Beverly Hills families will choose between at least three candidates for two open seats on the BHUSD Board of Education on Tuesday, November 3, setting up a contested school board race that will shape district policy on technology, campus safety, and a multimillion-dollar construction program.

Jackie Kruger, Kim Lifschitz, and Jared Gonzales have all filed for candidacy, according to the Beverly Press. The two seats belong to Board President Judy Manouchehri, who had not announced whether she will seek reelection as of Tuesday, July 15, and Board Member Rachelle Marcus, who is not running again. The filing period closes Friday, August 7.

Who's running

Kruger is a second-generation Beverly Hills resident, Beverly Hills High School graduate, and attorney who owns a law firm specializing in mass tort, employment, and civil litigation. She holds degrees from UC Berkeley and the University of Michigan. A parent of two current BHUSD students and one graduate, she has served as a PTA member, room parent, and principal advisory committee member across district schools.

"Beverly Hills voters deserve a board that follows its own rules and answers to the community, not one that rewrites bylaws to concentrate power, silences public comment or governs in closed session," Kruger said in a statement published July 15.

Lifschitz is a paralegal and parent of a special education student at Horace Mann Elementary School. She has served as a room parent and PTA executive board member. In a statement, Lifschitz said the district has been "sidetracked by interpersonal conflict, opaque decision-making and a litany of avoidable legal and PR crises" and that students must be the board's top priority. Her husband, Daniel Lifschitz, has separately filed suit against the district over a board leadership appointment dispute.

Gonzales is a middle school math teacher at Yavneh Hebrew Academy in West Los Angeles and a Beverly Hills resident with a background in conflict resolution. He announced his candidacy on Thursday, July 9. He has not yet published a detailed platform.

What's at stake

The incoming board members will inherit decisions on several active fronts, including recent governance disputes that prompted a failed 2025 recall effort against Board Members Russell Stuart and Sigalie Sabag following the resignation of Superintendent Michael Bregy.

The board held a first reading on Monday, June 23, of a proposed policy to limit technology use and student devices districtwide, drafted by Manouchehri and Vice President Sabag. Bond-funded construction at Beverly Hills High School, once projected to run more than $100 million over budget, is now expected to come in roughly $5 million under budget, according to an April 28 board presentation. The Konheim Athletic Building is slated for completion by December 2026, with South Site athletic field work continuing through most of 2027.

The board also voted unanimously on Monday, April 28, to close all campuses during instructional hours in response to community concerns about the new La Cienega/Wilshire Metro station.

Residents who wish to file for the two open seats have until Friday, August 7.