BHUSD board candidate Jackie Kruger's State Bar disciplinary record is drawing scrutiny three weeks before the Nov. 3 school board election.
The California State Bar's public profile for Kruger, bar number 231085, lists her license as active. It describes the discipline as probation with no actual suspension.
An op-ed published in the Beverly Hills Standard brought the record into the campaign debate. The piece, a rebuttal to columnist Peter Ostroff's endorsement of Kruger and fellow candidate Kim Lifschitz, cited a California Supreme Court order dated Dec. 28, 2022, in case S276433. That order imposed a one-year suspension, stayed its execution and placed Kruger on probation for one year, according to the op-ed. The discipline became effective Jan. 27, 2023, the piece stated, for violating a court order and failing to report the imposition of sanctions on time.
A stayed suspension means Kruger was not barred from practicing law during the probation period.
Kruger, an attorney who runs The Kruger Law Firm on South Robertson Boulevard, is one of five candidates competing for two open seats on the Beverly Hills Unified School District (BHUSD) Board of Education. The other candidates are incumbent Board President Judy Manouchehri, Lifschitz, teacher Jared Gonzales and attorney David Cienfuegos, according to the Beverly Hills Courier.
Manouchehri, in a questionnaire response published by Patch, stated she is a licensed California attorney who has "never had any suspensions, probations or other disciplinary action."
The Beverly Hills Standard op-ed also challenged Ostroff's criticism of the district's academic performance under Manouchehri's leadership. The piece cited a BHUSD Education Services presentation showing districtwide math proficiency rose from 57.74% in 2024 to 68.72% in 2026, a gain of about 11 percentage points. Science proficiency climbed from 42.68% to 56.44%, and English language arts went from 68.52% to 75.44%. Beverly Hills High School science proficiency reached only 42.55% in 2026, the op-ed noted, leaving more than half of tested students below the standard.
The op-ed argued that Ostroff's reliance on a U.S. News high school ranking was incomplete. A press release announcing the 2026-2027 rankings stated the edition used data from the 2023-2024 school year, meaning the 2025 and 2026 assessment gains fell outside that window.
Kruger has campaigned on financial transparency and higher rankings. At a campaign kickoff on Aug. 30, as reported by the Beverly Hills Courier, she said: "Millions of dollars in deficit spending draining our reserves and rankings that slide lower and lower year after year."
