New BHUSD Superintendent Takes Over at Key Time

New Beverly Hills Unified School District Superintendent has many important issues on his plate as he takes over from Richard Douglas, who served as acting superintendent for more than a year.

The Board of Education on May 31 unanimously approved a four-year contract for Woods to start as permanent superintendent July 1. Woods most recently was superintendent of the San Marino Unified School District, which has ranked No. 1 in California’s academic performance scores for the last seven years.

Some of the more immediate issues confronting Woods include:

• Signing a new contract with the Beverly Hills Education Association, the main teachers union. The Board of Education last week the proposed contract with the union 4-1, saying it didn’t agree with larger class sizes for younger grades and with a new calendar that begins the school year in August.
• Hiring a new BHUSD director of educational services. Assistant Superintendent for Educational Services Ilene Straus left the district on June 30; her position was downgraded from an assistant superintendent to director in order to save money. The job includes the critical functions of overseeing student curriculum, staff assessment and development, pupil services and special education.
• Following the criminal trial of former district facilities director , who is facing four counts of conflict of interest. The long-awaited trial is supposed to start this month on charges that she secretly negotiated a deal to be an independent BHUSD contractor while performing her duties as facilities director for the district. Christiansen had served as BHUSD’s project manager for the $334 million Measure E bond and was reportedly paid a total of $5.2 million by BHUSD for consultant services between 2006 and 2009.
• Overseeing changes at Beverly Hills High School, including the building of a around the perimeter of the property this summer. BHHS will also have a when classes resume Sept. 6.
• Participating in renewal of the . The JPA is a long-term agreement in which the city pays the district for access to school facilities; it provided almost 20 percent of BHUSD’s most recent $52 million budget. The current JPA expires July 1, 2012, and the district wants it renewed soon because it must file long-term budget projections with the Los Angeles County Office of Education.

As Patch has , JPA talks between the City Council and the BHUSD got off to a slow start in April, and a subsequent city/school liaison committee has not yet been scheduled. City Treasurer Elliot Finkel has recommended cutting the next JPA to $9 million a year, but the board voted June 14 to of $10.3 million in the district's 2012-13 budget.

Of course, there are long-term issues facing Woods as well. BHUSD must find a permanent principal for Beverly Vista, where interim Principal is scheduled to retire at the end of the 2011-12 school year.

About $44.2 million of are due to be sold in fiscal year 2012 and Measure E–related construction is due to start that year. The $334 million Measure E bond was passed by voters in 2008 with the aim of modernizing the city's five schools.

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