LAUSD school board incumbents poised for victory in early 2026 primary results

Early results show incumbents Rocío Rivas and Nick Melvoin joining unopposed incumbent Kelly Gonez in retaining their seats on the Los Angeles Unified School District Board.

The LAUSD Board oversees the nation’s second-largest school district, with more than 390,000 students enrolled from transitional kindergarten through the 12th grade. The district is also the county’s second-largest employer, with more than 83,000 educators, administrators and support staff on its payroll.

Three of the board’s seven seats were up for election this year. No race had more than two certified candidates, which means the primary decides the winner.

The next iteration of the board will be tasked with running a district that expects to keep losing students and resources. Declining birthrates and Southern California’s high cost of living are two factors contributing to a student population more than 40% smaller than two decades ago.

“We're not gonna see a return of the students of the past,” said Pedro Noguera, dean of USC’s Rossier School of Education. “We're gonna see a much smaller district than we've known, and that means that the district has to think strategically about how to downsize central office operations, as well as the number of schools they run, and those are controversial issues.”

Challenges ahead

Superintendent Alberto Carvalho’s future

The board voted unanimously in February to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave days after federal agents searched his home and office. The board also appointed longtime administrator Andres Chait as acting superintendent.

“There is leadership in place to make the day-to-day decisions,” Noguera said. “Where the challenge comes up is in the long-term planning.”

The U.S. Department of Justice has not provided a reason for the searches other than that the agency has a court-authorized warrant. However, there were also searches of additional locations linked to a company LAUSD contracted with to create a short-lived AI tool.

Carvalho has not been charged with a crime and said in a March statement that he wants to be restored to his position.

The board has not publicly discussed if or when Carvalho will be reinstated.

“They've gotta really consider hard if he's gonna bring a lot of baggage back into the administrative position… that he's not been in for a little while, or if they can get a fresh start with somebody else,” said Lance Christensen, the vice president of education policy and governmental affairs at the center-right California Policy Center.

Budgeting

The board voted in May to finalize the elimination of more than 650 jobs as part of a plan to cut spending. Decisions about more layoffs and school closures could be on the horizon.

The board has adopted spending plans for the past two years that rely on billions of dollars in reserves to close the gap between expenses and revenue. School leaders say that without change, the district could deplete its reserves within a few years.

Improving academic outcomes

LAUSD students have achieved notable gains on California's standardized math and reading tests in recent years. Scores in the 2024-25 school year rose above pre-pandemic levels and outpaced state growth. The reality remains that the majority of students do not meet benchmark scores for any subject. Among the most vocal parents are those of students with disabilities, who say schools failed to meet their children’s needs during distance learning.

Board race spending declines

Los Angeles Unified School board races in the 2010s through 2020 were among the most expensive in the country. Advocates for charter schools and the teachers union spent millions of dollars to elect candidates aligned with their priorities.

However, recent elections, including this year’s, have drawn fewer dollars from charter backers as the independently run public schools face some of the same challenges as traditional district schools, including declining enrollment.

“The overall energy about the issue has subsided considerably,” Noguera said. “We're kind of in a détente period now where they live side by side, charters and traditional schools.”

The union that represents LAUSD educators continues to exert significant influence in district board contests. Since 2015, the majority of the candidates with United Teachers Los Angeles backing have prevailed in their races.

This year the union spent more than $800,000 to support Rivas’ campaign for reelection. The endorsement cited Rivas’ support for adding green space to school campuses and her role in charter school oversight. She’s voted with the board majority to shut down several charter schools.

“There is too much money against me,” Zamora wrote in an email to LAist on Monday morning in response to an inquiry about election night plans.

Christensen, of the California Policy Center, said union support is a factor in the lack of competitive board races this year.

“What we've seen with LAUSD over the last dozen or so years is it's become a very entrenched, politically hard progressive left district where the unions, UTLA specifically, basically runs the show,” Christensen said.

However, incumbent Nick Melvoin raised hundreds of thousands of dollars without the teacher’s union backing. Melvoin’s campaign brought in nearly $750,000,nearly half of that from retired businessman Bill Bloomfield.

More on the results

Board District 2

Board Vice President Rocío Rivas is poised for a second term representing East L.A. and parts of downtown and the Northeast regions of the district.

Opponent Raquel Zamora works in LAUSD’s pupil services and attendance office and teaches in the district’s adult education program. She thanked her supporters in an Instagram story Friday morning and hinted at a future run for office.

• Guide to the LAUSD District 2 race

Board District 4

Incumbent Nick Melvoin leads university administrator Ankur Patel in the race to represent the Westside and parts of the San Fernando Valley, including Reseda. If elected, this would be Melvoin’s third  — and final — term.

• Guide to the LAUSD District 4 race

Board District 6

Incumbent Kelly Gonez  will sail to a third and final term representing the Eastern San Fernando Valley. She faced a last-minute challenge from write-in candidate Jose Sagredo, whose name did not appear on the ballot.

• Guide to the LAUSD District 6 race (LAist)

Tracking your ballot

You can track the status of your ballot through California's BallotTrax website.

If your mail-in ballot has any problems (like a missing or mismatched signature), your county registrar must contact you to give you a chance to fix it.