Board approves Don Austin's superintendent contract, 3-2
Vote 3-2
At its June 4, 2026 regular meeting (item 12.B), the Board of Education approved a four-year employment agreement for Dr. Don Austin as superintendent, effective July 1, 2026, on a 3-2 vote. Sheri Morgan, Howard Hills, and Dee Perry voted in favor; Joan Malczewski and James Kelly voted no. Per the oral summary required by Government Code 54953, the agreement provides a $450,000 base salary with no annual salary steps, automatic increases, or cost-of-living adjustments; a 12-month, 224-workday "positive work" contract with no paid vacation; standard management health-and-welfare benefits; a district contribution of 4% of base salary to a tax-sheltered annuity; and no longevity payments, moving or relocation expenses, housing stipend, paid sabbatical, or mentor payments. The vote followed the item 9 discussion of the applicability of Board Policy 2120, which the dissenting minority contested as an inadequate substitute for a fresh superintendent search. The district's June 5 press release announced the approval without stating the vote count, the dissents, or the terms.
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Citations (3)
- Recognition & Regular Meeting - June 04, 2026 (board video) primary Laguna Beach Unified School DistrictLaguna Beach Unified School District
Open-session roll-call vote on item 12.B: Malczewski and Kelly opposed; Hills, Perry, and Morgan in favor; the president announced the contract approved 3-2. The Gov. Code 54953 terms were read into the record beforehand.
- Laguna Beach Unified School District · 2026-06-05
District press release confirming the approval and the July 1, 2026 start date — without stating the 3-2 vote, the dissenting trustees, or the contract terms.
- A Public Record for Laguna Schools · Erika Hennon Rule · 2026-06-06
The record is a board majority that used process as both sword and shield until the moment process pointed back at them.
Erika Hennon Rule, op-ed, A Public Record for Laguna Schools, June 6, 2026. Rule's governance-hypocrisy thesis applied to the 3-2 Austin contract approval, contrasting the majority's prior governance-and-transparency brand with its treatment of BP 2120 as advisory.