Parents and teachers press Beverly Hills Unified on teacher absences, substitutes and contract talks

Several parents and union leaders told the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education on April 15 that frequent teacher absences and a shortage of substitutes are disrupting classroom continuity and increasing student anxiety.

Why this matters: Parents said teachers are being pulled repeatedly from classrooms for professional development, training, or bargaining activities, leaving students with inconsistent substitute coverage. The Beverly Hills Educators Association, which led public comments, asked the board to provide bargaining parameters and to deliver a signed contract by June 1 so educators have compensation certainty before summer.

Public comments and requests - Rochelle Hacock Lavi, a parent, described ongoing and repeated teacher absences at her children’s schools over the last two years, saying the substitutes ‘‘aren’t helpful’’ for continuity of instruction and asking the district to find alternatives to repeated in-class training days. - Natalie Unesi, another parent at El Rodeo, said substitute shortages forced teachers to redistribute students among other classrooms and increased stress for staff; she asked the board to consider training sessions scheduled outside instructional hours. - Catherine (Katie) Warren, president of the Beverly Hills Educators Association, spoke for union members and called for a contract signed by June 1 that includes a reasonable salary increase and improved benefits; Warren noted recruitment and retention pressure from high housing costs in the region and urged the board to give bargaining guidance to speed a settlement. - Leah Yadegar and other parents urged the district to minimize use of instructional time for contractual bargaining and professional development where possible, suggesting that training be scheduled in non-instructional hours or offered on different days to avoid pulling teachers from classrooms.

Board and staff response - Trustees and district staff acknowledged the concerns and discussed ongoing efforts to increase substitute pools, clarify scheduling for professional learning and review options such as dedicated paid days for training rather than widespread in-class releases. - Trustees asked staff for data on substitute availability, time-on-task measurements for technology and device usage, and plans to limit unsupervised student screen time where devices are used as instructional tools.

Quotes - Catherine Warren, BHEA president: "A signed contract by the end of the school year is not just a formality. It's an essential step toward maintaining the trust and partnership between the district and its educators." (public comment)

What the board asked staff to do - Provide more information on substitute staffing and district plans to schedule professional learning with minimal disruption. - Clarify bargaining timelines and provide the union and public with expected next steps; BHEA requested parameters that would speed bargaining and asked the board to expedite counter-offers.

Next steps - The board and district staff said they will continue bargaining discussions with BHEA and supply parents with updated information about substitute staffing, training schedules and any changes to district professional-learning timing.

Speakers (public comment) - Rochelle Hacock Lavi — parent, public commenter - Natalie Unesi — parent, public commenter - Catherine (Katie) Warren — President, Beverly Hills Educators Association - Leah Yadegar — parent and former district student

Provenance - topicintro: transcript block starting 843.98 — Rochelle Hacock Lavi begins public comment on teacher absences and substitutes; evidence excerpt: "I wanna talk about teachers and the amount of absences that they have had...there hasn't been a continuity in my children's education on a weekly basis due to the constant teacher absenteeism." {"block_id":"s=843.98","local_start":0,"local_end":200,"evidence_excerpt":"I wanna talk about teachers and the amount of absences that they have had...there hasn't been a continuity in my children's education on a weekly basis due to the constant teacher absenteeism.","tc_start":"00:14:03","tc_end":"00:14:43","reason_code":"topicintro"} - topfinish: transcript block starting 1627.09 (Catherine Warren closing remarks): "I am confident that with mutual and shared commitment to excellence, we can get a deal done by June 1. Thank you so much." {"block_id":"s=1627.09","local_start":0,"local_end":40,"evidence_excerpt":"I am confident that with mutual and shared commitment to excellence, we can get a deal done by June 1. Thank you so much.","tc_start":"00:27:07","tc_end":"00:27:20","reason_code":"topicfinish"}