On Dec. 1, the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) held a regular Board of Education meeting during which Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy updated the community on how BHUSD stands as COVID-19 cases continue to reach record-breaking highs. While the return to in-person learning is pushed back again, the planning and facilities team took center stage, announcing a major achievement for the District that has been many years in the making.
“I wanted to share as of this morning, there are no oil derricks on the high school property,” Donald Blake, senior executive bond program manager said. “That is a milestone, and I cannot tell you how happy we are.”
During the Superintendent’s report, Bregy shared with the BHUSD community that the District is preparing for increased restrictions to Governor Newsom’s safer at home order. “Just this past holiday weekend was a busy one on you know we are tracking cases of COVID-19, with staff members, as well as with our community members,” Bregy said. “We have positive cases in Beverly Hills, and we have positive cases in BHUSD. It was never a matter of not having them. It was when we were going to have them and how we were going to handle them.”
In the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD), 246 school buildings have been impacted with positive COVID-19 cases. Within LAUSD, there are 92 positive COVID-19 cases among students, and 263 among staff.
According to Bregy, there are six positive COVID-19 cases among BHUSD students and their families, and two among staff.
“We are very fortunate that we have a wonderful testing partner,” Bregy said. “When we’re looking at the number one way to manage any transmission or any exposure as soon as possible is through regular testing, and so we’re very fortunate that this is something we did early as a school district.”
However, protocols for how the District will be testing staff and students are still being worked out.
“We’ve talked before about our thermal temperature scanners and again I want to thank the board of education for trusting us and allowing some innovation to happen in our schools,” Bregy added. “This can be done in a way that’s very discreet, as any child should be treated. The student, rather than being singled out, will be handled in a very sensitive and very kind way, but in a way that will provide us with the highest level of safety and the least amount of exposure to other people.”
