Long Beach
The Long Beach Unified School District board of education as voted unanimously to appoint Charles C. Carpenter, deputy superintendent for instruction, acting superintendent of schools beginning July 1.
Carpenter, 52, will replace Supt Francis Laufenberg, who announced in March that he will retire June 28. Laufenberg has served as head of the 62,000-student school district for the past seven years. An executive search firm, MSL Internatioonal, was chosen by the board to find a new superintendent, but no candidates will be available for the board to interview until the end of the summer, a district spokesman said.
Carpenter has served as deputy superintendent since 1979. Before coming to Long Beach, he was superintendent of school districts in Holyoke, Mass., Bakersfield and Pomona.
A graduate of Downey High School and Pomona College, Carpenter received a master’s degree and a doctorate in education at USC, sad Bette Zabish, assistant secretary to the board of education.
“Dr. Carpenter doesn’t intend to apply for the superintendent’s position,” Zabish said.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
