While the presidential election is top of mind for voters in 2020, one of the most important school board elections in recent years will coincide with the presidential primary on March 3.

Voters will decide on four school board seats. Incumbents are running in three districts, and there’s one open seat in District 7 currently held by Board President Richard Vladovic, who is retiring. If no one gets 50% of the vote, runoffs will be held on Nov. 3, the same day as the presidential general election.

Parent Tunette Powell is among the candiates running in District 1.

Board elections will be held in District 1, where George McKenna is the incumbent; District 3, where Scott Schmerelson is running for reelection; and District 5, where Jackie Goldberg won a special election earlier this year.

Previous school board races have not been aligned with presidential elections, and turnout typically has been low. In a huge Blue Wave presidential election year, though, turnout is expected to surge, and the outcome could shape the direction of the school board for years to come.

In fact, we’ve seen that a change in just one board seat can dramatically alter the course of the board. The addition of Goldberg this year, for instance, led to the board dismantling a new system to let parents know how well their schools are serving kids on the eve of its launch, which the board had supported in a 6-1 vote just last year.

The deadline for candidates to file their intention to enter the races was Nov. 9, and multiple candidates have thrown their hats into the ring in every district. Here’s a look at the candidates, who have until early December to gather enough signatures to qualify for the ballot:

District 1

Parent, educator and activist Tunette Powell is running in District 1, which includes much of South Los Angeles. Powell, whose kids attend LAUSD’s Baldwin Hills elementary, is a doctoral candidate at UCLA in Urban Schooling and program director of the UCLA Parent Project, focused on building parent engagement among historically marginalized parents of color. She recently spoke at the board about a resolution to help Black students.

Also running are author and professor Michael Batie, who serves as president of the Los Angeles Council of Black Engineers, and John Brasfield, who describes himself as an educator, boxer and coach.

District 3

Multiple challengers in District 3, which includes much of the San Fernando Valley, are parents of school-aged kids.

Marilyn Koziatek is the parent of two boys and member of the PTA at her neighborhood LAUSD school in Chatsworth, Superior Street elementary. She leads the community engagement department at Granada Hills Charter, which includes parent engagement, community outreach, fundraising and communications. She’s also the chair of the education committee at the Valley Industry Commerce Association.

Parent Kenchy Ragdsale is among the candidates running in District 3.

Kenchy Ragsdale is a parent advocate and founder of the Kids Not Politics education advocacy organization. He serves as treasurer of the board of iLead California and president of the board of the foundation supporting his child’s school, Santa Clarita Valley International Charter, where he moved his son with sensory processing disorder after the LAUSD board rejected the petition for iLead San Fernando Valley. He formerly worked as a Hollywood producer and development executive.

Elizabeth Badger, who has six kids, including two with special needs, serves on the board of the North Los Angeles County Regional Center and as CEO of the nonprofit Minority Outreach Committee. She ran for the same office in 2015 but failed to make the runoff and also ran unsuccessfully for city council and state assembly in 2013. Other challengers include pharmacy tech Annette McClain and teacher John Sandy Campbell.

District 5

Two Latina educators are challenging Goldberg for the seat in District 5, which was specifically drawn according to the Voting Rights Act to maximize the chances of Latino/a/x representation. District 5 includes Southeast Los Angeles and neighborhoods such as Los Feliz and Echo Park.

Christina Martinez Duran has an extensive resume as a teacher, fiscal adviser and educational consultant. She has an undergraduate degree in accounting, a doctorate in educational leadership, and she’s credentialed as a reading specialist, administrator and bilingual multiple subject educator. Duran works as an educational consultant to schools, helping with board policies, leadership and governance training, budgets and strategic plans. She worked as a teacher in Los Angeles Unified, Alhambra Unified and in the Dominican Republic, and she also worked for the Compton Unified School District.

Maria Del Pilar Avalos a teacher of the year in the Lynwood Unified School District, is also running.

District 7

Five candidates are competing for the open seat in District 7 being vacated by Vladovic. District 7 runs from South Los Angeles down through Gardena to San Pedro. Mike Lansing is a former teacher and administrator who served on the L.A. school board from 1999-2007. He works as the executive director of the Boys & Girls Clubs of San Pedro.

Tanya Ortiz Franklin is an educator and attorney who works for the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools. She taught English and history for five years at Stephen White middle school, and she now focuses on restorative justice, social emotional learning and teacher and principal coaching at 18 high-needs LAUSD schools. She grew up in the district and graduated from Narbonne High.

Silke Bradford has worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal in South L.A. and Compton, and she works as a charter school authorizer in the Compton Unified, a position she previously held at the Los Angeles County Office of Education and Oakland Unified. She has a doctorate of education in leadership and policy, and she successfully advocated for the state assembly to mandate that charter schools serve free and reduced lunch to low-income students.

Patrician Castellanos is a workforce deputy who served as Deputy Director for the Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy.

Lydia Gutierrez is a longtime teacher with Long Beach Unified who ran against Vladovic unsuccessfully as a Republican in 2015. Born, raised and educated in District 7, she has served for seven years as a Neighborhood Councilmember. She worked in the aerospace industry as an administrator and cost estimating supervisor prior to starting her teaching career. She also serves as the California Teachers Association co-chair of the State Legislative Committee for Adult, Alternative, and Career Technical Education.

To learn what board district you live in, check these maps. To register to vote, click here.

Electionwatch

Four Pivotal L.A. School Board Races Coincide with March Presidential Primary