The public information officer for the Laguna Beach Unified School District said Tuesday that she plans to leave just over a year after taking over the communications office.
District spokesperson Shelley Spessard said she’s departing the Laguna Beach school district this week to be director of student achievement and success at the Placentia-Yorba Linda Unified School District. Her last day with Laguna Beach Unified is Aug 15.
“I am extremely excited to be back on the education side of the house but will truly miss the incredible families in LBUSD,” Spessard said in a statement Tuesday night.
Spessard started her education career as an elementary special education teacher and general education teacher with Lincoln Unified School District in Stockton. She then moved to Stockton Unified School District, where she worked as an assistant principal, principal, and director of marketing and communications.
Over the last six months, Spessard led the district’s communications during the nerve-wracking Emerald and Coastal fires. All Laguna Beach school sites closed during the Emerald Fire.
On May 25, Spessard was at El Morro Elementary to support the campus as teachers, students, and parents mourned the school’s beloved principal who had died shortly before his planned retirement.
Supt. Jason Viloria decided to create a new PIO position after Leisa Winston, former deputy superintendent of human resources and public communications, left to become superintendent of the Huntington Beach City School District in November 2020.
Laguna Beach school officials posted a job listing for a public information officer on Tuesday with a salary range of $106,730 to $144,376, health and retirement benefits, and a $2,400 mileage allowance.
Another Mind Numbing Meaningless Bureaucrat. Who approved this position? Why do we need a Public Information Officer at a Middle School? Cut this crap and let’s educate the kids