Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy has resigned from his position effective Feb 24. Bregy’s resignation comes after more than eight years with the district. Dr. Jason Hasty, formerly Assistant Superintendent of Business Services, will serve as acting superintendent while the board searches for a replacement.
The resignation was announced in a Feb. 21 email to parents and teachers from the BHUSD board. The email referred to Bregy’s “dedication and leadership over the past eight and a half years.” It continued, “His impact on BHUSD has been profound, starting with leading the district’s reconfiguration which allowed for a significant expansion of elective offerings and enriching students’ educational experiences, to prioritizing professional development opportunities for staff and fostering key partnerships within the Beverly Hills community, including the Beverly Hills City Council, the Beverly Hills Education Foundation and our PTAs.”
In an email statement to the Courier, BHUSD Board President Rachelle Marcus said, “Michael’s community involvement was also always evident, and he availed himself in joining many local organizations. His tenure with Beverly Hills Unified has and will going forward make a lasting impact, and I wish him nothing but success in all future endeavors.
At the BHUSD board meeting of Feb. 25, Bregy was mentioned only briefly. Board Member Dr. Amanda Stern said at the close of the meeting, “I just wanted to take a moment to thank Dr. Bregy for his eight years of extremely hard work and a very open-door policy to all teachers, staff, parents and students. I just want to say I’m grateful for his service.”
During public comment, district parent Romi Azevedo voiced frustration that the board “issued a communication on [Bregy’s] behalf, depriving him of the opportunity to personally express his departure on his own terms. The decision lacked transparency and professionalism, and it has left many in our community questioning the motives and leadership of this board.”
Some wonder if Bregy’s sudden resignation was due to pressure from the board. Jackie Kruger, who has several children in the district, told the Courier, “You don’t have the head of all the things in the school leave in the middle of the second semester without so much as a goodbye or an explanation. Something must have happened.” She added, “We as a community deserve to have some accountability as to why that happened. What was the impetus?”
Acting Superintendent Hasty has spent time before his tenure in Beverly Hills as Assistant Superintendent at Wiseburn Unified School District and Executive Director of Human Resource Services at Los Angeles County Office of Education.
At his first board meeting in his new role, Hasty said to those in attendance, “Please know that we have an exceptional team of leaders, educators and staff who have the capacity, vision and expertise to take our district into a new era of excellence.”
That first board meeting was occasionally contentious. School security had to approach a speaker who began talking over his allotted time before he went back to his seat.
The situation also grew tense when two individuals voiced complaints about not being allowed to speak—despite waiting some five hours at that point. As the back-and-forth between the two continued, Hasty announced, “I’m going to stop there; we’re going to move forward. If we cannot move forward, we are going to need to call a recess and take a break.”
He then instructed Board President Rachelle Marcus to “call a recess” and told the board members to “get up,” motioning for them to leave the meeting room. Hasty went on to meet with members of the audience in the hallway. He listened to frustrations for several minutes, then said, “Here’s what we’re going to do, can we go back and sit down? I’m going to go tell [the rest of the board] we have two more speakers…” and later “We’re going to get better for the next meeting, I promise you.” A few minutes later, the board reappeared and listened to the speakers.
Inheriting a school district facing several controversies and legal actions, Hasty will face hurdles beyond merely frustrated speakers at board meetings. Last Dec 1, teacher and KBEV Executive Producer Romeo Carey was placed on administrative leave. The letter informing him of the administrative leave offered no cause for the suspension, he said. The action against Carey has resulted in an outpouring of support from students and parents, who have expressed their incredulity and displeasure at board meetings for the past few months. Additionally, the district faces claims of racial discrimination and retaliation by current and former teachers and administrators. Athletic Director Tim Ellis has also been accused of sexual harassment in a wrongful termination claim.
