Think Twice. No, think three times.

LETTER TO THE EDITOR PUBLISHED BY LAGUNA BEACH INDEPENDENT WEEK OF JANUARY 30, 2026

The Jan. 22, 2026 School Board meeting achieved a new low in Laguna Beach civic governance. At issue was Bylaw 9322 which currently states that creation of the Board Meeting Agenda is shared with the School Board and the Superintendent. The Board majority consisting of Hills, Morgan and Perry want to amend the Bylaw to state that the Board President has the final say. The drawback to this seemingly innocuous distinction is that it would allow the Board President to eliminate Agenda items not to their liking and/or agendize issues that are not the responsibility of the School Board. Dr. Glass gave a coherent presentation on the perils of this amendment including the fact that none of the 5 top performing school districts in California have such a process. The manner in which Mr Hills questioned Dr. Glass following his presentation was inappropriate and inexcusable. Any normal institution would censure a participant for that type of behavior.

It is clear that the Board majority is not interested in education or our students. They want to settle past grievances and consolidate power. Unfortunately, our options as a community are limited. I urge anyone who cares at all about education in our community to be very careful when voting next November for a School Board Trustee. It is our best chance to correct this very unfortunate situation.

Jeb Brown

Laguna Beach