Laguna Beach Unified board selects Leadership Associates to run superintendent search

The Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education voted unanimously to ask staff to prepare a contract with Leadership Associates to conduct the district’s search for a new superintendent after interviewing two finalist firms.

Leadership Associates and Education Leadership Services each made 20-minute presentations and answered board questions at the meeting. Peggy Lynch, a partner at Leadership Associates, told the board that “selecting a superintendent is probably one of your most important jobs, if not the most important job that you have,” and described the firm as a long‑running California partnership that has done hundreds of searches and emphasizes candidate diversity.

The firms outlined similar search steps — board planning, focus groups and surveys, targeted recruitment, reference checks and finalist interviews — and both offered post‑placement mentoring for the incoming superintendent. Clint Harwick, who led the Education Leadership Services presentation, said the work is twofold: “finding you the right superintendent” and helping the board set a vision and strategic plan to…