Students, parents demand reinstatement and transparency after KBEV teacher placed on leave; petition tops 600 signatures

At a packed Beverly Hills Unified School District board meeting on Feb. 11, students, alumni and parents urged trustees to reinstate long‑time KBEV media teacher Romeo Carey and to disclose more information about the investigation that led to his administrative leave. Speakers said Carey’s removal has halted KBEV instruction, disrupted competitions and left students without a teacher after several weeks of absence.

Commenters — many of them current or former KBEV students — described Carey as an indispensable mentor and credited him with creating award‑winning student programs, securing grants and preparing students for SkillsUSA competitions. Several students said the KBEV classroom had become their primary place of learning and belonging and that the substitute coverage since Carey’s leave has provided little instruction.

Public commenters also said the leave followed Carey’s decision to air a student‑produced video that, they said, documented an incident showing Director of School Safety Mark Mead in an altercation with a student at a school rally. Parents and students asked why Carey — who they said shared the recording in the interest of accountability — remains on leave while they say Mr. Mead remains employed on campus. A petition circulated by parents and community members had more than 600 signatures during the week following the leave, speakers said.

Students emphasized the programmatic harm they said Carey’s absence had caused. “For the past month, most of my KBEV class time has been spent doing nothing,” said one junior. Another student told the board that Carey had mentored him personally and been the reason he entered media production and competed in SkillsUSA.

Parents and alumni amplified the call for transparency and due process. Several speakers said they had been given little or no information about the district’s investigation; others accused the district of prioritizing public image over student safety and program continuity. “Why is a teacher who posted a video being punished when the administration hasn’t been disciplined for what the video showed?” one parent asked.

District officials did not disclose new investigatory details in the public meeting. Speakers told trustees they want either Carey returned to the classroom or a clear, documented explanation for the leave and the timeline for resolution.

Why it matters: KBEV is a career‑technical education program and student media outlet that students and alumni said produces award‑winning work; they warned that an extended leave jeopardizes annual competitions and students’ planned productions. Commenters framed the issue as both program continuity and a question of transparency in how the district investigates staff conduct and responds to recordings of alleged misconduct.

What the district has said at the meeting: Board and district staff did not announce any disciplinary outcome or a timeline for Carey’s status during the meeting. Several community members asked that human resources complete its investigation and then publish findings consistent with applicable personnel and privacy rules. Several speakers said they had not been told why the process was taking weeks and asked for a clearer public timeline.

— Clarifying details: Petition reported by multiple speakers exceeded 600 signatures; students reported that Carey’s absence had lasted “over a month” at the time of the meeting. Multiple students and parents said KBEV’s weekly and competition schedules were disrupted as a direct result of the absence. Multiple speakers directly named Director of School Safety Mark Mead in describing the incident that prompted the student video; those descriptions were made by public commenters and are attributed to them.