Superintendent Begins Paid Leave
Supt. Reed Montgomery, who said last week that he planned to return to work Monday after a monthlong absence, instead began his first day of paid administrative leave.
His leave, which was imposed by the school board last week, is effective pending the results of a physical examination that will be performed Wednesday afternoon by a district-appointed doctor.
Montgomery, 51, has not worked in the district since Dec. 5. He has requested a paid medical leave for reasons he will not disclose, and the board has not granted it, citing insufficient information. School board President Kathryn A. Turner has said that the board will reimburse Montgomery for the last month if the examination substantiates his claim.
Parents, teachers and others in the school community are questioning Montgomery’s absence.
“Everybody kind of wonders what’s going on,” said Dennis Haryung, the president of the Laguna Beach Unified Faculty Assn.
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