Incumbent board member Rachelle Marcus and real estate attorney Judy Manouchehri are projected to win the two open seats on the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education.

UPDATED NOV. 15

Updated totals were released on Nov. 15 in the election for two seats on the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education. Rachelle Marcus remains in the lead with 32.46% (4,414 votes) and Judy Manouchehri is in second place with 28.80% (3,916 votes).

For updates and information, visit lavote.gov.

UPDATED NOV. 11

Rachelle Marcus and Judy Manouchehri retained their leads as the front runners for the two open seats on the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education in updated results released on Nov. 11.  

Incumbent board member Marcus is still leading with 32.58% (3,637 votes), while real estate attorney Manouchehri has 29.11% (3,249 votes). Former OB-GYN and USC Keck School of Medicine Instructor Michal Salkin has 18.06% (2,016 votes), Beverly Hills Education Foundation president Farrah Dodes has 16.12% (1,800 votes) and applied behavioral analysis tutor Janessa LaVoice has 4.13% (461 votes). 

 The reactions below are from the frontrunners on Nov. 9. 

After months of campaigning, incumbent Rachelle Marcus and real estate lawyer Judy Manouchehri are projected to win the two open seats on the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education, with Marcus receiving 3,184 votes and Manouchehri receiving 2,906.

Former OB-GYN and USC Keck School of Medicine instructor Michal Salkin received 1,804 votes, Beverly Hills Education Foundation president Farrah Dodes received 1,502 votes, and applied behavioral analysis tutor Janessa LaVoice won 416.

“I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get busy again,” Marcus said.

Marcus has spent almost 60 years in BHUSD as a teacher, parent and board member, and she made her decades of experience a central theme of her campaign. While Marcus did not campaign as vigorously as she did when she first ran for the board in 2018, she said she relied on her reputation in the district and the trust she has cultivated with BHUSD families to carry her to victory.

Marcus ran on a platform of putting “students first” and ensuring better fiscal responsibility. During a candidate forum last month, Marcus said the district must do a better job of monitoring students’ performance and providing extra help to any who fall behind, in addition to offering more extracurricular activities and mental health resources. She added that she was excited to begin working with Manouchehri, the newest member of the board.

“Judy ran a wonderful campaign,” Marcus said. “She’s very qualified and I’m going to love working with her.”

As the race wound to a close this week, Manouchehri campaigned until the very end, and her mood was a mixture of excitement and anticipation as she went to cast her ballot in person on Nov. 8, she said.

“I’m just so excited all our hard work and good intentions paid off. I am really looking forward to bringing my best to BHUSD,” Manouchehri said.

She highlighted her legal career throughout the campaign, stating she would better manage the district’s finances and construction projects, which have lagged in recent years. At last month’s forum, Manouchehri said she would create a transparent and robust oversight schedule and hold meetings every other Monday with key officials to discuss the construction progress.

She also said that she wants to help students gain better career experience by creating intern programs with businesses and organizations throughout the city. She wants to increase academic rigor and extracurricular programs, and improve relationships between teachers, staff and administrators.

A lifelong Beverly Hills resident, Manouchehri’s connections with the city helped her share her vision for the district with as many residents as possible, she said.

“To me, our campaign resonated with voters because it was about unity, optimism and hard work,” Manouchehri said.