Three seats on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board of Education, which is responsible for the education of more than 400,000 students, were up for election on Nov. 5. In addition, voters were asked to approve a last-minute bond measure.
LAUSD’s seven-member school board sets policies for the country’s second-largest school district in the nation. They also manage the district’s $18.4 billion budget and are responsible for hiring a superintendent.
Two of the races — District 3 in the San Fernando Valley and District 1 in South Los Angeles — have been contentious. The third race, in District 5 covering the Eastside and suburbs from Vernon to South Gate, has seen less controversy.
LIVE ELECTION RESULTS: See a chart of the latest vote counts
Below is a look at where the races stood in the afternoon of Wednesday, Nov. 6, with new results from the Los Angeles County registrar’s office. The registrar will continue counting ballots over the coming days and has until December 3 to certify the election results.
LAUSD Board of Education District 1:
Sherlett Hendy Newbill, an education policy advisor, led significantly in election results released on Wednesday evening, ahead of Kahllid Al-Alim, a community organizer and parent. Votes for Newbill were at 71%, far ahead of Al-Alim.
Al-Alim sparked controversy and lost the backing of the influential United Teachers Los Angeles, or UTLA, when his posts on X, formerly known as Twitter, were criticized as antisemitic, and reports surfaced that he followed a sexually explicit adult site. He apologized and deleted his personal X account.
Hendy Newbill has worked for LAUSD for more than two decades.
LAUSD Board of Education District 3:
Board incumbent and former principal Scott Schmerelson was narrowly ahead of math teacher Daniel Chang. By Wednesday evening, Chang had 48% to Schmerelson’s 52%.
“We’re encouraged by the results we’re seeing for our campaign so far,” Chang said early on Wednesday. “What started as an eleven-point gap has narrowed to just four. As votes continue to come in, I believe our campaign for change will overcome the gap.”
He attributed his campaign’s momentum to its grassroots, which had more than 100 volunteers and knocked on more than 22,000 doors, according to Chang.
“At every step, this campaign has been about doing what’s right for the students and families of LAUSD,” he said. “We addressed pressing issues head-on, including concerns about antisemitism in the teachers union, attendance fraud, systemic problems with the bureaucracy. … We look forward to the final results and the opportunity to bring new leadership to District 3 and LAUSD.”
The two men are running for the seat to represent District 3, which stretches from North Hollywood to Sherman Oaks, Van Nuys and most of the West San Fernando Valley communities.
Chang is a teacher at James Madison Middle School in North Hollywood who graduated from UC Berkeley and the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
LAUSD Board of Education District 5:
Teacher Karla Griego had a significant lead ahead of teacher Graciela “Grace” Ortiz, competing for the open seat left by longtime board member Jackie Goldberg. Griego had more than 60%, while Ortiz was struggling with just 40% in results published on Wednesday evening.
While results are still coming in, ahead of the Wednesday evening results Griego said she is “excited and happy to see that we have a nice lead.”
“We are enthusiastically awaiting more reports,” she said.
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LAUSD $9 billion construction bond called Measure US:
A surprise bond measure that was added to the November ballot at the last minute that would raise property taxes was ahead. To win, the Measure US bond must get 55% approval from voters. Voting returns released on Wednesday evening showed 66% in favor of the bond.
The funds would go to projects such as upgrading HVAC systems and aging roofs. But Michael Hamner, the chair of LAUSD’s Bond Oversight Committee, said on Aug. 8, “The lack of adequate engagement or notice raises concerns” about the rush to put Measure US on the ballot.