School district brings on two new employees
The Laguna Beach Unified School District has a new facilities director set to begin in October and a coordinator for special projects, assessment and accountability who started last week.
Jeff Dixon, current executive director of facilities planning, maintenance and operations for the Lucia Mar Unified School District in California’s Central Coast region, replaces Ted Doughty as Laguna Beach Unified’s facilities chief, according to a news release.
Laguna Beach’s board of trustees unanimously approved Dixon’s hire at its Aug. 26 meeting, when they also voted for Amy Kernan, a former Ocean View School District administrator, to fill the new coordinator position.
Dixon, who earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Cal State Sacramento and a master’s of business from the University of Phoenix, helped oversee two major projects at his current district: a $14-million solar panel installation and LED lighting retrofits at 18 schools, the release said.
“It is important for facilities to be flexible and work with education and technology programs as they evolve over time,” Dixon said in the release.
Under general direction of the Assistant Supt. of Business Services Dean West, Dixon will be responsible for the management and direction of building maintenance, construction (both new and renovations), custodial services, groundskeeping, and pupil transportation, along with safety and security programs.
He will start Oct. 13 at an annual salary of $129,105, according to a district staff report. Doughty retired at a salary of $126,824 after three years with Laguna Beach Unified, district human resources and communications director Leisa Winston wrote in an email.
Kernan, who began her job Sept. 15, oversaw implementation of new mathematics and science curriculum to align with Common Core state testing standards while at Huntington Beach-based Ocean View the release said.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in biological science from the University of Alaska Fairbanks, a single-subject teaching credential in biology from Cal State San Bernardino, and a master’s in administration and leadership from the University of Phoenix.
Kernan participated on a team that helped one school’s Academic Performance Index score increase by 54 points, the release said. Her starting salary is $141,985, according to a district staff report.
The Laguna Beach Unified board voted unanimously at its June 24 meeting to add four new positions: database administrator; communications and human resources assistant; a teacher on special assignment for English language development; and the coordinator for special projects, assessment and accountability.
The latter position ruffled some trustees who claimed during the meeting that the coordinator’s salary range ($138,162 to $156,868) was too high.
The salary range was meant to attract the most competent candidate, Winston said at the time.
Kernan is responsible for several tasks, including performing student assessments, growing the district’s alcohol- and drug-prevention efforts, collecting data for the Local Control Accountability Plan and analyzing results from new state tests.