Attorney Daniel Lifschitz delivered a cease-and-desist letter to the board of the Beverly Hills Unified School District at its Sept. 9 meeting.
Lifschitz, who is also a parent of a BHUSD student, alleges that the board violated the Public Comment Obligation (PCO) of the Brown Act, which curtails the ability of a board to act on agenda items during a meeting without allowing the public to address the board regarding the substance of those agenda items.
“What could be more evasive than taking open comment on one version of a proposal, then creating and passing a substantially different version on the spot? There would be no end to the potential abuse,” said Lifschitz during public comment.
The letter states that, “over the past few months, the board has repeatedly violated the PCO by taking public comment on agenda items at the start of meetings, only to then substantially change and pass those items within the space of the same meeting, robbing the public of any opportunity to address what the board actually votes on once its marathon redlining sessions conclude.”
He accused the board of violating the PCO during discussion of the Standards-Based Instructional Environment resolution, antisemitism resolution and the flag ban resolution, all of which Lifschitz has spoken about at past meetings. The resolutions have drawn controversy from the BHUSD community.
Lifschitz cited California Government Code Sections 54960 and 54960.2, which provide that any interested person may take legal action to stop or prevent the board from violating the PCO in the future and determine past actions of the board that violated the PCO.
The only condition precedent to bringing such action is furnishing a cease-and-desist letter, affording the board a 30-day period to follow PCO guidelines, Lifschitz said.
Board President Rachelle Marcus and Board Member Amanda Stern have objected to these violations, but Board Members Sigalie Sabag and Russell Stuart and Board Vice President Judith Manouchehri have “embraced them with open arms,” Lifschitz said at the meeting.
Marcus instructed Lifschitz to not mention names after he quoted Sabag from the July 16 regular meeting. Before the public comment portion of the meeting, Marcus said, “Personal attacks, inappropriate language and discussing specific employees or students are not permitted.”
The school board also received comprehensive updates about ongoing construction projects.
Six tennis courts and a softball field at BHHS Upper Athletic Fields have been completed, with the remaining components of Retaining Wall #2 and Athletic Plaza set to finish by the end of the year. The new Konheim building, featuring a swimming pool and additional retaining walls, is steadily progressing with walls already constructed and completion targeted for December 2026. Most nighttime construction work for this building is complete, with only pool excavation remaining.
Construction mobilization for the BHHS Grand Lawn begins on Sept. 12, with the Northern Grand Lawn scheduled for completion by January 2026 and the full lawn by December 2026. Security system upgrades, including additional cameras, horns and vape detectors, will be finished this month.
The board also approved the 2024-25 Unaudited Actuals. As required by state law, Executive Director of the Business Services Department at BHUSD delivered a report on the unaudited actuals, presented fiscal year-end data through June 30, comparing estimated versus unaudited actuals across revenue sources. Property tax revenue reached $70.5 million for the 2024-25 fiscal year, up from $68.2 million the previous year. Next steps include delivery of the First Interim Budget Report by Dec. 9, a financial audit for the 2024-25 fiscal year by Dec. 15 and finally, appropriate property tax revenue adjustments in the 2025-26 fiscal year.
