How I Ended Up Writing About Laguna Beach Schools

A few questions about LBUSD and one board meeting lead to the creation of A Public Record for Laguna Schools.

On January 22, I put my young kids to bed and turned on the school board meeting from home.

As a parent, I had already spent months watching meetings, reading agendas, talking with other parents, and trying to understand what was changing inside Laguna Beach Unified. I had also promised my husband I would be selective about attending board meetings in person because we have two littles, full-time jobs, and, theoretically, interests and activities outside school board governance.

So that night, I planned to stay home.

Then I listened to Board Member Howard Hills speak to Superintendent Jason Glass, a tone I found condescending and unnecessarily combative, during a discussion about who could place items on the Board’s agenda.

I got in my car and drove to the meeting.

Howard was still talking when I arrived, which, for once, worked in my favor.

The exchange was not the beginning of my interest in the district, but it was the moment I realized how easily important details could disappear. A few changes to a board bylaw could reshape who controls the agenda, yet most families or community members would never have the time or desire to read it.

Frankly, “school board bylaw” is the kind of phrase that makes a normal person’s eyes glaze over.

But for what was happening to our district, the details mattered, and I wanted somewhere to keep track of them. A week after that meeting, I started A Public Record for Laguna Schools.

There was no plan, as I basically expected a few friends and neighbors to read it, perhaps share it in a parent chat, and maybe people could return when they needed context.

Since then, many more community members have found the site, including people who do not know me personally. So this seems like a reasonable time to explain who I am and where I am coming from.

My husband and I chose to purchase a home in the Laguna Beach Unified School District before we were married or had children. He wanted to live near the beach, and I wanted a small, high-performing public school district. So this was the best of both worlds.

I grew up in a similarly sized town with excellent schools and highly educated teachers. I valued being in a district where children did not disappear into a massive system, staff knew families, and parents could meaningfully advocate for their children.

Even before I had a child enrolled in LBUSD, I paid attention, even if from a distance. I asked neighbors about their experiences, followed the pool debate, and appreciated the district’s investment in academics, athletics, the arts, mental health, and the whole child.

As my oldest approached school age, I began following the district more closely. During the 2024 election, I was concerned by some of the rhetoric about schools, the Board’s role, and the expectation that trustees should intervene in operational matters.

When the results came in, I had the distinct feeling that much of the community had been despondent, and it was time to get people to pay attention.

I started talking with other concerned parents. Someone invited me into a group chat where parents, retired teachers, and community members shared meeting information and tried to grasp what was happening and what the ramifications could be. Some people in that chat later helped form Families Unified for Education in Laguna, or FUEL.

My first introduction to formally writing about district issues was a letter to the editor that was published in April 2025, after I felt the public conversation about LBUSD’s test results was missing important context. I continued writing letters when complicated district issues were reduced to a few talking points, but the format left little room to follow the questions in great depth wherever they led.

Since FUEL has become a recurring question for me, here is the uncomplicated answer: I often agree with the organization. I am not on its board, and I hold no position within it. FUEL does not have a membership card-carrying program, and I receive its emails like anyone else.

No organization, trustee, teacher, staff member, union, or community group directs or approves what I publish. Most people do not know what I am writing until it appears, including my husband!

However, People do reach out to me, sharing experiences and suggesting subjects they believe deserve attention. I am still considered “new” by Laguna Beach standards, so I have also received an extensive education in who has been fighting with whom since approximately the creation of Laguna Canyon Road.

I appreciate people trusting me, and want to iterate that I do not publish something simply because someone tells me it is true. I do not want this site to become a home for rumors or anonymous accusations. Information needs to be supported. Even when I have a hunch that something is happening, instinct is not evidence. However, people are significantly less subtle than they believe, so I find it easy to follow the breadcrumbs.

I am also open to correction. If I get a fact wrong or miss important context, I want to know. My perspective is mine, but the facts still need to hold up.

And by the way, I do have a perspective or “bias.”

I am a mother whose children are just entering this district, not on the cusp of leaving it. I studied political science because I genuinely enjoy understanding how systems of government work, even when the people within those systems seem determined to make it difficult.

I grew up in a politically active family where people spoke frankly and debated openly about all kinds of topics. I care about equality, mental health, strong academics, small classes, athletics, the arts, and whole-child development. Those values influence what I notice and what I believe deserves attention.

That is bias in the basic human sense: I have experiences, priorities, and opinions. Everyone does.

I am not a trained journalist, and A Public Record is not a traditional newspaper. I write from my own point of view rather than disguising it as a “watchdog” publication or perfect objectivity.

That does not give me permission to invent facts or to omit context that changes the story purposely. I will always try to be fair, and fairness requires representing the information honestly and correcting the record when necessary.

People are free to disagree with my conclusions. They are also free to start their own Substack, website, or Instagram account. In fact, several already have. I welcome more people paying attention, particularly if it means more people read agendas and attend meetings.

I started writing because there is a lot about LBUSD worth protecting.

The district offers small classes, after-school opportunities, plenty of AP courses, transportation accessibility, athletic programs, visual and performing arts, mental health support, and even a valuable partnership with the Boys & Girls Club that goes back generations. Teachers and staff also do an enormous amount of work that most families never see.

I will say, my child loves the bus so much that it outranks me.

The district also faces declining enrollment, aging facilities, challenges with tech approach, leadership changes, and governance decisions that may affect it for years to come. My children are at the beginning of their time here, so I have a long-term interest in how those issues are handled.

I am hopeful that what I cover broadens over time. I want to write less about board issues and more about teachers, staff, students, programs, and the parts of the district that families may not see. I also want to help parents understand systems that can feel unnecessarily complicated.

And I promise, I think about things other than board bylaws.

This is not a temporary campaign project, and I look forward to sharing issues well past November. The district will still matter when the ballots are counted, and my children will still have many years ahead of them in LBUSD.

So that is the basic introduction to A Public Record for Laguna Schools.

I am a parent who cares deeply about public education, governance, and the community my children are growing up in. I have a point of view, and I do not hide it. I also take seriously the responsibility to corroborate information, avoid spreading rumors, and correct factual mistakes.

You do not have to agree with everything I write, but at least now you know who is writing it.

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A Public Record for Laguna Schools provides independent, community-focused coverage of LBUSD to help make district decisions, public records, board actions, and issues easier to follow. If you value this work, becoming a paid subscriber or patron helps make it sustainable by covering the research, writing, and platform costs that keep this information accessible to everyone. I am deeply grateful to anyone who reads, shares, subscribes, or supports this work in any way.