Michelle Dar has withdrawn her application to be the Assistant Principal of Beverly Vista Middle School. In a communication to the Beverly Hills Unified School District community last week, Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy announced Dar’s appointment to that position, pending board approval. At the June 4 BHUSD Board of Education Meeting, the motion to confirm Dar’s appointment was tabled with no explanation given.
On June 6, Dar responded to an inquiry from the Courier with an email that read: “I’ve withdrawn my application for the Assistant Principal position at BVMS. I’ve spent 20 years as an educator and administrator at BHUSD, and another 10 years before that as a student here. Unfortunately, I don’t believe there’s enough alignment between my vision for BVMS and my values, and that of certain trustees, and I can’t properly serve the students and families of this district without that alignment.” She will remain part of the BHUSD community in her role as an academic coach.
In addition to the matter concerning Dar, the board discussed its 2024-2025 budget during the June 4 meeting. In a continuation of the debate at the previous meeting over classroom sizes at El Rodeo Elementary School, public comment once again turned to adding classes for certain grade levels.
According to a presentation, the cost of each student’s education in the 2024-2025 school year is projected to be $34,607, up from $32,655 in the 2023-2024 school year. Assistant Superintendent of Business Service, Raphael Guzman explained that nearly 70% of the revenue comes from property taxes, a higher percentage than other districts in the area. But parents argued that despite the district depending on their tax dollars, their money isn’t being used to benefit the students.
Jim Foust, a father of two girls at Horace Mann Elementary School, addressed concerns about his son entering transitional kindergarten (TK) at El Rodeo. His two daughters will stay at Horace Mann, which is a short walk away from his home, but because the school only has two TK classes, there is not enough room for his son to attend the same school. This would mean two separate drop-offs and pick-ups in his already crowded schedule. And as Foust explained, he’s not the only parent who was put in this position.
“I’m here today to ask the board to please add the third TK class back to Horace Mann so that all students have the ability to go to their neighborhood school,” he said. The board did not address these concerns immediately following public comment.
The budget will come up for a vote at the board’s May 18 meeting.
During the superintendent’s report, Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy announced that he will attend The Municipal League of Beverly Hills’ Town Hall on June 12. He will speak along with Councilmember Craig Corman and Beverly Hills Police Department Chief Mark Stainbrook on new developments within the city. Bregy also congratulated Fonder-Salari construction consulting firm on receiving the CMAA Project Achievement Award in the category of education. He will attend the awards ceremony in Long Beach to accept the award and recognize the company for its role in El Rodeo Elementary School’s modernization.
