Runoffs likely in school board seats
Charter backers hope for victories in three districts, which would give them a majority. Runoffs are likely.
In early returns, Steve Zimmer and Kelly Gonez led in their races. Monica Garcia seemed headed for victory.
Millions of dollars have poured into races for seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education this year in contests that could for the first time shift the balance of power in the nation’s second-largest school district in favor of fast growth of charter schools.
In early returns, Monica Garcia, a charter ally, appeared on her way to another term in District 2, while in District 4, school board President Steve Zimmer was in first place but seemed headed for a May runoff against Nick Melvoin, who also had backing from procharter forces.
A runoff also seemed likely for the third seat on the ballot, where there was no incumbent. In that race, Kelly Gonez was ahead of Imelda Padilla in a field of six.
To avoid a runoff of the top two finishers, a candidate had to claim more than 50% of the votes. Tuesday’s races marked the latest battle between supporters of charter schools and those allied with the teachers union. Those two factions spent millions of dollars on outside campaigns that dominated the election.
Zimmer said he hoped that voters understood what was at stake.
“Voters have a stark choice,” he said, “between
whether we can make more dreams come true for kids through working together with our teachers and parents or whether we’re going to return to the politics of conflict, competition and confrontation.”
Melvoin said a win for his side would represent new thinking and opportunity.
“I want to change the paradigm of the school district from a bureaucratic school system to an innovative ecosystem of public schools,” Melvoin said. “The district hasn’t adapted to a reality of innovation. They see it as a threat, but it doesn’t have to be.”
The noise of the campaigns often obscured the competing visions of reform. Zimmer and his allies described a school system making progress, which would benefit from stability while expanding successful programs, graduating more students and enhancing social services to families.
Charter allies backing Melvoin — and also Allison Holdorff Polhill, who was third place in District 4 — included civic leaders who want a major shakeup, which starts but doesn’t end with charter schools.
The last time this faction was in power, from 2011 to 2014 under then-Supt. John Deasy, it pushed to close or restaff low-performing, district-operated schools, end seniority protections for teachers and make standardized test scores a substantial part of teacher evaluations.
The district’s subsequent leadership, including Supt. Michelle King, moved away from Deasy’s priorities.
Charter advocates hoped to emerge with three victors who could form a four-vote majority with board member and charter school founder Ref Rodriguez.
Charters are privately managed public schools that are exempt from some rules that govern traditional campuses. Most are nonunion. L.A. has more charters than any other school system; charter students make up about 16% of enrollment.
Charter backers liked their chances because they had endorsed competitive candidates and could count on seemingly unlimited financial resources from wealthy donors and support from the growing number of charter families.
But a major unknown was whether this core would turn out in greater numbers than supporters of the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles.
Also unknown was the impact of a fiercely negative campaign in District 4, which covers the Westside and portions of the west San Fernando Valley. The union and its supporters tried to make voters see Melvoin and Holdorff Polhill as puppets of President Trump and U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos, who favor government support for many kinds of school choice, including charters and religious schools. Charter school advocates blamed Zimmer for an array of the school district’s past and current ills.
Garcia won charter backers’ support, despite the fact that she has been making decisions on the board longer than Zimmer has.
Garcia, who surged ahead of two challengers Tuesday, has a sturdy political base in a district that covers downtown and adjacent areas. And she faced no challenge from a perennial foe, the teachers union, which conserved its resources for the other contests.
“I’m optimistic,” she said during a gathering at Puente Learning Center in Boyle Heights, which featured a mariachi band from Mendez High School and an arch of blue, white and gold balloons. “There are a lot of folks who want to see an LAUSD that serves more kids well.”
District 6, in the east San Fernando Valley, came down to a face-off, at least in financial resources, between Gonez, a charter school teacher backed by charters, and Padilla, a community organizer who had union support.
Charter school backers, hoping for an outright win, ran a positive campaign for Gonez along with negative campaigns targeting Padilla and Patty Lopez, a former state Assembly member who also was on the ballot.
Those who win seats on the board face serious challenges. State laws are friendly to charter growth, so their numbers are expected to grow. When they siphon off more students, L.A. Unified loses funding based on enrollment, threatening its financial stability. A pro-charter board still would have to balance the district budget.
“It’s one thing to be a reformer on the outside, but I don’t think any of them would want to be on the board when the system collapses and they would be responsible,” said Pedro Noguera, a professor at UCLA’s Graduate School of Education and Information Sciences. “They will have to be much more creative than simply authorizing more charter schools.”