The revolving door has swung and after Palo Alto school superintendent Don Austin found a new job heading the Laguna Beach school system, that district’s superintendent has been hired here.
Jason E. Glass will start June 1 if the school board approves his contract at Tuesday’s meeting.
Glass replaces Don Austin, who was paid $596,802 in February to resign without a legal fight.
Similarly, Glass was paid $253,750 on May 12 to resign without a legal fight.
Apparently, when Austin became available he was hired by Laguna Beach, where he had once worked as a high school principal.
And now, as if to make the circle complete, Glass is taking Austin’s place in Palo Alto.
Glass had headed the Laguna Beach schools for just one year. Austin helmed the Palo Alto schools for nearly eight years.
The Palo Alto school board decided to replace Austin now instead of waiting until after the November election when voters would have put two new people on the board. Both President Shounak Dharap and Trustee Shana Segal have indicated they will not be running for re-election.
Two of the three candidates who have announced so far for school board are calling for broad reforms that the board has generally resisted in the past. They’re seeking a stronger emphasis on academics and helping students accelerate. Previous boards and the current majority have emphasized student wellbeing.
A statement from the district said Glass understands both perspectives.
As the Post reported in its print edition today, Austin had applied in Laguna Beach more than a year ago. He was seeking a job in Laguna Beach at the same time 1,491 parents signed a petition against his contract renewal in Palo Alto.
The statement today from the district said the decision to hire Glass “follows a national search informed by 1,434 community members who described what they need from their schools and their next superintendent. Their priorities were consistent: a leader who listens, who rebuilds trust, and who comes to invest in this community.”
Glass will make $396,136 as part of a four year contract with $19,806 payments into an annuity and a housing allowance; Austin, in his new Laguna Beach job, will make $450,000 a year, also under a four-year contract. Both administrators start their new jobs on July 1.
According to his resume, Glass holds a doctorate in educational leadership from Seton Hall University, a certificate in advanced education leadership from Harvard, and three degrees from the University of Kentucky. He is a frequent keynote speaker, published author, and advisor to national education networks including Harvard University, Arizona State University, and Westat.
Glass’s wife Sarah is also an educator. He and his family are moving to Palo Alto, and their two children will attend PAUSD schools.
Austin has been interested in the Laguna Beach job for more than a year, the Daily Post reported today. Laguna Beach board president Sheri Morgan revealed last week that Austin was a candidate in 2025.
The Laguna Beach board’s decision to hire Austin was divisive. The vote was 3-2.
Austin has stirred up controversy among a divided board in Laguna Beach because his hiring was announced two days after the board separated from its previous superintendent.
“Somebody is making decisions and negotiating on behalf of the board with no direction from the board,” Laguna Beach board member Joan Malczewski said at a meeting on June 4.
Malczewski said she wanted to do a search and discuss the contract terms before hiring Austin.
“We have a process for a reason. It ensures legitimacy. It wasn’t followed,” she said.
But Morgan said the board vetted Austin during a four-month search process that ended with the hiring of Glass on June 9, 2025.
Glass was picked in Laguna Beach six days after the Palo Alto board extended Austin’s contract for three years with a $421,272 salary.
“A lot has been said about Dr. Austin, but I don’t know that I’ve met anyone more dedicated to this district,” Palo Alto board president Shounak Dharap said at the time.
Dharap said Friday that he wasn’t aware that Austin was a candidate last summer in Laguna Beach.
Austin declined to be interviewed Friday about how his new job came together.
“I am proud of my time in Palo Alto and excited for the opportunity in Laguna Beach,” Austin said in a text message Friday.
Palo Alto was in the middle of about a dozen lawsuits, tense labor negotiations and a student suicide crisis when Austin was paid to resign on Feb. 20.
Teacher’s union president Tom Culbertson said Austin had damaged morale. He said Austin’s departure “marked the conclusion of a difficult chapter … defined by top-down mandates and a breakdown in the collaborative spirit.”
The separation agreement between Austin and the district bars both sides from suing or talking negatively about the other.
Austin received his regular $35,106 monthly paycheck to stay on as an advisor, or “superintendent emeritus,” through June 30.
In an interview on Feb. 20, Austin said he left Palo Alto because working in education for 30 years took its toll, and the timing felt right.
“There was no event. There’s no single thing to point to. It’s just one day you wake up and think, ‘Maybe I’ve gone as far as I’m going to go here,” he said.
Laguna Beach employees visited Palo Alto in the spring to learn about the district, Morgan said.
More information
• PAUSD’s proposed contract with Glass
• Press release about the hiring of Glass
• Recent publication by Glass: What Schools Teach about Authority & Democracy
Pick up Monday’s Daily Post for more about this story.
Glass has a year into the job and he was out the door? Sounds like we replaced one loser with another loser.
Exactly, something is in the water in Laguna Beach.
Great news! Congrats to PAUSD. Dr. Glass is amazing! Laguna was sad to lose him.
I want to trade my used car for your used car.
“We have a process for a reason. It ensures legitimacy. It wasn’t followed”……….
Sounds like the perfect place for Austin. No process followed in the Colombo “investigation”. No process followed regarding “anonymous complaints” against teachers. No process followed regarding uniform complaints against administrators. No process followed with math placement which resulted in a judge’s intervention. No process followed with teacher evaluations. No process followed when his subordinates harassed staff. No process followed when hiring after school program providers. On and on and on. Yep, Laguna Beach is Don’s new beach paradise and he can soon be proud of his corrupt tenure there as well.
Best of luck and success to PAUSD.