The Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) has appointed Dr. Issaic Gates as the district’s new executive director of personnel services. Gates previously worked as a teacher, principal and district executive. He served as the principal of San Marino High School, the executive director of the Inglewood Unified School District and most recently, the assistant superintendent of human resources and deputy superintendent of human resources at Placentia Yorba-Linda Unified School District (PYLUSD).
In his remarks welcoming Gates, BHUSD Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss said that the two men have known each other for 10 years, beginning when Cherniss, then the superintendent of the San Marino Unified School District, hired Gates to serve as the principal of San Marino High School. Under Gates’ leadership, the school became the number one academically achieving high school in California for three consecutive years.
Gates’ tenure at PYLUSD also overlapped with that of Cherniss, who served as superintendent of PYLUSD beginning in May 2023. Gates was brought on to PYLUSD in June 2023.
“There are so many accomplishments I could speak to, but what I would say [he does] best is his connections with people,” Cherniss said. “We are hiring him for Human Resources … he’s taught just about every grade there is, but he also connects well with students, and he connects well with teachers.”
In a statement, Gates said that he is “honored” by his new role.
“This is a community that deeply values excellence, possibility, and connection,” he said. “I look forward to supporting our extraordinary staff and ensuring that BHUSD continues to be a place where every student is known, challenged, and supported.”
There were some tense moments during the approval process for Gates at the Nov. 4 BHUSD board meeting.
Board Member Amanda Stern said she would abstain from voting on the agenda item that included Gates’ appointment because “The announcement of [Gates’] appointment … was unusually obscured and difficult to find in this agenda.”
His appointment was included in an attachment to an agenda item on the consent calendar, which typically includes items that are approved collectively rather than discussed individually.
“My choice to abstain has little to do with the individual in question and more to do with what felt like a bungled hiring process that lacked the usual transparency and due diligence that is required for such a high-level hire,” Stern said.
Cherniss replied that the approval arrangement was valid.
“This is the proper format to approve all personnel that are not under contract … and I did confirm that today with counsel,” he said.
The board voted 4-0 to approve the certified personnel report, which included Gates’ appointment. Stern abstained from voting.
“This agenda item absolutely was not where it was supposed to be,” Stern said. “It was obscured in a very unusual place. When something feels strange, it usually is.”
