A primary election to fill the vacant seat will take place on Tuesday, March 5 for voters residing in Los Angeles Unified’s Board District 5, which includes neighborhoods in Northeast and Southeast Los Angeles.
Various forums give candidates the opportunity to present themselves to their community. Even parents who aren’t in District 5, but understand that each candidates answer can affect her children as well, have been showing up.
If you’re interested in learning more about the candidates, sign up here.
Here are some of the most important takeaways for parents and community members in Los Angeles Unified School District 5:
- This is an extremely crowded race. Ten candidates remain active in the contest, from an original group of 17.
- Community interest is high. Parents and students come to these forums from all over the District to get an opportunity to meet candidates and ask probing questions to make sure that their voices were heard loud and clear. If you're interested in attending the next event, sign up here.
- LAUSD given very low marks by candidates. When asked to grade LAUSD’s performance in preparing students in Board District 5 for college and careers, the overwhelming majority of candidates rated LAUSD a D or lower and no one gave it higher than a C.
- Unanimous support for providing charter students with stable, quality learning environments. Every candidate agreed that charter schools who have been performing well and operating on the same school site for years should be granted access to stable, long-term public school facilities.
- Flexibility is needed in education! In another unanimous vote, all candidates agreed that giving the District more flexibility, similar to how charter schools operate, would benefit students.
Not sure if you're registered to vote? Find out here.
Not sure what district your school is in? Find out using this nifty tool developed by Greatschools.org.
