LBUSD Votes TOW Principal Michael Conlon HR Director
Laguna Beach Unified School Board of Education Appoints TOW Principal Michael Conlon as Director of Human Resources
LAGUNA BEACH, Calif. – At the August 27 board meeting, the Laguna Beach Unified School District Board of Education voted 5-0 to appoint Top of the World Elementary School Principal Michael Conlon as the director of human resources. The new position was approved on July 16, 2019, as part of administrative restructuring at the district level.
Conlon has extensive experience in education administration, previously having held leadership roles at Saddleback Valley Unified School District and Los Alamitos Unified School District. He has served as principal at TOW since 2014.
“Michael has demonstrated the desire and drive to continuously learn and improve his skill set. He possesses a commitment to developing positive relationships with staff and problem-solving conflicts when they occur,” said Deputy Superintendent of Human Resources and Instructional Services Leisa Winston. “He has proven to be an effective leader and administrator whose work is characterized by a genuine concern for the entire school community,” she concluded.
In his role as principal, he has been an integral part of the LBUSD negotiations team and has led the process to hire several TOW staff. He recently completed a 70-hour personnel administration academy through the Association of California School Administrators and has participated in interest-based bargaining training.
“I am excited about this opportunity and look to draw on my past experience in system implementation and change leadership to further enhance the services provided to the district through the department of human resources,” said Conlon. He continued, “It has been an honor serving as the principal at Top of the World Elementary and I look forward to continuing my support of the campus in this new role.”
“I am pleased that the Board was unanimous in approving the appointment of Mike Conlon as Director, Human Resources. In a small district where many staff spend their entire career, there are few openings to advance an administrative career and so we can lose top employees who must go elsewhere for career growth. Mike rose to the top among a strong candidate field in part because he has been continuously improving through his site leadership at TOW and the personnel training. It is an added benefit that his leadership at TOW will make a transition easier as the school and all the staff have built a strong learning community,” said Jan Vickers, Board President.
Conlon is expected to begin his new role in mid-September. The district will utilize an interim administrator for Top of the World during the recruitment process for a new principal, expected to begin in January.Pictured Above L-R: Yadhira Rojas (TOSA Eng Lang Dev), a Top of the World Family, and Principal Conlon
Laguna Beach Unified School District, August 28, 2013, Media Release
