FUEL Statement on the Interim Superintendent and Permanent Superintendent
On May 14 the LBUSD Board Majority made two of the most consequential decisions a school board can make entirely behind closed doors. In closed session, the board appointed Manoj Roychowdhury as interim superintendent and voted 3-2 to approve a contract naming Don Austin as the next permanent superintendent of LBUSD, effective July 1. No public notice. No community input. No opportunity for families, staff, or residents to weigh in on the single most important hiring decision a school board makes. FUEL documents what the timeline of a fully prepared press release sent 39 minutes after the closed session ended reveals about how this decision was made. This is not a commentary on Don Austin's qualifications. It is about a board that hides predetermined outcomes behind closed session procedures and calls it governance.
Dear FUEL Community,
FUEL Statement on the Installation of LBUSD Interim Superintendent and Permanent Superintendent
Tonight, the LBUSD Board majority made two of the most consequential decisions a school board can make, and they did it behind closed doors.
In closed session, the board voted to appoint Manoj Roychowdhury as interim superintendent. Then, in a 3-2 vote, they approved a contract naming Don Austin as the next superintendent of LBUSD, effective July 1.
No public notice. No community input. No opportunity for the families, staff, and residents of this district to weigh in on the single most important hiring decision a school board makes.
Here is what makes this worse.
The closed session ended around 5:50 PM. The next portion of the meeting began around 6:00 PM. At 6:29 PM, a ParentSquare message went out to the entire district community from the Board President.
That message was not a brief notice. It was a fully produced press release, complete with prepared quotes from Board President Sheri Morgan, prepared quotes from Dr. Austin himself, multiple paragraphs of background, and a media contact line listing Morgan's direct phone number and email address.
That press release was not written in 39 minutes. It was not written after the meeting. It was written before it.
What that timeline tells us is this: while the community was left completely in the dark, Board President Morgan was coordinating outside of closed session with the incoming superintendent to craft communications around a predetermined outcome. The vote was a formality. The decision had already been made.
We want to be clear about something. This is not a commentary on Don Austin's qualifications. His record speaks for itself and we wish him well. This is about how this decision was made, and what it reveals about how this board majority continues to operate.
Transparency is not optional. Stakeholder voice is not a courtesy. And a board that hides predetermined outcomes behind closed session procedures is not serving this community. It is controlling it.
FUEL will continue to document this pattern. We will continue to show up. And we will keep working toward a board that governs the way this community deserves.
November is coming. We hope to see many of you at the Farmers Market this Saturday.
With Resolve, FUEL Board
A Statement from FUEL | Families Unified for Education in Laguna
On May 12, in a 3-2 vote, the LBUSD Board Majority approved a mutual separation agreement with Superintendent Dr. Jason Glass, ending his tenure less than one year into his role. This is the third superintendent Laguna Beach Unified School District has lost in 18 months. FUEL responds with a direct statement on what this decision means for our district, our students, and our community. This outcome is not a surprise. It is the result of a pattern FUEL has been documenting since our founding. There is no version of a high-performing district where cycling through three superintendents in 18 months is considered normal, healthy, or sustainable. November cannot come soon enough.
We are devastated.
Tonight, in a 3-2 vote, the LBUSD Board Majority approved a mutual separation agreement with our Superintendent , Dr. Jason Glass, ending his tenure not even a year into the role. This marks the third superintendent our district has lost in just 18 months.
Dr. Glass came to this district exceptionally qualified for this role, with decades of experience leading large and complex school systems and a clear vision for the future of public education. Our hearts are with Dr. Glass, his wife, and his family tonight. They did not deserve this.
And sadly, this outcome is not a surprise. It is exactly what FUEL has been warning this community about since our founding. We have watched this board majority systematically consolidate control of this district one bylaw change, one closed session, one governance restructuring at a time. Teachers and staff have felt it. Families have witnessed it. Tonight was simply the clearest expression yet of where this has all been heading - they are dismantling our District.
There is no version of a high-performing district where cycling through three superintendents in 18 months is considered normal, healthy, or sustainable. Many in this community, even those who disagreed on other issues, had rallied behind Dr. Glass and saw in him a path toward stability, professionalism, and moving LBUSD forward.
Instead, this power-driven Board Majority has chosen continued chaos.
November cannot come soon enough.
With Resolve, FUEL Board