The Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education on Feb. 10 formally rejected a claim filed by parent and attorney Daniel Lifschitz. The claim alleged that the Board of Education violated its own bylaws and the will of Beverly Hills voters when the board majority broke with the usual rotation of board vice president in December and installed Sigalie Sabag to the position. It was brought forward by Lifschitz as part of a lawsuit he filed which seeks a court order to mandate the board install Amanda Stern as board vice president in accordance with board bylaw 9100. The next hearing in the lawsuit is scheduled for April 30.

The board rejected the claim in a 3-0 vote. Stern and Board Member Rachelle Marcus abstained from voting.

“I believe that this claim compels the board to adhere to the bylaws,” Stern said. “In fact, less than two years ago, [Board President Judy] Manouchehri approved this bylaw, which dictates that one is installed by votes and seniority. On March 26, 2024, Ms. Manouchehri, along with Ms. Marcus and myself, voted in support of the bylaw which specifically tried to prevent the nasty political dispute we find ourselves in today. I would like to make it clear that I abstain. I would state that we, however, need this righteous and necessary reminder that was brought forward by a concerned parent on his behalf and on behalf of many appalled community members.”

In addition to rejecting the claim, the board voted to contract with an additional law firm. Orbach, Huff and Henderson.

Marcus questioned the decision to hire additional legal counsel, as the district already consults with Best, Best and Krieger for legal services. However, BHUSD Superintendent Alex Cherniss said Orbach, Huff and Henderson is a firm specializing in revenue-generating opportunities, including renting out BHUSD facilities.

“The purpose of this agreement would be specifically for our enterprise fund and for revenue-generating opportunities. They have experience with that,” Cherniss said. “All our lawyers are as-needed and we’d like to not use them at all, but we’re constantly being threatened with lawsuits, and it’s typical for public entities. So we need good representation and we need specialized representation as needed.”

The board voted to contract with Orbach, Huff and Henderson in a 4-1 vote. Stern voted against approving the agreement but did not comment on the agenda item.

The lawsuit filed by Lifschitz alleges that the board acted unlawfully at a Dec. 16 organizational meeting. At the December meeting, Manouchehri, who served as vice president for the previous year, was installed as board president in accordance with bylaw 9100, which states, “immediately after serving as vice president, the elected member shall serve one year as president of the board.”

According to the same bylaw, “selection of the vice president shall be determined by rotation based on how long each member has served on the board during their current term on the board. If two or more have the same term of service then they shall serve as vice president in descending order of the number of votes received in their most recent election and for this purpose an appointed member shall be treated as having zero votes.”

Stern, Sabag and Russell Stuart each began their current terms at the same time in December 2024 following the November election. Stern, seeking re-election at the time, received the most votes at 7,102, followed by Sabag at 6,681 and Stuart at 6,542.

Stuart, Sabag and Manouchehri voted against installing Stern as vice president after Manouchehri listed several accusations toward Stern, including “misleading the public” and “calling the media and asking them to run certain articles in order to bash other board members,” which Manouchehri said disqualified Stern from the position.

Following the 3-2 vote against certifying Stern as vice president, Sabag was certified as vice president in a 3-2 vote. Stern and Marcus voted against installing Sabag.

Following controversy over the district’s actions, the board majority of Sabag, Manouchehri and Stuart on Jan. 27 doubled down on its December action, redoing the election of Manouchehri and Sabag to the roles of president and vice president respectively, by way of accusing Stern of committing a Brown Act violation through communicating with board members before the Dec. 16 meeting.

Before the board reperformed the election of president and vice president on Jan. 27, it voted to re-write bylaw 9100. The new bylaw omits any reference to the rotation of president and vice president being determined by the municipal election of board members by Beverly Hills residents. Instead, the new bylaw places the election of the positions directly in the hands of board members. The new bylaw also eliminates the clause “no board member shall serve more than one consecutive year in the same office.”

The board’s actions have been criticized by parents and members of the BHUSD community, including at the Feb. 10 meeting.

Community member Gay Abrams criticized the board for what she said were “efforts by board members in the district to undermine the civil rights of parents and community members who question, challenge or criticize [the board’s] actions.”

“It is deeply troubling to witness the intimidating atmosphere this board has cultivated – the demeaning comments toward fellow board members, parents and community members who voice differences of opinion,” Abrams said. “I have watched violations of the Brown Act and bylaws, a disrespect for precedent, inadequate input from teachers and a lack of accountability … In moving forward, we ultimately all have the same desires and goals, which is to improve the educational experience for every student in the district. I am not the enemy. We are not the enemy. Please do not treat us as such.”