BEVERLY HILLS
BHUSD BUDGET (Continued from page 4)
pression that education funding would not be funded at the same level and (would not be) fully funded under prop 98,” Assistant Superintendent of Business Services Alex Cherniss said. “Part of (Brown’s) plan was to fully fund education at the prop 98 level.” Although the governor’s suggestions have not yet been approved by the legislature, Cherniss said the information is just a forecast but will positively help the
SERP (Continued from page 5)
sent approximately $1 million, participation in the SERP costs the district $200,000 a year for five years and there is also a cost in replacing retiring teachers. The insurance company will continue to pay the teachers retirement plans after the district’s five-year premium is up. Cherniss said the reason an organi-
MEET THE MAYOR (Continued from page 4)
Former Mayor Linda Briskman held similar meetings back in 2005 and they were so successful for her, he said, that he decided to adopt the same policy and hold meetings of his own. Any interested person, be they a student, a resident or a business, can schedule to meet with him and discuss any topic or issue in a nonintimidating setting. “People can fully express themselves without it being recorded or on camera televised in the community. It just gives people a chance to know their
budget. Board Vice President Brian Goldberg said while he believed the funding of prop 98 to be good news, it does not solve all of the BHUSD’s financial problems. Goldberg said he thought money could be saved in the Maintenance and Operations department, and the board will be discussing the potential savings during the May 31 closed session. Cherniss said district staff will be bringing a budget, with the new numbers, to the board at the June 29 board meeting. zation participates in a program like SERP is to realize short-term savings. Progressively, the savings for the BHUSD is less and less. “In a perfect world, if you have 12 people retire and you don’t need to replace any of them, then you’re (spending) $200,000 and the savings is $1 million,” Cherniss said. “But unfortunately a lot of the people retiring would need to be replaced to some degree. (But) the highest end of the salary schedule, their salaries, will come off the books.” mayor and electives are always available,” Brucker said. “My goal is that I want to actually make it easy and simple for anyone to communicate and open dialogue and express their views,” he added. “Meet the Mayor” will be held monthly. Anyone interested in signing up to speak with Brucker can contact Amy McHarg at 310-285-1013 or email mayorandcitycouncil@beverlyhills.org . Brucker said anyone who cannot make the meeting but would like to reach him can contact him on his cell phone at 310-922-5312 or at bbrucker@beverlyhills .org.
COUNCIL (Continued from page 1)
ago. That route may be disregarded in favor of an expensive diversion to benefit Century City, leaving Beverly High threatened by a subway tunnel under its 1928 buildings. The BHHS tunnel was a last-second change, believed to be the result of lobbying and campaign contributions from Century City developers to LA interests. Despite Brien’s claims to the contrary, BHUSD has had to “go it alone” by retaining two national law firms, a local litigation firm, a lobbying firm and an army of the best experts in their fields to oppose this threat to the very existence of the high school. Instead of joining forces with the BHUSD, the council continues to maintain a selfproclaimed “low profile” in trying to protect BHHS. The pressure on the City Council to come to the aid of Beverly High is growing, causing Brien to defend the council’s inaction and passivity at Tuesday’s City Council meeting when the matter was not on the agenda. He said the City believes they will be most effective with an “aggressive, strategic approach” involving direct
CHAMBER DIRECTOR (Continued from page 1)
ties at the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID) to brand, position, and promote Downtown Los Angeles. Prior to his work with DCBID, Stettinski worked as the executive director of the Avenues of Art & Design BID. Throughout his career Stettinski has been able to develop strong relations with City Council mem-
May 20, 2011 | Page 27 meetings with key decision makers, then referenced prior efforts to influence Metro by hiring a public relations firm and instructing the City’s federal and state lobbyists to bring the route back to Santa Monica Boulevard. “You will not find the progress of these efforts being played out in the media, but the community needs to know that this City has, is and will continue to do everything it can,” Brien said. Despite his protest, the council has not retained counsel, has made no effort to join in the BHUSD’s defense of Beverly High, has developed no data and filed no comments objecting to the proposed BHHS tunnel route. The PR firm’s contract specifies a maximum of $7,500 per month in services. The Courier has learned the City has not consulted any independent specialized counsel or experts in the field to contest the tunnel. “We’re doing our dialogue directly with our elected colleagues,” Brien told The Courier. “And that’s the way we’re doing it.” The MTA board will decide on the final route alignment in the Fall.
bers, other City officials and worked closely with various commissions and committees to further the mission and goals of business communities. Stettinski was educated in Germany and finished his MA at UCBerkeley. He has been a Beverly Hills resident for more than 16 years. Chamber President Todd Johnson said it’s anticipated Stettinski will begin work in his official capacity as director starting mid-June. Alex Stettinski
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or his work in the darkest days of World War II, Andrew E. Stevens earned the name Rebel with a cause and his published memoir “Rebel With A Cause” is in print and will be available in bookstores shortly. You can also purchase it online at amazon.com On June 22, 2011 Andrew E. Stevens will present an informative talk about the time when the Nazi’s occupied Hungary. Hosted by ORT America For more information Call 323-966-0092