Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) teachers whose laptops have stopped working will get replacements after the board voted unanimously on Oct. 27 to approve an emergency purchase.

The district had not ordered teacher laptops since the COVID-19 pandemic, according to Beverly Highlights. Board President Judith Manouchehri questioned the quality of the proposed machines, saying she had heard students were not satisfied with the Dell laptops they received and that teachers seemed to prefer Macs.

The board also learned a new technology administrator had been hired for network administration support.

The three-hour meeting at the District Office Board Room on Hawthorne Campus produced a second notable action. Board members directed planning and facilities staff to ask the City of Beverly Hills to pay half the cost of repaving the Beverly Hills High School (BHHS) drop-off lane.

The dispute centers on who should pay. The city had required the asphalt to be replaced after the project was finished, and the lane sits on a city street, according to Beverly Highlights. Staff will ask the city for the 50-50 split and report back to the board.

The meeting also recognized Ellen Kwon, a fourth-grade teacher at Horace Mann Elementary School. Horace Mann Principal Dr. Steven Suttle and the board honored Kwon as the BHUSD Teacher of the Year for the Los Angeles County Office of Education (LACOE), according to Beverly Highlights. She was recognized at LACOE's annual Teachers of the Year celebration on Sept. 25, the Beverly Press reported.

Kwon has spent 21 years in the district. She joined BHUSD in 2005 as a seventh-grade English language arts teacher at Hawthorne School and has since taught at El Rodeo, Beverly Vista and Horace Mann.

"I am so proud to be part of this district, and I am truly honored," Kwon said at the board meeting.

Beyond the classroom, Kwon has served as El Rodeo's student council lead adviser, a lead Science Olympiad coach and a middle school volleyball coach at Beverly Vista. At Horace Mann she serves as yearbook adviser and sits on BHUSD's Literacy Committee.

Superintendent Dr. Alex Cherniss closed the meeting with several updates, including that BHUSD ranked among the top 10 school districts in California for gains in math over the last two academic years.

All board members attended in person: Manouchehri, Vice President Sigalie Sabag, Dr. Amanda Stern, Russell Stuart, Rachelle Marcus and student board member Michelle Schmidt.

The next BHUSD board meeting is scheduled for Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. at Hawthorne Campus.