Teachers Union-Backed Candidate Jackie Goldberg Takes Early Lead for LAUSD Board Seat

From left: Jackie Goldberg votes at a polling station, and Heather Repenning walks door to door canvassing in the Highland Park area after casting her own ballot on May 14, 2019. (Credit: Francine Orr / Al Seib / Los Angeles Times)

by: Los Angeles Times

Posted: May 14, 2019 / 09:35 PM PDT

Updated: May 14, 2019 / 09:35 PM PDT

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Early polling results show Jackie Goldberg ahead in the special election to fill an open seat on the Los Angeles Unified school board.

Goldberg was leading Heather Repenning in the runoff for the Board District 5 seat with almost 70% of the early vote-by-mail ballots that had been counted as of 8:30 p.m., according to the L.A. County registrar’s office. In-person votes have not yet been counted.

The seat has been vacant since the July 2018 resignation of former board member Ref Rodriguez, who pleaded guilty to conspiracy charges related to campaign finance violations.

No matter the outcome, the winner will enter a fraught time in the nation’s second-largest school district, where leaders are struggling with declining enrollment, a fight over the expansion of charter schools and questions about how to meet the district’s financial commitments.

Read the full story on LATimes.com.