Beverly Hills High School students will question all five candidates running for two seats on the BHUSD Board of Education at a forum Monday, Oct. 5, in the Salter Family Theatre.

The Associated Student Body and the BHHS Career Academy are organizing the event, which runs from 6 to 7:30 p.m. Students will write the questions and moderate the discussion, according to a district announcement issued Thursday, Oct. 1. KBEV, the school's student media department, will livestream the forum for viewers at home.

The district described the forum as a nonpartisan educational event. All five candidates have been invited, and each will receive equal time to present their views. No candidate has publicly confirmed or declined attendance.

Five candidates are competing for two open seats in the Nov. 3 election. Board President Judy Manouchehri is seeking reelection. The second seat will be vacated by Board Member Rachelle Marcus, who is not running again after two terms, as reported by the Beverly Hills Courier.

The other four challengers are attorney David Cienfuegos, attorney Jackie R. Kruger, paralegal Kimberly Lifschitz and math teacher Jared Gonzales. Gonzales, who teaches seventh- and eighth-grade math at Yavneh Hebrew Academy in Los Angeles, is the only classroom teacher in the race, according to a Beverly Press profile published Oct. 1.

Cienfuegos addressed a packed gathering of parents at Beverly Hills Bagel on Sept. 30, focusing on classroom technology and academic expectations. He set a high bar for the district at that event, as reported by the Beverly Hills Standard.

Kruger and Lifschitz launched their campaigns together at an Aug. 30 kickoff, where Kruger called for financial transparency and higher district rankings. Gonzales has argued his direct classroom experience would bring a perspective the board needs.

Students will run Monday's forum. The BHHS Career Academy, now in its fourth year with 52 students, is co-organizing the event alongside ASB. The Salter Family Theatre reopened in November 2025 after a renovation that added professional-grade sound and lighting.

The forum continues what the district calls a tradition of student-organized candidate events at Beverly Hills High School, though the district did not specify how many prior forums students have hosted.

County election officials will begin mailing ballots to registered voters on or before Oct. 5. California's voter registration deadline is Oct. 19.