Incumbent Bennett Kayser was in a tight race Tuesday night in his bid to retain his seat on the Los Angeles Unified District board, with challenger Ref Rodriguez hoping to at least force him into a May runoff election.
Kayser, 68, is seeking his second term on the seven-member board, but his general opposition to charter schools made him a target of a well-funded political action committee supporting Rodriguez, the founder of a chain of charter schools known as Partnership to Uplift Communities.
Kayser, a former teacher and technology coordinator for the district’s Independent Studies program, has the backing of the powerful United Teachers Los Angeles, but even the teachers’ union was outpaced in spending by the California Charter Schools Association, which has spent nearly $700,000 in support of Rodriguez, 43.
Also battling for the District 5 seat is Andrew Thomas, 49, a teacher and educational researcher who has positioned himself as a middle-ground candidate between Kayser and Rodriguez.
The District 5 seat represents an area that includes Eagle Rock, Boyle Heights, Bell, Cudahy, Los Feliz and Huntington Park.
In District 1, George McKenna is unopposed in his reelection bid. Richard Vladovic, the board’s president, was expected to cruise to a reelection win in District 7 against candidates Lydia Gutierrez and Euna Anderson, but early returns showed him short of the 50 percent of the vote needed to win the seat outright without advancing to a May 19 runoff election.
Meanwhile, Tamar Galatzan also had the support of the California Charter Association in her bid for re-election in the San Fernando Valley’s District 3, and early returns showed her leading a pack of five challengers, but she will likely wind up in the runoff against the top challenger. Early returns showed retired LAUSD teacher and principal Scott Mark Schmerelson running closest behind Galatzan, a deputy Los Angeles city attorney.
Also challenging Galatzan are Carl J. Petersen, an activist, parent and logistics director for a security-camera firm; community activist and former English teacher Ankur Patel; consulting firm founder and nonprofit trainer Filiberto Gonzalez; and business owner and nonprofit founder Elizabeth Badger Bartels.
The school board will have to tackle some tough issues in the coming months. The district is still searching for a permanent superintendent, since Ramon Cortines was appointed merely on an interim basis to replace John Deasy. The district is also locked in difficult contract negotiations with the teachers’ union, United Teachers Los Angeles, with the possibility of a strike looming as educators push for higher salaries and smaller class sizes.
— City News Service