The Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) board voted to approve a new contract for a substitute staffing vendor and heard updates on the district’s strategic plan from principals at its Feb. 25 meeting.
The actions came during an evening that became tense when members of the public continued to express dissatisfaction with the suspension of Romeo Carey, the district’s media director. Carey is currently on paid leave.
Among the agendized items before the board was a discussion of a proposed contract with Swing Education, Inc., an online platform for hiring vetted substitute teachers. Board members reviewed the proposed agreement and posed questions to Dr. Jason Hasty, the acting superintendent in the wake of the resignation last week of Dr. Michael Bregy.
Several board members sought confirmation that substitutes would be capable of teaching the subjects in the classrooms to which they are assigned.
“We do have a lot of issues with when we do have a substitute that goes into a specific classroom, [the students] are basically getting babysat,” said Board Member Sigalie Sabag. “So, we don’t want that. We want them to continue the curriculum.”
The board moved to approve the contract as Hasty assured members of his faith in the company’s ability to meet the district’s needs.
In other business, the board heard progress updates on the district’s state-led Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) as well as the strategic plan. Principals from all BHUSD schools provided reports on student achievement in three areas: engaging students in learning, supporting positive student behavior, and growing and developing professionally.
In explaining why LCAP updates were combined with strategic plan updates, Assistant Superintendent Dr. Dustin Seemann noted that the district’s strategic plan sets benchmarks higher than the LCAP.
“Our strategic plan is more robust than what is required by the state for reporting purposes,” he said. “We expect more out of ourselves than what is expected by the county and state.”
The reports were largely positive, with all schools demonstrating improvement in student achievement in math and reading. However, Board Vice President Judy Manouchehri pressed Sarah Kaber, the principal of El Rodeo Elementary School, on student achievement in those two areas.
Kaber reported that students demonstrated improvement on diagnostic tests, but Manouchehri noted that the percentage of children reaching the district’s target goals was below the established benchmark.
“We’re on our way, we’re doing our best, but we have a way to go,” said Manouchehri. “These numbers are not meeting our standards, and I encourage you to come to the board and tell us what you need to make it happen.”
The board recently made the decision to move the public comment period to the end of the meeting. The move was met at the time with anger and resistance from residents who decried the “lack of warning” about moving a portion of the meeting that had traditionally taken place much earlier.
That frustration continued at this week’s meeting. Speakers’ time was limited to two minutes and the entire public comment period was limited to 20 minutes. Beginning with the first speaker, Michael Risoli, many commenters ignored time limits or expressed anger about them.
Risoli, who criticized the behavior of BHUSD Assistant Superintendent Matthew Horvath during the district’s investigation into Carey, continued speaking over Board President Rachelle Marcus as she called the end of his time.
“I’m sorry Horvath was given the power to interrogate and privately bully you in his office,” said Risoli, addressing his comments to students.
As Risoli continued speaking beyond his time limit, three security guards approached him and began encircling him, at which point he concluded his comments.
