A notice of intention to circulate two recall petitions was submitted on March 11. However, that notice did not meet state timeline requirements. (photo by Tabor Brewster)

An effort to recall two Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education members is on hold as the initial filing did not meet state requirements. According to parent Jackie Kruger – who presented the original notice of intention to circulate the petitions at the March 11 school board meeting – the notice of intention was served too early.

Parents intended to begin recall proceedings for board members Sigalie Sabag and Russell Stuart. However, under the California recall procedure, recall proceedings may not commence if the school board member has not held office during the current term for at least 90 days. Stuart and Sabag were both sworn in on Dec. 17, 2024. The notice of intention was served on March 11, 84 days after the board members were sworn in.

While Sabag and Stuart have been in office for 90 days as of March 17, the notice of intentions have not been served, according to Kruger.

Kruger said she and Tasha Turner, another recall supporter, met with Sabag and Board Vice President Judy Manouchehri at the home of Beverly Hills City Councilwoman Mary Wells on March 17. Kruger said Wells – a former school board member – coordinated the meeting because she “wanted to create a forum for communication” and “ensure that the recall people were being heard and considered.”

Wells said she set up the meeting after Kruger reached out to her as a former board member for advice.

“As important as it is that we continue to have public comment, and the board being able to make their comments and statements at the meetings, it’s also important sometimes for them to just sit down and have a conversation face-to-face, because I think it’s a more relaxed setting and people can really listen to each other and communicate in a more intimate way,” Wells said.

Wells said the meeting went well, and established a line of dialogue between the board and concerned community members. She added that she does not support a potential recall of Sabag or Stuart.

“I don’t support a recall,” Wells said. “I think it’s better for the community to get together and have conversations.”

According to Kruger, she and Turner expressed concerns over several issues within the school district at the March 17 meeting. She said that Sabag and Manouchehri made several promises – mostly surrounding transparency. Kruger added she was “hopeful” after the meeting that the board would listen to the concerns of the community moving forward.

Kruger and other parents began the recall effort following the resignation of Michael Bregy as BHUSD superintendent and the subsequent elimination of several administrative positions within the district. The recall petition alleged that Sabag and Stuart “made consequential decisions without adequate understanding of school board governance,” “restructure[ed] critical roles without transparency” and “actively work[ed] to remove effective administrators.” However, many of the recent changes to school district organization – including the termination of Sarah Kaber’s contract as El Rodeo principal – were passed in unanimous, 5-0 decisions.

“There’s a lot that happens in closed session. I’m not aware of exactly what happens in these closed sessions. But I do know that those are the two new members of the board and that’s when everything turned in this direction,” Kruger said.

Although Kruger said the recall petitions are “ripe to be filed and served,” she wants to see if the board will commit to more transparency and communication moving forward before recall petitions are filed.

In order for a recall election to occur in Beverly Hills, the notice of intention must receive at least 10 signatures. The notice of intention for Sabag and Stuart have each received 75 signatures. After the notice of intention is served, the public official has the opportunity to respond to the recall effort. A recall petition must include the public official’s answer, if provided. Additionally, for school board member recalls, the petition must include the estimated cost of conducting the recall election “as determined by the county elections official and the school district.”

The Secretary of State then reviews the recall petition to determine if it meets the criteria. If approved, a recall petition may circulate. In order for a recall election to occur, the petition must receive signatures from at least 20% of all registered voters in Beverly Hills. According to the California Secretary of State, there are 22,737 total registered voters in Beverly Hills as of Feb. 10. According to this figure, 4,547 residents would need to sign the recall petition for an election to occur.

In the election, if a majority of the votes for a recall proposal are yes, “the officer is removed and the office shall be vacant until it is filled according to law,” according to the Secretary of State. However, if the recall election order is declared within 180 days of a regularly scheduled election, the election may be consolidated with a regularly scheduled election to determine replacement board members.

“I am not urging [the community] to file and serve [the notice of intention] this week. Maybe Monday. Perhaps maybe they’ll serve it either way. I don’t know. I think that after this meeting on [March 17] there is interest in hearing the community and let’s see if [the board members] fulfill the conversation that we had,” Kruger said.

Kruger said that the meeting did not include Stuart because of the Brown Act, which mandates that any meeting of a majority of members of a legislative body, even if informal, must be open to the public. Kruger added that she is “not hesitant” to meeting with Stuart if he shows interest.

Kruger said she has further concerns over Stuart, including a social media post he made with the phrase “BHUSDOGE” edited over the BHUSD logo, a reference to Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency. The initial petitions alleged that the post constituted “compromising board impartiality by publicly expressing personal political views in an official capacity.”

Stuart has defended the post, stating that it was a personal statement advocating for fiscal responsibility within the school district and it was not targeted at any individual.

Stuart said he was not made aware of the March 17 meeting by Kruger, Sabag, Manouchehri or Wells before or after it occurred.

“I was definitely taken aback by the fact that a meeting had been arranged,” Stuart said. “I find it interesting that a City Council member is getting involved. I hope it’s for the positive, which I’m assuming that it was.”

He added that he would “absolutely” meet with Kruger if presented the opportunity.

“I think I’ve made it perfectly clear on the record that I’m very easy to find. I’m very easy to communicate with. For someone who is questioning why I’ve not reached out to them, I can ask the same question. I’ve been very transparent that I am easy to communicate with and if you want to speak to me and you want to learn from me or you want to voice your opinion to me, I’m an open book and I’m very easy to find,” Stuart said.

Kruger has asked that the school district be more transparent and collaborative with the community in its ongoing search for a permanent superintendent.

The acting superintendent, Jason Hasty, said in an interview with the Beverly Press that he has recused himself from the search for a superintendent to avoid a conflict of interest.

When questioned as to why some recent actions were taken in closed session – including the termination of Kaber as El Rodeo Principal – he said the district has a policy to protect employee confidentiality when actions are taken for individual personnel.

“The district as a whole is working hard to really revisit the communication strategy,” Hasty said. “Some of these items, we’ll see some refinement moving forward.”