Redondo Beach Unified School District School Board Extends Terms

Since 2011, David Witkin has worked as chief executive officer and chief information officer of Beryl Capital Management, LLC, in Redondo Beach, California. Active within his community, David Witkin serves on the board for the K-12 Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD). In 2015, he was elected to a four-year board term.

RBUSD has eight elementary schools, two middle schools, and one high school. It also consists of one continuation school and one adult school. The district remains committed to maintaining high academic excellence, enhancing partnership within the community, and ensuring student and staff safety. It hopes to give all students the skills and knowledge they need to become successful adults. 

The RBUSD Board of Education governs the school district. The board members are elected and serve four-year terms. Each month, the board convenes meetings on the second and fourth Tuesdays, except for the months of July, August, and December, when it only has one meeting. These meetings take place in RBUSD’s board room. The general public can attend these meetings and can bring up agenda items or other business issues.

In August 2017, members of the board voted unanimously to lengthen their terms by one year and two months. This allows the board to move elections from March of odd-numbered years to June of even-numbered years. This change begins in 2020, with the hopes of seeing greater voter turnout. Mr. Witkin and Anita Avrick had terms up in 2019, but now they will serve until June 2020.

Volunteer Gardening in the Redondo Beach Unified School District

The CEO of Beryl Capital Management, David Witkin is also a Beryl Heights Elementary School parent who serves on the board of the Redondo Beach Unified School District (RBUSD) as vice president. In this role, David Witkin has orchestrated a number of well-received initiatives including the college-counselor-led “College Savings Nights” seminars and has successfully guided efforts to pass the ballot Measure K, which allowed funding plans to go forward. 

RBUSD maintains a volunteer-driven community presence and more than 150 people recently turned out to pull weeds, replant seeds, and harvest vegetables across nine campus gardens district wide. The day of volunteer activity was organized in tandem with Beach Cities Health District, which helped launch the Live Well Kids and school gardens programs in a decade ago. 

The long term benefits of the programs, which focus on reading food labels and learning about nutrition, are well documented, with student obesity rates declining from 20 percent to 8 percent over their duration. Among the volunteers who turned out at the gardening day at grade schools were local restaurant workers who created a summer salad using freshly picked basil and zucchini. The effort was described as vital in helping kids visualize the “garden to plate” process and really understand where their food comes from.

What is Merger Arbitrage?

David Witkin, CEO of Beryl Capital Management, is dedicated to serving his community, which he has done recently as a Little League coach. A Harvard graduate, David Witkin wrote his senior thesis on international merger arbitrage.

Arbitrage is the act of simultaneously buying an asset at one location and selling it at another with the goal of making a profit based on the price difference between the two places. Although the price difference can be very small, arbitrageurs, also referred to as arbs, generally trade on a regular basis and in large volume, thus increasing the possible profits.

A merger arbitrageur analyzes the risk associated with the deal not closing on time or not at all. This slight uncertainty can cause the target company's stock to sell at a reduced priced compared to its price once the merger is closed. The arbitrageur's profit lies in this discrepancy. The strategy, however, is not foolproof. It relies on split-second timing and can backfire if changes occur in interest rates, currency exchange rates, prices, or a number of other factors not anticipated by the arbitrageurs.

Harvard’s Leverett House - Known for Its History and Personality

Harvard graduate David Witkin is the CEO of Beryl Capital Management, a merger arbitrage hedge fund, and the vice president of the Redondo Beach Unified School District school board. While a student at Harvard, David Witkin played for the university’s championship baseball team and lived at Leverett House.

Established in 1930, Leverett House is the largest residential house at Harvard. The house is located on the north bank of the Charles River and is known for its quirky personality and enthusiastic house committee, claiming to possess more house pride than any other residence on campus.

Leverett House is made up of recently renovated McKinloch Hall, Leverett Towers, and overflow housing in DeWolfe apartments. Upperclassmen who reside in Leverett House are reported to comment on the spaciousness of the student accommodations and the views of the river that can be captured from many student suites. The house also offers numerous places to study and a library that can also be used as a theater. The word "leveret" also means “young hare,” which has inspired a rabbit motif that appears everywhere in the house and infuses the community's culture.

The house is named for Harvard president John Leverett who presided over the university from 1708 to 1724. President Leverett was an outspoken leader in the liberal movement of the Congregational Church and is credited with founding the liberal tradition of Harvard University. During his tenure he improved the quality of instruction at the institution and maintained Harvard’s prominence as rival Yale University grew in popularity. Some of the house's well-known guests include W. B. Yeats, T. S. Eliot, Robert Frost, and Malcolm X.

Harvard Alumni Who Played in the MLB

The CEO of Beryl Capital Management, David Witkin also serves Redondo Beach Unified School District as board vice president, in which role he helps provide oversight for a $90 million budget. David Witkin graduated from Harvard University and was a member of the school's Ivy League baseball team.

Since 1879, more than a dozen Harvard Crimson alumni have played in Major League Baseball (MLB). Below are three notable players. 

1. Jim Tyng - Harvard started its baseball program in 1871 and Tyng debuted for the team two years later. In 1879, the pitcher became the first ever Harvard alumnus to appear in a MLB game when he did so for the Boston Red Stockings. He played just three games and allowed 35 hits in 27 innings.

2. Tony Lupien - A veteran of six MLB seasons, Lupien played 614 games between the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, and Chicago White Sox. He retired in 1948 with a career batting average of .268 to go along with 18 homeruns and 230 runs batted in (RBI).

3. Frank Herrmann - A native of Rutherford, New Jersey, Herrmann is the most recent Harvard alumnus to play for an MLB team. The pitcher made his big league debut in 2010 as a member of the Cleveland Indians and later joined the Philadelphia Phillies. In his four-year MLB career, he pitched 135.1 innings and allowed 151 hits, while striking out 86 batters.

Five Safety Tips for Ocean Swimming

David Witkin, chief executive officer of Beryl Capital Management, a merger arbitrage hedge fund in California, is also a member of the board of the Redondo Beach Unified School District. Outside of his professional pursuits, David Witkin enjoys ocean swimming. The unpredictable nature of ocean waters requires swimmers to take additional precautions, as outlined below: 

1. Understand hazards. Ocean waters move according to a complex series of systems that expose swimmers to a number of natural dangers, the number of which can increase the further swimmers are from shore. Hazards to understand include rip currents, shore breaks, and inshore holes. In addition, swimmers must pay close attention to waves and other sizes, as studies indicate that waves may result in injuries ranging from sprains and broken collarbones to dislocated shoulders and organ trauma. 

2. Check the weather. Storms introduce a whole new series of hazards to ocean swimming, from harsh winds and rough waves to freezing rains and lightning. Avoid ocean waters during storms and check weather forecasts before swimming. 

3. Stick to lifeguard-protected beaches. Even the best swimmers can misread ocean currents or encounter unexpected hazards. Consider restricting your ocean swimming to lifeguard-protected beaches and only swimming during daylight hours when lifeguards are present. 

4. Familiarize yourself with warning flags. Public beaches are marked with a series of different colored flags, which serve as warning symbols and indications of particular hazards. However, the meanings of different flag colors may vary from state to state, or even beach to beach. Learn the meaning of different flag colors at beaches you frequent and look up meanings of new ones. 

5. Respect aquatic life. Respect marine life and keep your distance from any species of aquatic creature you encounter, including dolphins, sharks, and other marine mammals. Jellyfish, in particular, can pose considerable harm, and sharks may mistake swimmers for prey, although attacks in the US are rare.

College Savings Nights Helped Parents Begin to Plan Ahead

David Witkin, CEO of Beryl Capital Management, serves his community on the board of the Redondo Beach Unified School District in California. David Witkin’s expertise as a merger arbitrage hedge fund manager has been an important factor in helping the school district to maintain responsible budgeting. As a member of the school board, Mr. Witkin was instrumental in organizing College Savings Nights in January 2017.

During College Savings Nights, members of the community were invited to hear a consultant with ScholarShare Inc. who shared strategies for saving money for college, specifically addressing 529 plans. The 529 college savings programs are operated by a state or educational institution and are intended to make saving for college easier.

Section 529 plans, created by Congress in 1996, offer a number of tax incentives and advantages. First, the plans offer flexible ownership; anyone can set them up and anyone can benefit from the savings. The plans also offer tax deferred growth and tax free withdrawals. Finally, the plans feature a diverse offering of investments. By setting money aside early in a 529, parents or grandparents can accumulate a good start on their child’s educational fund.

Funds saved through a 529 plan can be used toward any educational institution that meets federal accreditation standards. This includes four year colleges and universities, two year colleges, graduate and doctoral programs, and vocational or technical schools. The funds can also be applied to other school related expenses such as room and board, books, and related technology.