Three days before the spring recess, the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board of Education convened for its second in-person meeting in the Jon Cherney Lecture Hall at Beverly Hills High School (BHHS). During the March 23 meeting, the Board heard updates on new county COVID-19 health protocols and what the April 8 return of students in grades 6-12 will look like. Additionally, the Board heard from two teachers who called in to express outrage following the Board’s approval of a reduction in force (RIF) initiative. The move resulted in 10 elementary school teachers receiving pink slip layoff notices last week after returning to in-person learning earlier this month.
Alana Castanon, a sixth-grade teacher at Beverly Vista Middle School and certified President of the Beverly Hills Education Association (BHEA) said: “Beyond the emotional disruption to the teacher’s lives, both personal and professional. These are the same teachers who have spent their year transforming and reinventing their teaching practice, helping to propel our District to great esteem with regard to our online education program.”
