New Board of Ed Members Ready to Assume Office

With the results of the Nov. 8 Board of Education election finally clear, the winners are making plans to assume their new roles next month.

According to the Los Angeles Registrar-Recorder/County Clerk’s , incumbent Brian Goldberg received the most votes in the race for three available seats on the Beverly Hills Board of Education. Beverly Vista parent Noah Margo came in second and educator/producer Lewis Hall came in third.

The new members will join Goldberg at the Dec. 6 board meeting. Goldberg, the board vice president, is expected to assume the presidency at that time, while current board member Jake Manaster is expected to become the new vice president. Other board members Myra Lurie and Steven Fenton will attend their last official meeting on Nov. 22.

Goldberg said he plans in his second term to continue the “cultural change in the way we operate as a district” that began during his first term.

“My overarching goal is to ensure that this culture change takes root and becomes the norm for our community so we can protect against the mismanagement that led to our academic decline the past two decades,” he told Patch. “I [want to] continue to provide accountability, oversight and transparency to the district so we can ensure that our resources and efforts are focused on providing the best education for all our students.”

Margo said he hoped his victory as a write-in candidate, which was only the second time in Beverly Hills history of such a success, demonstrates how hard he plans to work on the board.

“I look forward to serving our schools and our community with the same fervor on which I ran,” he told Patch. On his campaign website, he thanked supporters and noted, “I'm driven more than ever to reach our mission of bringing Beverly Hills Unified back to national prominence.”

Lewis Hall said he looks forward to introducing new ideas that he has been developing while attending meetings of the three main school board subcommittees. Since declaring his candidacy in August, Hall has been to most meetings of the Finance Committee (which advises on BHUSD financial issues), the Citizens Oversight Committee (which monitors district bond programs) and the Facilities Advisory Committee (which advises BHUSD on construction and maintenance issues). He was at the Nov. 14 Finance Committee meeting when he heard that he had been elected.

“I learned a lot by attending these meetings and I have some ideas on how to improve the way things are done in the district,” he told Patch, adding that he will wait to offer specific advice until he takes office.

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