and candidates were selected to be interviewed by a panel that included parent representatives. From that group, candidates went to the superintendent and his cabinet for final selection. Final interviews were held this week.

In August, district officials met with Harbor View parents to find what qualities they wanted in a new principal; read our story here.

“I know the district was taking this seriously, making a decision based on what we said we wanted,” said Cynthia Dickinson, co-president of the school’s Parent Faculty Organization.

NMUSD officials said they will immediately begin the process to find a replacement assistant principal for Costa Mesa High School.