The Absent Superintendent

With the appointment of a new superintendent last year, the Laguna Beach Unified School District had reason to believe that it was at the end of a troubled period. However, five months into his tenure, Supt. Reed Montgomery is locked in a dispute with his new employers over his mysterious absence.

The district, having previously ousted top officials associated with its past fiscal problems, now faces such challenges as making provision for hundreds of new students from Newport Coast, an Irvine Co. housing development. The district, the second smallest in Orange County, prides itself on a strong base of community involvement and financial support.

Montgomery, 51, has not worked in the district since Dec. 5. He said he had been planning to return to work Jan. 5 after a month’s absence, but was put on paid administrative leave by the board, pending an independent medical opinion.

Communications on all sides have misfired. Montgomery has not been forthcoming about the reasons why he wanted a paid medical leave. Nobody from the school district seems to have made too much of an effort early on, before a crisis developed, to contact him and discuss his situation. Montgomery recently rejected a request to meet with two school board members, saying his lawyer had a scheduling conflict.

The fact that the superintendent was unwilling to meet his relatively new bosses without legal counsel present was an ominous sign of how strained relations have become.

Trustees understandably have been wondering aloud whether the long absence will hurt the ability of the superintendent to provide leadership. The faculty is said to be on edge, flooding the president of the teachers union with calls to find out what’s going on.

Montgomery’s request for the paid medical leave was denied twice by the board, which cited insufficient information. He has acknowledged that his silence has fueled controversy, and declined to discuss the nature of his illness.

The complexity of this situation and the level of mistrust on both sides do not augur well for Montgomery’s future with the district. It is a shame that a new superintendent has gotten off on such a shaky footing.

Given the stakes, the public’s patience with this situation cannot be unlimited. High school Principal Barbara Callard is said to be managing the district’s administrative affairs smoothly. One way or another, whether Montgomery stays or goes, the district needs to get this situation speedily resolved.