Two candidates for the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board of Education launched their campaigns with a joint kickoff party on Aug. 30.
Jackie Kruger, an attorney and local parent, and Kim Lifschitz, a paralegal and local parent, welcomed supporters at Kruger’s home beginning at 2 p.m. The event featured tacos and a fruit cart, as well as cold beverages.
Board Member Dr. Amanda Stern offered brief remarks before each candidate spoke.
“You guys represent the hope for what is going on right now,” she said. “I know both Jackie and Kim as educated folks who care about achievement, who care about all students, not a select few.”
Kruger, the first of the two candidates to speak, was introduced by her husband, Nathan Kruger, who currently serves as the financial secretary on the Beverly Hills High School PTSA.
Nathan highlighted Kruger’s history of helping students in the district, including acting as a room parent, coaching soccer and opening their front yard for science experiments and a book club during the COVID-19 pandemic.
“There is nobody that has better qualities to be a school board member than my wife,” he said. “She cares for all people. She will fight for all people. There’s nobody with so much compassion and a sense of standing up for what’s right.”
Following Nathan’s remarks, Kruger delivered a speech focused on her own experience at BHUSD as well as the experiences of her three children. Kruger noted that her parents, who emigrated from the former Soviet Union, made significant sacrifices for her to attend the city’s public school system.
“My parents had to choose between moving out of the city to live comfortably or squeezing into a two-room apartment on Elm so I could finish at Beverly,” she said. “It was a no-brainer. We moved to Elm, and I shared a room with my mother … the schools are what make the city important.”
Kruger went on to outline her vision for the district, which includes financial transparency, higher rankings, guaranteed reading by third grade and the availability of one-on-one tutoring throughout the district.
“We love our schools, we love our community, and we cannot stand by and watch unneeded spending with no results,” she said. “Millions of dollars in deficit spending draining our reserves and rankings that slide lower and lower year after year.”
Passing the floor to Lifschitz, Kruger described her fellow candidate as “caring and capable.”
“She stands strong,” said Kruger. “She does not back down, and she keeps it positive. She is here for our kids, not to fight haters or fearmongers and liars.”
Lifschitz was introduced by her husband, attorney and BHUSD graduate Daniel Lifschitz. He described his wife as “a school board candidate whose values emanate from the golden era of our school’s governments.”
“[She is] someone who values considered merit over reflexive contrarianism,” he said. “Someone who believes in the transformative power of quality education to instill not just knowledge, but values, wisdom and civic virtue.”
Kim Lifschitz delivered a speech focused on her history of advocating for her son, who has a rare genetic condition, and her priorities for students if elected to the board.
“We must teach our children to innovate, adapt and problem solve, to think critically and creatively in a world very different from the one in which we were educated … we must also teach our children accountability and responsibility,” she said.
Noting that educators are the foundation of a well-functioning school, she emphasized the importance of “equipping our teachers with sufficient staffing, fair and dependable compensation, robust opportunities for professional development and a working environment in which they are treated with respect.”
Lifschitz said that as a member of the board, she would work to ensure that children in the district reach and exceed their goals.
“Every parent who sends their child to public school in Beverly Hills should get … to witness your child achieve a dream you’ve set for them, then watch in awe as they refuse to stop climbing,” she said. “That is what Beverly Hills schools have given my family, and that is what I will relentlessly pursue for every family as a BHUSD Trustee.”
Five candidates are running for two open seats on the board. One seat is currently held by Board President Judy Manouchehri, and the other will be vacated by Board Member Rachelle Marcus, who is not seeking reelection after two terms.
In addition to Kruger and Lifschitz, the other candidates are Manouchehri, teacher Jared Gonzales and attorney David Cienfuegos.
The period to file for candidacy closed Aug. 7. The board election will take place Nov. 3.
