Board appoints Dr. Don Austin as next superintendent
On May 14, 2026 — two days after the board's mutual-separation vote with Superintendent Jason Glass — the LBUSD Board of Education announced the appointment of Dr. Don Austin as Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1, 2026. The board appointed Chief Business Official Manoj Roychowdhury as Interim Superintendent for the transition period between Glass's departure on May 31, 2026 and Austin's start. Austin previously served as principal of Laguna Beach High School for five years, and as superintendent of Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District and then Palo Alto Unified School District; his Palo Alto tenure ended in a February 20, 2026 mutual separation agreement. Per the May 14, 2026 agenda and the open-session recording, the appointment votes were taken in a 3:30 p.m. special closed session preceding the regular open meeting, under Board Bylaw 9321 (Closed Session); no public report-out of the vote count was made at the open session (which itself adjourned to a second closed session at the end without a captured report-out). The press release did not state the board's vote on the appointment or describe a search process.
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Citations (24)
- Laguna Beach School Board Appoints Dr. Don Austin as Superintendent of Schools primary Laguna Beach Unified School DistrictLaguna Beach Unified School District · 2026-05-14
The Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education today announced the appointment of Don Austin, Ed.D., as Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1. The action quickly follows the governing board's May 12 action to approve a mutual separation agreement with Dr. Jason Glass, which ends his service as Superintendent after May 31, 2026.
Opening of the official LBUSD Board of Education press release, issued May 14, 2026 by Board President Sheri Morgan.
- EdSource · 2026-02-20
EdSource coverage of the February 2026 mutual separation agreement that ended Don Austin's tenure as Palo Alto Unified superintendent, several months before his Laguna Beach appointment.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District · 2026-05-14
Official LBUSD recording of the May 14, 2026 Regular Board Meeting (Open Session). The appointment votes were taken in the 3:30 p.m. special closed session preceding the open meeting; no public report-out of the vote count was captured at the open session, which itself adjourned to a closed session at the end. See /meetings/2026-05-14-regular for the transcript-derived summary.
- Laguna Beach Unified's Stress Test op-ed A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com)A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com) · Erika Hennon Rule · 2026-05-14
The meeting has a 3:30 p.m. special session (interim superintendent) and a 6:00 p.m. regular meeting, held at Thurston Middle School.
Rule's May 14 preview of the meeting at which Austin's appointment was announced; the essay also notes Trustee Malczewski's reelection candidacy.
- FUEL Statement on the Interim Superintendent and Permanent Superintendent advocacy FUEL — Families Unified for Education in LagunaFUEL — Families Unified for Education in Laguna · Emily Rolfing · 2026-05-14
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.
FUEL Board statement, May 14, 2026.
- ParentSquare district post — Austin appointment announcement (post 80599066) primary data Laguna Beach Unified School District (Info LBUSD account, via ParentSquare)Laguna Beach Unified School District (Info LBUSD account, via ParentSquare) · 2026-05-14
ParentSquare district-wide distribution of the appointment press release. The system-recorded send timestamp is 6:27 PM on May 14, 2026 (post ID 80599066); FUEL's contemporaneous account cites 6:29 PM, a two-minute discrepancy with the documentary record.
- Laguna Beach Independent · Alicia Venter · 2026-05-15
Just two days later, on May 14, the district held a closed meeting to potentially appoint an acting superintendent, interim superintendent or superintendent.
Laguna Beach Independent reporting on the May 14 closed session.
- LBUSD board cuts ties with superintendent after less than a year, quickly appoints former LBHS principal as replacement news Stu News LagunaStu News Laguna · Sara Hall · 2026-05-15
On Thursday (May 14) the board announced the appointment of former LB High School Principal Don Austin as the new superintendent, effective July 1.
Stu News Laguna reporting by Sara Hall.
- Finding Dr. Right: The LBUSD Superintendent Search op-ed A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com)A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com) · Erika Hennon Rule · 2026-05-19
If Austin was vetted last year and the board chose Glass, why is Austin the immediate answer now? If Glass was the right choice after a full search, what changed so quickly? If Austin was the better fit, why was he not selected the first time? These are not conspiracy questions. They are obvious questions created by the district's own timeline.
Erika Hennon Rule's May 19 synthesis essay framing the procedural questions raised by the May 14 Austin appointment relative to the prior Glass search.
- Stu News Laguna · Tom Johnson · 2026-05-19
The Laguna Beach Unified School District's Board of Education announced a "mutual separation agreement" with its superintendent on Tuesday, May 12, then hired a replacement just two days later without published public notice. A detailed press release followed within 30 minutes of the Closed Session vote, which passed 3-2.
Tom Johnson's May 19 Fair Game column. The 30-minute figure rounds the ParentSquare-documented 37-minute window between closed-session end (~5:50 PM) and the 6:27 PM ParentSquare blast.
- Former LBHS Principal and Past Palo Alto Superintendent Named to Replace Jason Glass Ed.D. news Stu News LagunaStu News Laguna · 2026-05-15
The Laguna Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) Board of Education announced the appointment of Don Austin, Ed.D., as Superintendent of Schools, effective July 1. The action follows the governing board's May 12 approval of a mutual separation agreement with Jason Glass, Ed.D., which ends his service as Superintendent after May 31, 2026.
Stu News Laguna republication of the LBUSD press release.
- Stu News Laguna · Tom Johnson · 2026-05-15
Board President Sheri Morgan announced the decision following a closed session. Trustees Howard Hills and Dee Perry voted in favor, while Joan Malczewski and Jim Kelly opposed the action.
Stu News Laguna's Fair Game column for May 15, 2026, covering both the separation and the Austin appointment.
- Superintendent Don Austin to leave Palo Alto Unified after turbulent month news Palo Alto Online (Palo Alto Weekly)Palo Alto Online (Palo Alto Weekly) · Lisa Moreno · 2026-02-20
Palo Alto Online same-day reporting on Austin's February 20, 2026 PAUSD separation.
- School board 'separates' from superintendent news The Paly Voice (Palo Alto High School student news)The Paly Voice (Palo Alto High School student news) · 2026-02-20
Palo Alto High School student-newspaper coverage of the PAUSD board's separation from Austin.
- Faculty responds to superintendent's separation from district news The Paly Voice (Palo Alto High School student news)The Paly Voice (Palo Alto High School student news) · 2026-02-22
Palo Alto High School student-newspaper follow-up on PAUSD faculty response to the separation.
- Board reaches settlement with Superintendent Don Austin, terminates contract news The Oracle (Henry M. Gunn High School student newspaper, Palo Alto)The Oracle (Henry M. Gunn High School student newspaper, Palo Alto) · 2026-03-03
Gunn High School student-newspaper coverage of the March 2026 PAUSD settlement terminating Austin's contract.
- A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com) · Erika Hennon Rule · 2026-06-02
My concern is the route that brought him here. Sheri Morgan's description of "securing and appointing Don" as a win for the district, made before the Board had publicly considered and approved his contract, only feeds the perception that the decision had already happened and that the public process was being arranged around it.
Erika Hennon Rule op-ed published 2026-06-02 at publicrecordlaguna.com, LBUSD's Superintendent Shortcut.
- The Questions Behind LBUSD's Sudden Superintendent Transition op-ed A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com)A Public Record for Laguna Schools (publicrecordlaguna.com) · Erika Hennon Rule · 2026-06-03
Rule's June 3, 2026 piece and 45-item CPRA request raise whether the May 14, 2026 closed-session appointment of Austin complied with BP 2120 (recruitment and selection) and whether the 6:29 p.m. ParentSquare release was issued before or after the closed-session vote (BP 1100/1112). Allegation/records request, not a finding.
- Public Records Act Request — Superintendent Transition (45 items) primary Prudence Wyman (LBUSD parent)Prudence Wyman (LBUSD parent) · Prudence Wyman · 2026-05-18
I will bring forward your concerns about the agenda as I circled back several times as I noted originally it was incorrect, and had our legal team direct staff accordingly.
Quoted in the Wyman PRA (item 32) from Board President Sheri Morgan's written reply of May 14, 2026, 9:43 a.m. — an acknowledgment that the closed-session agenda for the appointment meeting was 'originally incorrect' and was corrected by counsel. The PRA seeks the original and corrected agendas and metadata; the characterization is the requester's.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District
Item 12.B notices open-session approval of Dr. Don Austin's superintendent contract; the closed-session predicate is item 10.D (Public Employee Appointment, Gov. Code 54957, Title: Superintendent).
- Laguna Beach Unified School District · 2026-06-05
District press release on the finalized superintendent contract following the May 14 appointment; Austin effective July 1, 2026, with public meet-and-greets August 11 and 13.
- A Public Record for Laguna Schools · Erika Hennon Rule · 2026-06-06
Joan was not informed that Don Austin was a candidate until the May 14, 2026 closed session, when she was met with a motion to hire him. ... This was not a board-led process; it was a majority-led outcome.
Erika Hennon Rule, op-ed, A Public Record for Laguna Schools, June 6, 2026. Rule's restatement of trustee Joan Malczewski's June 4 account that she had no prior knowledge of Austin's candidacy before the May 14 closed-session motion to hire.
- Palo Alto Unified announces new superintendent — who comes from a familiar place news Palo Alto Online (Palo Alto Weekly)Palo Alto Online (Palo Alto Weekly) · Lisa Moreno · 2026-06-13
The other half of the swap: as LBUSD installs Austin (former PAUSD superintendent), PAUSD installs Glass (former LBUSD superintendent); both effective July 1, 2026.
- Stu News Laguna · Dawn Hunnicutt · 2026-06-16
Enter Austin just 48 hours later.
Frames the May 12 separation and May 14 Austin appointment as a board-engineered two-district swap (Austin out of PAUSD, into LBUSD; Glass the reverse).