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Students and parents demand answers, reinstatement as board keeps KBEV adviser on leave
Summary
At the Feb. 11 Beverly Hills Unified School District board meeting, students, parents and alumni pressed the board for immediate transparency and action after KBEV adviser Romeo Carey remained on paid administrative leave nearly two months after a student-produced video prompted an investigation.
Hundreds of students, parents and alumni used public comment at the Feb. 11 board meeting to press the Beverly Hills Unified School District for details about an ongoing investigation that has kept longtime KBEV adviser Romeo Carey on paid leave for roughly two months.
The plea from students and parents centered on two demands: that the district disclose the factual basis for the leave and that the board either reinstate Carey or explain—publicly and in detail—why it will not. Student speakers said the district’s handling of the case has inflicted stress on students and harmed the student-run news program.
Why it matters: Carey has led the school’s broadcast journalism program for decades and is credited by current and former students as a mentor. The standoff has become a flashpoint because it touches on student press freedoms, board transparency and how district officials question and interview students.
Students described what they called coercive interviews by district administrators and staff. Several public speakers said students were pulled from class and questioned in closed rooms about KBEV posts and unrelated allegations; one student quoted a district interrogator asking whether a teacher had ever “asked you to undress in the KBEV studio.” Another student and several parents said interrogations included pressure and leading questions that felt designed to produce incriminating answers rather than to gather facts.
Multiple speakers asked the board to hire an independent investigator and an independent legal adviser for the board, and to make the findings public. Several students said the district’s internal review had lasted too long and that continuing to pay both a substitute teacher and Carey is an avoidable cost to taxpayers. One speaker said the substitute’s daily pay was $400; another commenter raised the district’s use of outside public relations help and questioned the expense.
Board response and next steps: Board members heard multiple motions and extensive public comment but did not announce an outcome on Carey’s leave at the meeting. Some trustees and community members called for an outside, independent investigation; others asked the superintendent to bring the board a clear timeline and written status update. Several students said they would continue to press the board until they saw a transparent process, a public hearing or Carey’s reinstatement.
Context and legal limits: Several students and parents invoked First Amendment and student‑press protections during remarks; others raised Title IX and due‑process concerns about interviews with minors. The district has not released the investigator’s report or a public summary; board members said some details may be limited by student‑privacy laws and by the need to protect minors during an active review.
What supporters want next: Repeated demands included (a) immediate reinstatement if no formal substantiated finding exists, (b) an independent third‑party investigation if the board seeks further fact‑finding, (c) a public summary of the district’s factual findings, and (d) a policy review so future student journalists and student witnesses are protected from what commenters described as coercive questioning.
Ending: Students and parents said they will return to future board meetings until they receive a public resolution or an independent review; several said they were organizing petitions, legal inquiries and broader community outreach until the district acts.
