LAUSD District 3: What We Know So Far

RESULTS: EARLY RETURNS
(Last updated 11:58 p.m. Tuesday)

Keep in mind that even after all precincts have been counted, there will still be ballots to count. In some cases, it could be weeks before the official outcome is clear.

* Incumbent

Map shows the borders of the LAUSD District 3 board seat. (Courtesy of LAUSD)

ABOUT THIS RACE

Since January, charter school advocates have spent more than $2.6 million on attack ads in this year’s Los Angeles Unified School Board races. Never before has an LAUSD primary seen more negative advertising.

And no candidate has been hit harder than incumbent LAUSD board member Scott Schmerelson.

The California Charter Schools Association’s political arm has endorsed a challenger, Marilyn Koziatek, and also poured more than $1 million into ads attacking Schmerelson.

One CCSA ad portrayed Schmerelson, who’s Jewish, in gold chains with a fanned-out wad of cash. Schmerelson’s campaign has called that mailer “anti-Semitic.”

The ad is part of a line of criticism against Schmerelson over his finances. Charter-allied advocacy groups have criticized him for controversial personal investments. (Schmerelson has since said he’s sold the offending stocks.)

Schmerelson was one of the few LAUSD board members to openly support LAUSD board members during their strike last winter. The teachers union has since spent almost $700,000 trying to buoy Schmerelson.

But CCSA has outspent them by a 4-to-1 margin. They’ve spent $1.6 million to help Koziatek, who’s on staff at Granada Hills Charter High School.

And a third candidate — Elizabeth Badger, the founder and CEO of a non-profit called the Minority Outreach Committee — entered the primary’s final weekend with more campaign cash on hand than either Koziatek or Schmerelson (about $25,000).

YOUR GUIDE

• The Race For LAUSD Board District 3

YOU SHOULD KNOW

• If no candidate gets more than 50 percent of the vote, it means a runoff election between the top two finishers — and a long slog to November.
• Why Declaring Winners In California May Take A Minute
• Those Nasty LAUSD School Board Campaign Ads: What's Fact? What's Opinion?
• This Might End Up Being The Most Expensive LAUSD School Board Primary Ever