Irene Stern Returns as Beverly Vista Principal

After a four-year retirement, Irene Stern is back in the principal's chair at Beverly Vista.

The Beverly Hills Board of Education voted 3-1 on Thursday, July 8 to rehire Stern to serve as interim principal for Beverly Vista until board members select a long-term replacement.

"I will devote all the necessary time and effort to this job, so we can get Beverly Vista back to where it belongs," Stern said.

Stern will replace Eric Warren, whose employment contract with the Beverly Hills Unified School District was not renewed for the upcoming school year.

"You were the canary in the coal mine for this district," board member Brian Goldberg told Stern.

The board exhausted two searches for Beverly Vista's next principal and was unable to find the right fit after reviewing about 150 applications, according to its president, Steven Fenton. He said the search would resume in the fall.

"We need somebody to captain this ship," Fenton said. "There's nobody more qualified to step in on a minute's notice than Irene."

Myra Lurie was the only board member to vote against hiring Stern, citing the later's "retirement controversy."

Lurie is the only current member who served on the board when Stern retired four years ago. She was named as a defendant in Stern's subsequent age discrimination lawsuit, which cost the district approximately $100,000.

"This is not about me personally," she told Stern at the meeting. "Many people spoke highly of you as principal."

About a week after Stern's resignation as Beverly Vista principal in February 2006, Lurie said Stern asked for reinstatement—a violation of BHUSD's employment policy—and was therefore denied.

"Our insurance company may take a dim view of hiring her," Lurie said. "Are we really doing the right thing here?"

Board Vice President Lisa Korbatov supported Stern's return.

"For 29 years, she served this district loyally," Korbatov said.

During Stern's seven-year tenure as principal of Beverly Vista, the school received the highest Academic Performance Index (API) scores in the city, Fenton said.

"Clearly, Irene had an unbelievable track record of success at Beverly Vista," he said.

After Stern's retirement, the physical condition of the school deteriorated, according to Korbatov.

"There's nothing more disgraceful than to send our kids to filthy schools," Korbatov said about the vandalism, dead bugs, wall holes and broken light fixtures she has seen at Beverly Vista. "She will clean that place up."

While Lurie proposed several changes to Stern's contract, the other three board members present at the meeting agreed to consider adding additional language to all district contracts with school principals at the next board meeting on July 20.