FUEL Statement on the Interim Superintendent and Permanent Superintendent

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

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

What is happening at LBUSD right now

Dear FUEL Community,

We are writing to you today with information that is time sensitive and consequential. Please read this in full.

A Pattern That Demands Attention

This district is at a critical moment. What we share below is not speculation. It is a documented pattern of decisions being made behind closed doors, without transparency, without a report out to the public, and without accountability.

In January 2026, this board majority conducted an unplanned superintendent evaluation in closed session. It was not on the regular evaluation schedule. It was not announced in advance. Since that time, the agenda item Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release has appeared in closed session five times. Each time, the board has provided no report out to the public beyond a single standard dismissal. The community has been given no information about what was discussed, what was decided, or what action, if any, was taken.

This week, the board called a special meeting with less than 24 hours notice. (EDIT: This email was drafted prior to the agenda release at 1:30 p.m. on Monday 5/11) The agenda, released Monday afternoon for Tuesday’s special meeting, includes a closed session with Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release on the agenda. Again. For the sixth time.

This is not routine.

A strong, stable, effective superintendent is one of the most important assets a school district can have. The research on this is not ambiguous. Districts that lose strong leadership mid-cycle face real and lasting consequences for students, staff, and community trust. We have watched this board work to incrementally reduce superintendent authority through bylaw changes and governance restructuring. We have watched closed session after closed session pass without a word to the public. We are deeply concerned about what this means for the future of LBUSD and for the students, staff, and families who depend on this district every single day.

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Mark Your Calendar

Special Board Meeting: TOMORROW, May 12 | Closed Session: 2:30 p.m. | Open Session/Budget Study Session: 3:30 to 6:30 p.m. | LBUSD District Office, 550 Blumont Street

The agenda includes a closed session with a Public Employee Discipline/Dismissal/Release item followed by a budget study session. The public may submit comment electronically in advance.

Submit Public Comment for May 12 | Link to Agenda

If you can be there, be there. Your presence matters.

Regular Board Meeting: Thursday, May 14 | Open session begins at 6:00 p.m. | Thurston Middle School Library | Link to Agenda | Link to Public Comment Form

The board will hold two required public hearings: one on the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP) for the year ending June 30, 2027, and one on the district budget for the same period. The draft LCAP reflects input through May 1 and will continue to be revised before final adoption in June. Your voice at this hearing can still shape the final plan.

Read the draft, submit feedback using the link below, and show up Thursday.

LCAP and Budget Information: lbusd.org/about/lcap | Submit LCAP Feedback

Farmers Market: Saturday, May 16 | Come find us at the Laguna Beach Farmers Market. Say hello, bring a neighbor, and learn more about what FUEL is working on. Sign up to Volunteer HERE.

How Are Our Students and Schools Doing?

Superintendent Glass published a detailed community article this week benchmarking LBUSD's performance across the district's three goals. It is worth reading in full. Here are the highlights.

On college and career readiness, LBUSD students scored 77.5% proficient in ELA and 72.1% in math on the 2025 state assessment, making LBUSD the highest performing unified school district in Orange County in both subjects and placing us in the top 4% of all unified districts in California. The Class of 2025 graduated at a 97.5% rate. 85% had already earned college credit before leaving our schools.

On social emotional outcomes, suspension rates have fallen from 2.9% in 2023-24 to 1.0% as of April 2026, well below both the state rate of 3.3% and the national rate. Chronic absenteeism climbed midyear and the district responded with targeted family outreach. It has come back down to 9.7% and remains a focus.

On safe and equitable schools, 90% of LBUSD 9th graders report feeling safe at school. Statewide that number is 58%. Achievement gaps for students with disabilities, English learners, and economically disadvantaged students remain a priority and the data shows real progress being made.

Dr. Glass is clear that strong results are not a reason to stop improving. The district is actively studying higher performing schools to learn from them.

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April 30 Governance Meeting Recap

Enrollment and Interdistrict Transfers

This was a continuation item from April 16 and one of the most substantive conversations we have seen at a board meeting this year.

The data matters. LBUSD is at a 35-year enrollment low. The median age in Laguna Beach is 52.5. The birth rate is less than half the state average. Kindergarten classes of roughly 150 students are replacing graduating classes of roughly 220. This is not a cyclical dip. It is a structural demographic shift.

The proposal on the table is modest. It would expand interdistrict transfer eligibility to children of employees of designated community partners including the city, ECAD, and the College of Art and Design. The city component includes fire, police, and lifeguards. Both the city and ECAD have already expressed enthusiasm. Student board representatives Logan and Ivy spoke supportively. The board's direction was to proceed carefully and develop a comprehensive plan. No action was taken.

Bond Consultant Agreement

The board voted 5-0 to approve an agreement with Team CIVX for bond communications consulting. This is standard practice. The consultant's role is informational, helping shape a potential ballot measure based on community priorities. It is not advocacy. Once a measure is on the ballot the district steps back entirely. The board approves all final language and bond counsel will guide what can and cannot be said throughout the process.

The discussion was more complicated than the decision warranted. The unanimous vote reflected what the evidence supported.

FUEL's View: Our schools need investment and the community deserves a clear, honest picture of what that means. We support moving this forward.

Ad Hoc Governance Committee

The board voted 4-1 to revise the existing ad hoc governance committee, adopting a superseding document brought forward by Trustee Hills. Trustee Malczewski voted no.

Her objection was substantive and worth understanding. Her position is that governance discussions, particularly those touching on board bylaws and the structure of how this district operates, belong in public where the community can observe them as they unfold. The previous board reviewed bylaws annually in open public session. A committee that meets outside of public view and brings recommendations back to the board for a vote is a different model entirely.

This concern does not exist in isolation. We have now seen the arts committee, the transportation committee, and the facilities master plan committee all operate outside of public session and bring budget recommendations directly into the LCAP and budget cycle. Each of those committees did meaningful work. But the public had no window into the deliberations that shaped those recommendations. They arrived as finished packages that may be duplicating efforts happening at the District.

A governance committee operating the same way raises the stakes considerably. Bylaws are not programs. They are the rules that govern how everything else gets decided. And based on what was said openly in this meeting, part of the intent is to revisit the balance of authority between the board and the superintendent. Trustee Hills argued directly that under Ed Code 35161 the superintendent's authority derives from board delegation and that the board retains ultimate responsibility. That is a significant position with significant implications for how this district is run.

FUEL's View: We believe in community engagement and we value the work that community members put into these committees. But community engagement is not the same as public process. The community deserves to watch consequential decisions take shape, not just receive the finished product. We will be paying close attention to how this committee operates and whether its work remains visible to the people it ultimately affects.

Help Us Show Our Coalition

We believe this will be a consequential week for our district and its future. The decisions made in the next few days will have lasting implications for our students, our staff, and the community that has invested in these schools for generations.

We are asking you to show up in whatever capacity you can.

Join Us

• Follow along on Social Media

  • Instagram: @FUELLaguna

  • Facebook: @FUELLaguna

• Reach out to board@fuellaguna.org with questions, connections, or to grab a coffee!

• Say hi at the Farmers Market on Saturday!

Thank you for your support!