The seven members of the L.A. Unified’s board oversee the nation’s second largest school district, with more than 538,000 students enrolled. The district is also the county’s second largest employer with more than 74,000 educators, administrators, and support staff on its payroll.

Four seats are up for election this year, including District 7.

Unlike in New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C., where the mayor appoints education system leaders, Los Angeles schools are run by the school board, which voters elect directly. That means the board members have a lot of power.

What do LAUSD board members do?

• Hire and fire the superintendent — their single most important responsibility
• Pass the $9 billion operating budget and decide how it will be distributed.
• Work with parents and resolve disputes in their district over facilities, budgets, etc.
• Vote on every charter school that hopes to open in L.A.

Among the major issues facing the board

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated existing challenges in the district, including declining enrollment, disparities in student learning, truancy, inadequate mental health support, and lackluster standardized test scores.

Go deeper: Read more about what board members do, and the challenges facing the school board

About District 7

Board District 7 stretches from South L.A. to Gardena, Harbor Gateway, Carson, and San Pedro. Tanya Ortiz Franklin won her first term as a board member in 2020. She is running to retain her seat against Long Beach teacher and returning candidate Lydia Gutierrez.

The candidates are listed in the order they appear on the ballot. We gave all the candidates a chance to speak directly to voters about what they would change if elected to the L.A. Unified School Board and you'll see those responses below.

Lydia Gutiérrez

Public school teacher

Gutiérrez is a Long Beach elementary school teacher and lifelong Harbor area resident. She served on Coastal San Pedro’s Neighborhood Council and previously ran for the LAUSD board 2020 and 2015 and has sought other seats in public office.

Some platform highlights:

• Gutiérrez says academic excellence is a top priority, which includes "a complete review of primary and secondary grade levels to ensure that academic standards and curriculum are age-appropriate." She also prioritizes fiscal responsibility, calling for more oversight of LAUSD's bureaucracy.

More voter resources:

• Website: Lydia4Education.com

In her own words

Top 3 priorities if elected to the LAUSD:

• "Achieving academic excellence. Do a complete review of primary and secondary grade levels to ensure that academic standards and curriculum are age-appropriate, and work towards academic excellence for all." 
• "Building fiscal responsibility. Establish oversight and transparency for every tax dollar received and spent — not tied up in LAUSD’s huge bureaucracy."
• "Cultivating success after graduation. Ensure that every school develops and maintains well-rounded academic and vocational programs that prepare our youth for college and the post-graduate job market." 

Tell us something surprising about yourself:

Tanya Ortiz Franklin

School boardmember/mother

Voters elected Ortiz Franklin to represent Board District 7 in 2020. She’s a former Carson middle school teacher and administrator at Partnership for L.A. Schools, which operates district-run schools in LAUSD.

Some platform highlights:

• Ortiz Franklin says the district's most important responsibility is "to ensure more students are prepared to thrive" after graduation, by "recruiting, retaining, and supporting highly effective staff," improving student achievement — especially in math — and "ensuring all students have the social-emotional skills to navigate their future."

More voter resources:

• Website: TanyaForLAUSD.com

In her own words

Top 3 priorities if elected to the LAUSD:

• "Our district’s most important responsibility is to ensure more students are prepared to thrive in the college, career, and life of their choice, and we can do this by recruiting, retaining, and supporting highly effective staff, improving student achievement (particularly in math), and ensuring all students have the social-emotional skills to navigate their future."
  
• "For students to thrive in the classroom and employees to thrive in their work, we must maintain school safety — physically, emotionally, and intellectually — with effective social-emotional and wellness supports, and meaningful family and community engagement."
  
• "With the ending of COVID-relief dollars, declining enrollment, and a structural deficit, we must also make sure all budget decisions are student-centered, prioritizing limited resources for our highest-need students and schools, advocating for more state and federal resources, and championing a new bond measure."

Tell us something surprising about yourself:

Follow the money

The vast majority of spending in this district has come from committees not controlled by either candidate — all of it so far in support of incumbent Tanya Ortiz Franklin and against her opponent, Lydia Gutiérrez.