Beverly Hills school-board rivals clash before Nov. 3 vote

Two seats could flip the board’s 3-2 majority

Election mechanics and board balance

Jackie Kruger and Judy Manouchehri will face one another on Nov. 3 in a Beverly Hills Unified School District election for two seats. Kruger, 47, and Manouchehri, 46, are attorneys and mothers of three. Kruger accuses Manouchehri of hurting schools in one of the world’s most star-studded cities and fostering a climate of fear. Manouchehri said she isn’t political and works with all board members, noting that many votes are unanimous.

Speaking at home last week, Kruger said, “When you’re at rock bottom, there’s only one place to go.” Kruger decided that joining the board was the only way to change it, and Kim Lifschitz, 39, a paralegal and stay-at-home mother of a child with special needs, joined Kruger on the ticket. Democrats Kruger and Lifschitz hope to topple what they call the board’s conservative 3-2 majority. With two seats on the ballot, wins by both challengers could flip the majority.

David Cienfuegos is also running; critics see him as Manouchehri’s ally, though both dispute that characterization. Cienfuegos and Manouchehri describe themselves as nonpartisan, but a conservative influencer endorsed them and labeled Lifschitz as “antifa” and Kruger as a pink-wigged “poledancer.” Cienfuegos sought advice from two board members, including Manouchehri, before running. The Wall Street Journal described the district as “home to one of the nastiest local races of the year, complete with flying insults, dueling restraining-order petitions and a yard-sign whodunit involving a white Tesla with a ski rack.”

The Wall Street Journal reported that “similar vitriol is shaking school boards and city halls nationwide as bread-and-butter local issues give way to debates tinged by national and even global politics.” The report invoked the late House speaker Tip O’Neill’s maxim that all politics is local. Towns were also tangling over topics like Israel, the Iran war and President Trump. A Brookings Institution poll released in June found that nearly a third of students are in districts where board members said culture-war conflicts undermined their ability to govern.

Beverly Hills has long been prized for its high-ranking schools. The city had long leaned Democratic, like the rest of Los Angeles County, until the Trump era and Covid-19 shutdowns divided it; Trump flipped Beverly Hills in 2024. After Trump won that November, students in MAGA hats and waving flags rallied at Beverly Hills High School. A teacher who is Black then sued the district, alleging a pattern of racial discrimination at the school; the district denies the charges in the pending case.

That same election seated Russell Stuart, endorsed by the local Republican Party, and Sigalie Sabag, recommended by the West Los Angeles Republican Assembly; Manouchehri was then vice president. Critics said Stuart, Sabag and Manouchehri pushed through a reorganization and the departure of some top officials.

Policy disputes

Manouchehri’s supporters say she and her allies are victims of an online smear campaign by parents who dislike a reorganization she led to cut costs and rebuild declining schools. She said test scores are up. Ellie Kadz, a marketing executive and mother of three, said, “There are a lot of parents who support Judy, love Judy, but are afraid to speak up.” Stuart, a 50-year-old gun dealer, posted “BHUSDoge” on social media, a nod to the federal DOGE cost-cutting drive, then removed it after complaints.

Another clash erupted in August 2025 when the board voted 3-2 to display Israeli flags in schools for a month annually, as part of an antisemitism resolution. Beverly Hills is heavily Jewish and its board is entirely Jewish, but residents argued public schools should not display another country’s flag and worried the decision would favor one group over another. The superintendent rejected the plan on safety grounds. Manouchehri said the flag was intended only for events and education, not for a flagpole: “That was mischaracterized.” The board later adopted a policy allowing only the U.S., California, city, school-district and school flags; critics called it retaliatory because it effectively ended the rainbow flag during Pride month.

Cienfuegos, the father of three, has served as a parent representative at an elementary school, where he relayed some families’ concerns about a temporary display of Maya Angelou’s memoir, “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings.” The book, which depicts her childhood sexual abuse, was pulled; Cienfuegos said, “People took offense with this book being placed out for kids.”

Campaign litigation and confrontations

Before security escorted Kruger out of the school-board meeting, she warned Manouchehri that she would sue, prompting the response, “You got to do what you got to do, baby.” At that same meeting, Kruger insisted on reading aloud sexual allegations against a conservative influencer whom students had invited to speak to a Jewish club. Manouchehri said the remarks were out of turn for public comment, and the superintendent told Kruger, “This is nonagendized, Ms. Kruger,” before she continued speaking.

At a March 2025 meeting, Kruger approached the dais to serve Stuart and Sabag with notices of intent to recall them. The effort was premature because California rules bar early-term recalls. At another meeting, Daniel Lifschitz, Kim Lifschitz’s husband and a lawyer, accused the board of flouting its bylaws when it selected a vice president. “Do your job or I’ll see you in court,” he said during public comments. Stuart rebuked critics for not appreciating improvements since he took office and, responding to a remark from Lifschitz in the audience, said, “I can’t believe you’re a friggin’ lawyer.” Lifschitz sued over the bylaw dispute; the case is pending.

The Wall Street Journal also reported that Beverly Hills police have taken reports of stolen “Judy” and “David” yard signs. Cienfuegos posted videos showing a young man in a white Tesla with a ski rack taking them, and appeared—to some—to link the driver to Kruger’s son. Cienfuegos posted, “As for the name on the registration, you might find it when you open your school board ballot.”

Kruger obtained a temporary restraining order against Cienfuegos; he sought one against Kruger’s son, but a judge denied it. Kruger said her son was falsely accused and had been threatened by another student. She said of Cienfuegos, “He’s such a bad attorney.” Cienfuegos said the restraining order against him had since been largely lifted and that a no-contact order remained, which “prevents Kruger and I from coming closer than 10 feet while campaigning.” “It is all very unfortunate this race has become what it is,” Cienfuegos said via text. “I had no animosity or political agenda…and I am always fair. I don’t think many people can say the same about Kim and Jackie.”

Judith Chan, a music teacher, said Manouchehri confronted her from a car recently while she was canvassing for Kruger and Kim Lifschitz and yelled, “Why do you tell people that the teachers endorse candidates when you know for a fact that they did not?” Chan said she walked away. Manouchehri said she had just happened to bump into Chan while picking up her daughter and was unaware of any yelling.

Donna Tryfman, a Democratic friend of Manouchehri, said the claims against her ally were harming both Manouchehri and students. “The lies being told about her,” Tryfman said, “hurts her and is hurtful to the students.” With Kruger and Kim Lifschitz seeking the two seats and Cienfuegos also on the ballot, wins by both challengers could change the board’s 3-2 balance. The pending bylaw lawsuit, premature recall effort and remaining no-contact order are also part of the campaign as Nov. 3 approaches.