At its Oct. 5 Special Meeting, the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board of Education unanimously approved resolution no. 2021-2022-009, and officially began accepting applications to fill the vacant seat on the governing board. The vacancy is left by former Board of Trustees Vice President, Tristen Walker-Shuman, who resigned from her seat on Sept. 22 after controversy surrounding her residency status. The resolution established a procedure for the appointment of a provisional board member, and states that the board shall hold open meetings to interview applicants, vote on a provisional appointee, and swear into office the selected individual. BHUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy will log completed applications as they come in, and then forward them to each board member. The deadline to apply is 4 p.m. on Oct. 15, 2021. All applications must be submitted online at bhusd.org/boevacancy/.
The resolution came after the board’s Sept. 28 vote approving that the vacancy be filled by a provisional appointment instead of holding a special election. According to Board President Rachelle Marcus, the county estimated the cost of holding a special election to be $480,000. The appointee will hold office for the remainder of Walker-Shuman’s term, which expires on Dec. 2, 2022.
The new board member application asks candidates 20 questions, ranging from why they want to be a school board member, to elaborating on the district’s strengths and identify areas for improvement. Sample questions include: “How does the board’s role differ from that of the superintendent?”; “What should be the relationship between the board members and the administration in the handling of school concerns?” and “Briefly describe your commitment to public education and our local school district, among others.” Before submitting, applicants will be asked to sign their names and certify that all the information provided is accurate.
To be eligible to apply for appointment to the Board of Education, an individual must be at least 18 years old; be a resident of the Beverly Hills Unified School District; be a registered voter in the state of California, and not be disqualified from holding civil office by the constitution or any state law. BHUSD employees may not be sworn into office as an elected or appointed member of the board unless they resign as an employee.
To verify residential eligibility, visit: https://www.bhusd.org/apps/pages/index.jsp?uREC_ID=799244&type=d&pREC_ID=1656629.
