Laguna Beach Unified board names Jeff Dixon acting superintendent after split vote in closed session

The Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education appointed Jeff Dixon as acting superintendent pending the selection of a permanent superintendent, the board reported after closed session on Oct. 12, 2025.

The board reported that an initial motion to appoint Dixon as acting superintendent pending appointment of a full‑time superintendent failed on a 3‑2 vote. A second motion — to appoint Dixon as acting superintendent pending the appointment of a permanent superintendent and to provide support during his term as mutually agreed — passed unanimously, according to the board’s report out of closed session.

The action follows an extended public comment period in which dozens of parents, teachers and community members urged the board to name Dixon to the interim post to preserve stability while the district searches for a permanent superintendent. April Kaufman, a parent of two children at El Moro Elementary School and a math teacher at Thurston Elementary School, told the board that more than 215 public comments supported Dixon and said keeping him in the role would let the district “put those efforts into finding that permanent superintendent and kind of get things back into a smooth, functioning board and district.”

Randy Beckley, a 19‑year teacher at Thurston, told the board he and other staff wanted the district to “calm us all down” and endorsed Dixon as someone who could provide continuity over the final months of the school year. Danielle Rotersheimer, a PTA volunteer and booster leader, and Julie Gersten, who identified herself as a parent and chair of governance for a large international NGO, also urged the board to select Dixon so the district could move on to the superintendent search.

Public commenters emphasized that candidates for the permanent post are watching board conduct. “If I were looking for a job, I wouldn’t apply to a work culture that’s been set up in the last couple of meetings,” Rotersheimer said. Gersten asked the board to “please move to select Jeff Dixon as interim so that we can give the district the stability it needs for our operations, our staff, our kids, and move on to focusing on what is your very most important job as a board, which is to hire the next superintendent.”

Board members established quorum at the start of the meeting and handled the appointment motions in closed session; the board did not provide a roll‑call vote record with member names tied to the 3‑2 tally in the failed motion. The board’s public report described only the tallies: the first motion failed 3‑2; the second motion passed unanimously. Member Kelly was noted as not yet present when the meeting began.

The board’s report said the approved appointment is “pending the appointment of a permanent superintendent” and that support for Dixon during his term will be provided “as mutually agreed on.” The board reconvened open session after the closed‑session vote and then adjourned.

Members of the public who spoke said the board’s decision on an interim superintendent will affect staff morale and the district’s ability to recruit candidates for the permanent role. Several commenters also said they submitted hundreds of public comments in support of Dixon and urged the board to act quickly to restore stability.

No statutory citations or specific board policy references were reported by the board in its announcement. The district did not provide further details about the length of Dixon’s acting appointment, terms of support, or a timeline for hiring a permanent superintendent during the portion of the meeting summarized in the public record.

The board closed the meeting after reporting the closed‑session actions and taking a final procedural motion to adjourn.