Meet Jared Gonzales, Candidate For BHUSD Board

BEVERLY HILLS, CA — Jared Gonzales, 29, is vying to be elected to the Beverly Hills Unified School District Board of Education.

Judith Manouchehri is the only incumbent running in a five-way race for two seats in the Nov. 3 general election. She's facing a challenge from Gonzales, Jackie R. Kruger, Kimberly Lifschitz and David Cienfuegos.

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Incumbent Rachelle Marcus is not seeking reelection.

Learn more about Gonzales' goals for BHUSD:

What is your educational background?

2022 - master's in dispute resolution - USC Gould School of Law

2018 - B.A. economics and minor in public service, University of Notre Dame

What is your professional background?

2025 to present: 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Yavneh Hebrew Academy, Los Angeles

2022 to 2025: 6th, 7th and 8th grade math teacher at Hillel Hebrew Academy, Beverly Hills

2018-2020: Teach for America 5th grade math & science teacher, Tulsa, Oklahoma

Have you ever held public office, whether appointive or elective?

No.

What are the top three issues facing BHUSD right now?

1. Student Academics. Our state test scores, compared to similar nearby school districts, are approximately 10-30% lower across math, English language arts and science, while at the same time, we are spending more than twice as much per student as other districts. Knowing that we have sufficient funds means we should focus more closely on our academic and curriculum offerings, as well as the school expectations, teaching practices and policies being used. As a board member, I will do that by meeting regularly with teachers and administrators, and by speaking with students and families to identify strengths and opportunities for growth.

2. Student-Family-School Experience. We need to ensure that the student-family experience is equally strong across all our schools. That means making sure each site gets ample academic and enrichment opportunities, ensuring students feel safe, supported, and encouraged, and that families receive timely, concise, and consistent communication from schools about grades, academic opportunities, and more. I also will champion efforts to increase school spirit and morale across the district, with particular attention to the high school.

3. Board Governance. In the last year alone, our board has been mired in frequent conflict and litigation, and has struggled to lead in a way that is representative of our great community. We are in desperate need of good leadership that brings firsthand classroom experience, a collaborative, student-first mindset, and a strong commitment to transparency, accountability, integrity, and professionalism. As a board member, I will focus on collaborating with other members to identify and implement policy solutions that best serve the needs of our students, and will use my teaching experience and background in conflict resolution to accomplish this.

If you had to identify one area where BHUSD should invest more and one area where it could spend less, what would they be and why?

I believe BHUSD should continue to invest more in academic and extracurricular offerings for students. We are fortunate to have many of the things other school districts wish for: new buildings, smaller class sizes, and overall ample school resources. What the district is currently missing is the overall academic performance to match. BHUSD must continue to invest in curriculum offerings and after-school enrichment opportunities for all students that will further their in-school learning. We must also continue to invest in extracurricular opportunities such as field trips and special programming that will further enhance the educational experience the District offers. Lastly, the District needs to invest in AI-related CTE courses and programming that will help prepare our students for the future. As a board member, I would be excited to join the district's recently created AI Taskforce to help tackle this issue.

I believe one area where the district could be more strategic with its spending is for school athletics. While I fully support athletics and the many benefits associated with them (I participated in school sports as a student), I believe we must carefully evaluate the costs of individual programs and expenditures. For example, the board recently approved a new football coach with a reported starting salary of more than $200,000, while a recent Nike contract for uniforms has raised concerns about whether that arrangement has increased costs compared to how sports uniforms were previously acquired with the help of the BHAAA. At a time when the district is projecting significant deficits over the next three years, the board must be prudent with its expenditures and ensure that every dollar spent is providing meaningful value to students. As a board member, I will evaluate expenditure decisions with a student-first mentality, take into account input from families, administrators, and the community, and practice fiscal responsibility.

BHUSD has reported strong recent gains in student achievement. What do you believe is the district's biggest remaining academic weakness or unmet student need, and what should the board do about it?

It was great to learn that the district has posted meaningful academic gains in student achievement over the last year. As a classroom teacher, one of the most rewarding parts of my job is celebrating student growth, and I commend our students, teachers, administrators, and families for the progress they have made. At the same time, BHUSD still has significant room for improvement. Compared with similarly-sized school districts in the area that spend thousands less per student, our performance remains approximately 10-30% lower across Math, Science and English language arts categories.

That is why, as a candidate for the BHUSD Board of Education, I'm focused on continuing and expanding efforts to improve student academics. We need to make sure curriculum is being properly implemented, students and teachers have the support they need to succeed, academic and behavioral expectations are clear and consistently followed, and that all students feel safe, welcomed, and encouraged across our district. Success in the classroom also depends on strong partnerships with families. That means timely, concise, and consistent communication between schools and families, opportunities for after-school academic enrichment, and initiatives that help parents understand effective ways to support learning at home. As a board member, my focus will be on these areas with the goal of building on our recent progress and ensuring that every student has the opportunity to succeed.

Why are you a better choice than your opponents?

I believe I would bring three important qualities to the BHUSD Board of Education. First, I am the only classroom teacher in the race who's taught in both public and private schools, and I would bring critical, firsthand educational expertise to board decisions regarding student academics and school operations.

Second, I am passionate about public education and care deeply about our district's students. I am a public school graduate myself and want to help my local school district continue to achieve. Every child deserves the opportunity to succeed, and as someone who was afforded that opportunity, I want to help ensure others receive it too.

Third, with my master's in dispute resolution from USC Gould School of Law, I bring a unique skillset in collaboration, mediation, and conflict resolution I believe is especially valuable on our board. Through my work, I have been able to successfully resolve and mitigate conflict in school settings, and I hope to use that experience to help prevent future conflict on our board while actively seeking opportunities for collaboration that move our schools forward.

Candidates' responses were lightly edited for style and clarity.