Long Beach School Board Member Replaced

The past head of Long Beach Council PTA has been appointed to fill the vacated Long Beach School board seat held by David Barton, who resigned for health reasons in January.

Diana Craighead, who has been president of the Long Beach Council PTA that oversees all school PTAs in the state's third largest school district, was unanimously chosen Friday to replace Barton for the remainder of his term, through July, 2014. Read Craighead's application here.

District 5 includes Lakewood and most of East Long Beach, but not the Belmont Shore area served by School Board vice president Jon Meyer. The five-member school board is the decision-making body for Long Beach Unified School District, the city's largest employer.

Read the full announcement by District spokesman Chris Eftychiou below:

The Long Beach Unified School District Board of Education voted 4-0
today to appoint longtime school volunteer and PTA leader Diana
Craighead to fill the District 5 seat on the five-member board.

Craighead has lived in District 5 for 19 years and has served on
several school district committees including the Budget Advisory
Committee, Academic and Career Success Initiative Committee, Health
Advisory Committee, and A through G College Entrance Requirements
Committee.  She also has served in several leadership roles for the PTA,
including as president of the Long Beach Council PTA, the umbrella group
for all PTAs in the school district.

The board seat became vacant Jan. 25 when board member David Barton
resigned due to health concerns.  District 5 includes much of East Long
Beach and Lakewood, including Millikan and Lakewood high schools.
Craighead has a tenth grade daughter at Millikan High School and two
sons who graduated from Wilson Classical High School in 2005 and 2008.

The board filled the vacancy after an application, screening and
interview process.  The field of applicants for the vacant school board
seat was narrowed from 27 to 22, and LBUSD posted online the
applications of the remaining candidates.  View Craighead's
application here.

After the initial 27 applications were received, five applicants either
withdrew or were disqualified because they did not live within the board
district or were not registered to vote there.  The remaining field of
22 candidates was eventually narrowed to three finalists who were
interviewed publicly by the school board.

First-round interviews of the applicants were conducted by a committee
that included a representative of support staff employees along with
representatives of the school district*s management association and
the Long Beach Council PTA.  The Teachers Association of Long Beach
declined to participate.  This committee also conducted second-round
interviews of six finalists before recommending the three top candidates
to the school board.

Craighead will complete the remainder of the District 5 term, which
expires in July 2014.  She is scheduled to be sworn into office during
the next school board meeting at 5 p.m. March 27.