School district names local parent as board member replacement

Palos Verdes Peninsula’s local school board has appointed a relative newcomer to replace former member Jeff Frankel, who died suddenly last month after serving just four months on the panel.

The Board of Education for the Palos Verdes Peninsula Unified School District appointed Ami Gandhi, a pharmaceutical industry professional, after the panel and the League of Women Voters of California interviewed 13 candidates during a recent special meeting. Gandhi, a mother to two children who attend the district, is a five-year resident of the Peninsula.

Besides her, the board member with the shortest residency on the Peninsula is Matthew Brach, who has lived in Ranch Palos Verdes since 2014. He and Gandhi are the only two board members with children who attend the district.

The other three board members have all lived on the Peninsula at least 20 years.

Gandhi will serve until Frankel’s term expires on Dec. 2, 2022.

Gandhi, in a statement via the district, said that as a second-generation Indian American,

she looks forward to bringing a new perspective to the school board and is honored to continue Frankel’s legacy.

The new board member, appointed on May 17, has a bachelor’s degree in biology from USC, with a minor in business administration, and a master’s degree in public health from Loma Linda University.

Gandhi’s appointment is provisional for 30 days. After that, she will remain in the seat until the term ends — unless a petition calling for a special election, bearing enough signatures, gets filed with the Los Angeles County Office of Education before the provisional period ends.