Following a wide-ranging discussion about class sizes across the district, the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board of Education on July 10 agreed to add a new Transitional Kindergarten (TK) class at Horace Mann Elementary School and discussed adding a fourth-grade class at El Rodeo Elementary School.
The fourth-grade class at El Rodeo has been the subject of numerous parent concerns, who have complained about behavioral issues and large class sizes. There are currently three planned fourth-grade sections at El Rodeo, each approaching 29 students, though Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy said enrollment numbers fluctuate, and it is hard to predict if spaces will open by the start of classes.
The board largely agreed that without adding more seats, parents might be forced to enroll their children at schools far from where they live or take elementary age siblings to two different schools, which goes against the district’s aims of keeping students in their “home schools” and promoting sustainability.
Ensuring families can bring their children to schools near their homes will keep BHUSD competitive against private schools, Board President Dr. Amanda Stern said.
“We want to remain attractive and desirable to our families,” Stern said. “If you … invested in a house, and you can set your sights on the school down the street, and you can’t go there because it’s full or whatever, I think that that it would be very unfortunate and very unfavorable for our district,” Stern said.
Board Member Judy Manouchehri said this could be especially important in the coming years, as she predicts enrollment to grow after the opening of the new El Rodeo campus and the investments in shade structures and other renovations at Horace Mann.
“We had a build it and they will come mentality, and now they’re coming,” Manouchehri said. “I think that it would be really good for our trajectory, our growth and our stability, for families to know that we prioritize the neighborhood feeling.”
Board Member Noah Margo, however, cautioned that opening additional grade sections—and hiring additional teachers—could set a costly precedent. If the district were to add another fourth-grade class at El Rodeo, the parents of those students could have similar complaints next year, when the class sizes increase again, he added.
“The reason that years ago, those policies were put in place was … to protect the finances,” Margo said. “Because if we don’t have something in place, and we can always just add another classroom … the more we do it, the more it’s going to hurt our pocketbook.”
Behavioral problems have also been a consistent complaint among fourth-grade parents, and there was some disagreement among the board during an earlier discussion about contracts for five mental health and behavioral professionals totaling almost $600,000.
Given the high sum, on top of investments the district has already made in mental health support, Board Member Rachelle Marcus said she wanted to know if there was an overarching plan to address students’ ongoing behavioral problems.
Margo said that approving these contracts would be trying to solve the behavioral issues by “playing whack-a-mole,” and the board should take a closer look at data and statistics before deciding on a way forward.
“Why are we a data-driven district only when it’s convenient for us,” Margo said.
Bregy said the district has collected “qualitative” data about students’ social and emotional wellness, but it could provide more specific information over the course of the year.
“In behavior, we say we want direction, not perfection,” said Stern, a board-certified educational psychologist. “There are so many complex variables that you can’t just say, ‘Oh, you do this and boom, the behavior is over,’ because we’re dealing with humans. We’re dealing with multiple factors.”
Assistant Superintendent for Student Services Laura Collins-Williams said that each of these professionals play valuable roles in the district’s respective mental health offerings, and they have had measurable impacts beyond just the fourth-grade class.
She said that students with “death dates” on which they had planned to commit suicide received enough support to graduate, while students also receive support for issues at home including substance abuse, divorce and grief.
“We are making an impact, and to not have these services in place would put children and families in jeopardy,” Collins-Williams said.
In response to a question from Margo about the district’s therapy services, Collin-Williams said there is a “referral system” in which she determines a student’s need and then speaks with a therapist to devise a treatment plan.
Margo said there are likely many BHUSD students who receive outside therapy and do not know how to access the district’s services. He worried that eligible students are being prevented from getting help from the district.
“I am detecting some inequity in this in some areas,” Margo said. “It’s not necessarily a bad thing, but I’m concerned about its sustainability.”
The board voted to approve all five contracts, with Margo dissenting on each.
