Laguna Beach : Schools Superintendent Won’t Be Rehired in ’86

Billy J. Barnes, superintendent of the Laguna Beach Unified School District for the past 3 1/2 years, will not have his contract renewed when it expires July 1, 1986, the school board has announced.

“There is a philosophical difference which developed, as there sometimes does, between a board and a superintendent,” said Charlene Ragatz, clerk of the school board. She confirmed that the board last Tuesday decided not to extend Barnes’ contract.

Ragatz declined to specify the “philosophical difference.” “In any situation, there are many things that go into the final decision, which is never an easy one,” she said.

Asked if declining California Assessment Program scores were a factor, Ragatz said they were “a concern” but not necessarily a factor in the board’s decision to seek another district superintendent. “I would be hard pressed to give any specifics,” she said. “It’s a mix of many things--a basic philosophical difference that existed.”

Barnes, who has been with the district a total of 11 years, said Monday that “the only position I’m taking is ‘no comment.’ ”

Barnes was director of educational services for seven years in the district before being named superintendent in 1982.

Ragatz said a search will begin early in 1986 for a new superintendent.