A group of community members led by local parent and attorney Jackie Kruger served Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board Members Russell Stuart and Sigalie Sabag at the March 11 Board meeting with notifications of an intent to circulate recall petitions against them.
Speaking during public comment, Kruger said that she was there on behalf of “a lot of upset parents and members of the community” who have grown increasingly displeased with the actions of the board. Those actions include an alleged lack of transparency surrounding the Feb. 21 resignation of former Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy and the more recent decision to restructure the administration at El Rodeo and Horace Mann Elementary Schools.
“I hope that you understand that you are under the eye and scrutiny of the community,” said Kruger before serving Stuart and Sabag, “and that you change your course.”
The notices list reasons for initiating the recall, including “clear violations of district code of conduct and bylaws, directly undermining the board’s educational excellence mission and failing to uphold BHUSD governance core values and commitments.”
Stuart is additionally accused of “compromising board impartiality by publicly expressing personal political views in an official capacity,” and Sabag faces an allegation of “demonstrating a conflict of interest by participating in district decisions potentially influenced by personal business interests and considerations.”
According to Kruger, the group collected nearly 100 signatures in 12 hours.
In personally serving Stuart and Sabag with the notifications, recall proponents fulfilled the first step in initiating a recall. They must now prepare a recall petition for circulation, according to procedures set forth by the California Secretary of State.
Those procedures state that proponents of the recall effort must collect approximately 4,560 signatures, and if the petition is deemed sufficient by elections officials, an election will be held within approximately 100 and 140 days. The election may be held later if it coincides closely with a regularly scheduled election.
Should they be recalled, there would be no vote to replace Stuart or Sabag. The positions would remain vacant until the next regularly scheduled election.
Stuart and Sabag were elected to the board in November 2024. Reached by phone, Stuart said he did not know the recall petition was coming.
“The number one thing that I can say is, it’s just disappointing,” he said.
Stuart added that the changes being made to Beverly Hills’ elementary schools administration teams were based on budgetary concerns.
“I really do not believe that the voters who voted me in are against me, because this is what they voted us in for … to fix the books, and to turn these [school’s test] scores around.”
Recently, Stuart has faced controversy over a social media post. On Feb. 24, he posted an image featuring the “D” in BHUSD overlapping with the letters “DOGE.” DOGE is commonly understood to be an acronym for the federal government’s recently created Department of Government Efficiency, led by Elon Musk.
When announcing the creation of the office, President Donald Trump indicated that its stated goal would be streamlining government and bringing savings to taxpayers.
Stuart continues to defend his social media post, saying it represents his intention to be fiscally responsible during his tenure on the board and suggesting that there is a “politically charged” element to the recall effort.
“I don’t have a Donald Trump post on my Instagram, but I promise you, if you followed any one of those people who are recalling me, you would think that they work for the Harris campaign,” he said. “[My post] was supposed to say that my focus is on efficiency.”
In an exclusive comment provided to the Courier via email, Sabag said the notice of intention to recall is “vague, lacks specificity, and borders on slander.”
“At its core, this recall effort is not about governance; it is about preserving the status quo for a select few,” she wrote. “It is a misguided and divisive attempt that distracts from what truly matters—our students’ education. No matter the noise, my focus will remain steadfast on ensuring that Beverly Hills Unified School District reclaims its status as a National Blue Ribbon School District and pride of our community.”
Romi Azevedo, a local parent and former BHUSD employee, spoke at the March 11 meeting in support of the recall effort. In a later email to the Courier, Azevedo noted that her concern revolved around the board’s allegedly opaque decision-making process.
“The issue here is that the board is making major, destabilizing decisions without providing any transparency, justification, or a strategic plan,” she wrote. “What is the board’s long-term vision, and why haven’t they shared it with the community?”
Kruger echoed Azevedo’s alarm over a perceived lack of transparency in the board’s actions.
“Perhaps there’s too much admin in our schools, I don’t know,” Kruger said in a phone call with the Courier prior to the March 11 meeting. “I’m not saying that some of these cuts aren’t justified. It’s just the transparency and the methodology are problematic … These are people that are dismantling our school in a very haphazard fashion.”
