Congress has cut federal funding for public media — a $3.4 million loss for LAist. We count on readers like you to protect our nonprofit newsroom. Become a monthly member and sustain local journalism.
It’s Official: LAUSD Primary Is Most Expensive Ever
Los Angeles’ most expensive local elections this year are not for city council — they’re the races for L.A. Unified School Board.
In fact, two weeks ago we forecasted the school board election coming up next week could wind up being the most expensive LAUSD primary … ever.
That forecast has come true. As of Sunday, outside political groups have spent more than $6.2 million on three competitive races for LAUSD board seats.
Purchases of negative advertising make up about one-third of this year's "independent expenditures" so far. Today, we published this piece fact-checking a few common lines of attack featured in these ads.

The vast majority of that spending has come from advocates for charter schools, who’ve spent $4.6 million so far. That’s triple the amount their rivals, United Teachers Los Angeles, have spent.
Pro-charter philanthropist Bill Bloomfield has been the single largest source of independent expenditures this cycle, spending $2.6 million. The California Charter Schools Association has spent a little more than $2 million so far.
That total already surpassed the previous record for an LAUSD primary — $5.7 million in March 2017 — and there’s still a week to go in this year’s election.
READ MORE:
As Editor-in-Chief of our newsroom, I’m extremely proud of the work our top-notch journalists are doing here at LAist. We’re doing more hard-hitting watchdog journalism than ever before — powerful reporting on the economy, elections, climate and the homelessness crisis that is making a difference in your lives. At the same time, it’s never been more difficult to maintain a paywall-free, independent news source that informs, inspires, and engages everyone.
Simply put, we cannot do this essential work without your help. Federal funding for public media has been clawed back by Congress and that means LAist has lost $3.4 million in federal funding over the next two years. So we’re asking for your help. LAist has been there for you and we’re asking you to be here for us.
We rely on donations from readers like you to stay independent, which keeps our nonprofit newsroom strong and accountable to you.
No matter where you stand on the political spectrum, press freedom is at the core of keeping our nation free and fair. And as the landscape of free press changes, LAist will remain a voice you know and trust, but the amount of reader support we receive will help determine how strong of a newsroom we are going forward to cover the important news from our community.
Please take action today to support your trusted source for local news with a donation that makes sense for your budget.
Thank you for your generous support and believing in independent news.

-
The critical findings are part of long-awaited after-action report was released Thursday. It contains recommendations for increasing emergency staffing and updating old systems.
-
Diving has changed, mountain biking has been added. Here's where to watch the Olympics in person in 2028.
-
'A Great Day in the Stoke' is a free, daylong event in Orange County billed as 'the largest gathering of Black surfers in history.' The fourth annual festival is set for Saturday in Huntington Beach.
-
Kimmel returned less than a week after ABC suspended his show over comments he made about the assassination of right wing activist Charlie Kirk.
-
Southern California might see some light rain tonight into Wednesday morning. After that, cooler weather is on the way, but expect the humidity to remain.
-
A gate tax at Disney? It's a possibility.