Parents, union leaders urge Laguna Beach Unified to retain interim superintendent Jeff Dixon

Parents, PTA leaders and school staff urged the Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education on Monday to keep Jeff Dixon as interim superintendent and to conduct a transparent search for a permanent superintendent.

Erica Rayhall, a parent with three children in the district who identified herself as PTA council president and a former TOW teacher, told the board she was “grateful” the board chose Jeff Dixon as interim superintendent and asked that he remain in that role for the duration of the search process. “In an effort to keep continuity for our children and maintain positive staff morale, I would kindly ask that Mr. Dixon remain our LBUSD interim superintendent for the duration of the pursuit process,” Rayhall said.

The request was echoed by others during the public-comment period. Emily Roth cited state law, saying, “According to the California Education Code 35029, [the board] can waive the credential requirement for an assistant superintendent who may not hold a specific administrative credential and appoint them as interim superintendent.” Roth told the board that Dixon’s 14 years with the district provide institutional knowledge and continuity while a search firm is engaged.

Scott (who identified himself as a high school teacher of 19 years and president of BUFA) said staff feel calmer since Dixon’s appointment. “I’ve had parent teachers come up to me and say, ‘I feel so safe with this,’ ” Scott said. He also told the board that keeping Dixon could save the district money: “If we go with Jeff versus somebody else, it will save the district close to $74,000 probably over the next 4 or 5 months.”

Kitter Brown and other speakers expressed similar support for Dixon and for a careful, transparent process to select a permanent superintendent.

The board adopted the meeting agenda and later recessed to closed session. When the board reconvened, it said there was no reportable action from closed session.

The comments were delivered during the public-comment period before the board’s closed-session consideration; no formal personnel action on the superintendent position was taken during the open session recorded in the meeting transcript.