As the end of the school year approaches, the Beverly Hills Education Association (BHEA)— the union that represents public school teachers in Beverly Hills —hopes to come to an agreement with Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) over teachers’ contracts and avoid prolonging negotiations through summer or into fall.
“I believe both sides are making progress,” said Katherine Warren, the president of the BHEA. “I believe there are still open lines of communication … I just wish we were going at a faster pace.”
Negotiations between the two parties were initially set to begin in August 2024; however the district requested a postponement due to the school board election, which took place in November 2024. BHEA agreed, and talks were initiated in January.
Multiple changes in district and school leadership have caused significant slowdowns in the process.
On Feb. 21, then-BHUSD Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy resigned. On March 11, the BHUSD Board announced the closure of nearly a dozen district positions, including the position held by Matt Horvath, the then-assistant superintendent of personnel services.
According to Interim Superintendent Dr. Jason Hasty, Horvath previously served as the lead negotiator in contract discussions with the teachers’ union.
Warren says that in past years, representatives for the union and the district were able to conduct more rounds of offers and counters in a single day during contract negotiations. Last year, the two parties often went back and forth twice a day.
This year, she said, that process has changed to one round per day, once every two weeks.
Hasty agreed that contract talks have been affected.
“[O]ne could argue we’ve had to have some delays in negotiations … what happened with the Palisades Fires, with our leadership change, I can see where some might say we’re a little slow to start,” he said.
In the current round of negotiations, BHEA is asking for an increase in salary, updates to benefits and leave policies, and changes to elementary class sizes. Teachers received a salary increase of 10.5% last year, which Warren said made up for previous years in which increases were approximately 2.5%.
Laura Collins-Williams, Assistant Superintendent for Student Services, and Dr. Dustin Seemann, Assistant Superintendent of Education Services, are the main leads representing the district in contract negotiations with the union. Rachelle Marcus, BHUSD Board President, has also been sitting in on discussions.
Hasty noted that the makeup of the negotiating committee for the district is subject to change.
BHEA’s bargaining committee is led by Beverly Hills High School math teacher Josh Glass, and each school sends one additional representative to the table.
A primary concern for teachers is the possibility of going into the 2025-2026 school year without knowing what their salaries will be.
Warren said that continuing negotiations over the summer presents its own set of challenges, as many educators are on schedules that are difficult to align.
“I’m going to be disappointed and sad [if an agreement isn’t reached], because I think when teachers leave for summer vacation, they should know what their salary is in the fall,” she said.
Hasty said the district shares the same goal.
“It is 100% the intention of the district and our leadership and the board to get a deal done before they leave for the summer,” he said. “And I’m going personally to be doing everything I can to ensure negotiations continue and that we’re not having any unnecessary pauses moving forward.”
The 2024-2025 school year will conclude on May 30. In order to reach an agreement by that time, Hasty said he would encourage the district to “work together to come to some common agreements … where we can meet in the middle on some of these things.”
