Dr. Michael Bregy resigned as BHUSD superintendent on Feb. 21 following public outcry over controversies facing the school district. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Michael Bregy resigned on Feb. 21, a move that followed months of turmoil over lawsuits and controversies facing the district – at least one of which has drawn concern from the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California.

The BHUSD Board of Education announced Bregy’s resignation in an email sent to parents and teachers on Feb. 21. Bregy’s resignation became effective on Feb. 24.

“We respect Superintendent Bregy’s decision and appreciate the hard work and dedication he brought to our district,” board president Rachelle Marcus wrote in the email. “As we move forward, we are committed to ensure a seamless transition that supports our students, staff and community.”

The email stated that Dr. Jason Hasty, assistant superintendent of business services, will serve as acting superintendent while the district conducts a “comprehensive search to secure the best leader to carry BHUSD into the next chapter of educational excellence.”

A reason for Bregy’s departure was not stated in the email. Bregy did not respond to a request for comment.

Parents and students showed up to the Feb. 25 school board meeting to demand answers after little information was given about Bregy’s resignation. The meeting descended into chaos after the public comment period was moved to the end of the meeting. The board also limited individual comments to two minutes, rather than the usual three, and added all public comments on each “topic” must take no more than 20 minutes.

The resignation comes as Beverly Hills High School is embroiled in controversy over the administrative leave and investigation of Romeo Carey, who has taught journalism at the school for more than 20 years. The district placed Carey on leave on Dec. 1 without giving a specific reason – only stating that he was placed on leave “pending the finding of the district’s investigation of the incidents at Beverly Hills High School,” without specifying what the incidents were. Members of the BHUSD community have accused the district of placing Carey on leave in retaliation for student journalists’ coverage of an incident involving the alleged assault of a student by the district’s executive director of school safety, Mark Mead.

Peter Eliasberg, chief counsel for the ACLU of Southern California, said in an interview with the Beverly Press that the organization has “very serious concerns” over the situation surrounding Carey’s leave and the alleged censorship of KBEV.

KBEV’s coverage included a video uploaded to KBEV’s YouTube channel. The video, uploaded on Dec. 2 and still publicly available on YouTube, was taken during a pro-Trump campus gathering on Nov. 6, and appears to show Mead with his hands around a student’s neck. Other elements of KBEV’s coverage included re-uploading of student testimony made during school board meetings.

Students and parents allege that Carey was placed on leave in retaliation for allowing KBEV students to upload the video to YouTube and refusing the school district’s request to have the video removed. Carey has been on paid leave for almost three months.

“Everything that I have seen so far indicates that the high school doesn’t seem to understand or doesn’t care to understand the protections of student journalism and student journalism advisors provided by California Education Code,” Eliasberg said.

He added that the district had no right to request the removal of the video under the education code, and no right to place Carey on leave as a result.

“There’s a very explicit no retaliation provision for teachers who are the journalism advisors who are basically acting to protect students’ right to engage in speech that’s protected by the ed code,” Eliasberg said. “It seems to me that any first-year law graduate would probably win a case showing that this is retaliation for doing his job.”

Eliasberg said he believes the district is “acting illegally” based on the evidence that he has seen.

The district’s investigation of Carey and its treatment of students have also raised concerns. Students said they were intimidated and made to feel unsafe by Assistant Superintendent Matt Horvath as he questioned them in one-on-one, closed-door meetings.

“Let’s talk about the absolute disgrace of an investigation happening right now. You are dragging students into private meetings, twisting stories and making outrageous accusations that have absolutely no basis in reality,” student Ava Wizmann said in a board meeting on Feb. 11. “Asking female students if Mr. Carey has ever forced us to undress in KBEV? Do you even hear yourselves? To even suggest such disgusting allegations is not only insulting, it’s proof that this board has no shame.”

“Tonight, I sit here before you feeling alienated, disrespected and unsafe because of the way I was treated by Assistant Superintendent Matt Horvath. He has abused his power, lacked all compassion and demonstrated that he is willing to frame Mr. Carey at any cost, even if this means using innocent students like me as pawns in his game,” student Delara Yektafar said. “I tell you all this because of the way Mr. Horvath treated me behind closed doors. This is not how you treat a student who not only excels in the district, but embodies what’s right with this school. I’ve done nothing wrong, yet I was interrogated, belittled and made to feel completely unsafe.”

Horvath is also at the center of at least two other controversies surrounding BHUSD.

In a separate wrongful termination claim, former teacher Joanie Garratt alleged that Horvath fired her after she criticized President Donald Trump and a pro-Trump campus incident on her personal Facebook page.

Additionally, Black students, parents, teacher Bella Ivory and Assistant Superintendent of Student Services Laura Collins-Williams have accused the district of ignoring rampant racism and discrimination. Students alleged they have repeatedly been called the n-word while at school. The current athletic director Tim Ellis has been accused of racism.

Ellis has also been accused of sexual harassment in a separate wrongful termination claim. Former tennis coach Robbin Cafagna said Ellis – her former boss – harassed her, groped her and repeatedly tried to coerce her into a sexual relationship before he fired her when she threatened to report his behavior. Cafagna alleged that when she did report Ellis’ behavior, the district – notably, Horvath – ignored her claims and moved forward with her termination.

Another controversy surrounding the district is the suspended enrollment of displaced Palisades Charter High School students. The district denied the enrollment of more than 100 displaced Pali High students, after allowing the enrollment of 47 students. State Sen. Ben Allen (D-Santa Monica) is now asking the district to resume enrollment, and said the state will reimburse any added cost.

Additionally, a civil lawsuit will return to court on April 7, to determine damages awarded to a former Beverly Hills High School student Laurie Siegman after a former teacher, Henry “Hank” Friedman admitted to sexually abusing her between 1978 and 1981. The lawsuit alleges that BHUSD knew about Friedman’s behavior but kept him employed. Siegman is seeking $70 million in damages against BHUSD and Friedman combined.

Robbie Curtis – a former BHUSD parent who has led the charge calling for the district to reinstate Carey – said he believed the situation surrounding Carey’s leave was the “straw that broke the camel’s back,” forcing Bregy to resign. He added that while the move appears to be in response to the controversies, the district needs to do more to take accountability and address the concerns of the community.

“It’s not an adequate response to what we’ve been fighting for [to reinstate Carey] and what Joanie Garratt’s fighting for, and what Collins-Williams is fighting for and the fashion teacher [Ivory] and the African American students,” Curtis said. “This is just the start. There needs to be more action taken by the board to either ask for resignations or remove part of the administrative team, if not all of the administrative team. The apple is rotten from the core.”

The Beverly Hills Education Foundation released a statement in response to Bregy’s resignation.

“Beverly Hills Education Foundation has enjoyed years of student success working closely with Dr. Bregy, and we wish him much success in his future endeavors,” said Tina Wiener, president of the BHEF Board of Directors.

In a school board meeting on Feb. 25, Horvath was absent from his usual post. No explanation was given during the meeting.

Students and parents continued to protest Carey’s administrative leave during the public comment period. Some parents also expressed concern over the district’s announcement of Bregy’s resignation, stating that the resignation was not transparent, and the community did not get to hear from Bregy directly.

Additionally, two parents took issue with a social media post made by board member Russell Stuart, which depicted the BHUSD logo edited to read “BHUSDOGE,” a reference to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency.

Stuart defended the post by stating that he believes the district is wasting money.

“That post that I made was not about an individual. It definitely was not speaking on behalf of the board. It was my own personal view,” Stuart said. “But it also showed a dedication to exactly what our job is, and that is to make sure that your tax dollars are properly spent.”

At times, the meeting became visibly tense.

Michael Risoli, a parent of a KBEV student, used his allotted two minutes to call on the district to issue a public apology to its students – specifically KBEV students and the two who said they were interrogated by Horvath.

“These students have done nothing wrong. Those two girls have done nothing wrong,” Risoli said, before being escorted away from the microphone by security guards for exceeding the time limit.

Members of the public condemned the board’s action in limiting public comment and moving it to the end of the meeting.

“I don’t think you should change your policies so people don’t have the right to speak,” Curtis said. He said he had prepared a four-minute speech before being informed at the meeting that he only had two minutes to speak.

Resident Ilona Sherman – who was told by the board she could not comment because the 20-minute comment period had ended – protested, stating that she had signed up on the public comment list.

“You keep changing the rules, and you keep ignoring us,” she shouted from her seat. “It’s a slap in the face to everyone sitting here waiting to speak. This is wrong. Each one of you has a responsibility to listen to us.”

As Sherman protested, the board could be seen whispering to each other, while Hasty – who was in the meeting as acting superintendent for the first time since Bregy’s departure – instructed Marcus to adjourn the meeting and call a recess.

“She’s not going to let us talk, you’ve got to take a recess,” Hasty said to Marcus, off-microphone. Marcus then called a recess.

“Get up everybody,” Hasty said to the board as the recess was called.

“Each one of you who wants to run for something else will be remembered and we will not vote for you,” Sherman shouted as the board retreated to a private room.

“A board should never silence their community,” one student shouted from her seat.

During the recess, Hasty spoke with individual community members who were frustrated about the public comment rules, Curtis said.

“To his credit, Dr. Hasty then came out a few minutes later and spoke to several of us … and several of the kids and said, ‘look, we know we may have messed things up. We want to get it right. How many people really need to speak?’” Curtis said in an interview.

After the Hasty’s conversation with community members during the recess, the board resumed the meeting and allowed Sherman and a student to make public comments.

Although two more individuals were allowed to speak, Curtis said the board meeting was overall a failure.

“It was the worst board meeting I can remember in watching board meetings over the last 30 years,” Curtis said.