What’s at stake in this race

The Los Angeles Unified School 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.

In L.A., voters directly elect members of the school board, unlike in New York City, Chicago and Washington, D.C., where the mayor appoints education leaders. So your ballot wields a lot of power.

Three of the board’s seven seats are up for election this year, including the San Fernando Valley’s District 6 — the only seat that is now uncontested.

What do LAUSD board members do? 

• Hire and fire the superintendent.
• Set the spending priorities for a nearly $19 billion budget. 
• Work with parents and resolve disputes over facilities and budgets.
• Vote on every charter school that hopes to open in L.A. and decide which ones get shut down. (The board doesn’t oversee day-to-day operations for independent charters; these campuses are run by separate, nonprofit organizations with a separate board.)

You might know them from

• A recent leadership shakeup: The board voted unanimously in February to place Superintendent Alberto Carvalho on paid administrative leave days after FBI agents searched his home and office. The board appointed longtime administrator Andres Chait as acting superintendent. 
• Student cellphone ban: The board voted in June 2024 to ban student cellphone and social media use during the school day amid rising concerns about the impact of the technologies on youth mental health. The board plans to consider a new policy related to student screentime later this year. 
• Advocating for immigrant and LGBTQ+ students: In August, the school district announced a slew of additional protections for immigrant students, on top of previously announced protections for LGBTQ+ staff, and families of students, as a response to the policies of the second Trump administration.

Fast facts about Los Angeles Unified School Board, District 6

• A board member’s salary is $130,000 — if they don’t have another source of income — as of July 2025. The income is set by a committee appointed by local politicians. 
• In addition to money for a chief of staff and administrative assistant, the district provides each board office with about $374,000 of discretionary funding that can be used for a variety of purposes, including hiring staff and community outreach.
• Board members are elected to four-year terms (with a maximum of three full terms) and represent different geographical areas.
• District 6 includes the eastern San Fernando Valley and parts of North Hollywood and North Hills.

What’s on the agenda for next term

• Balancing LAUSD’s budget: 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. In February, a divided board approved 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. 
• Shoring up enrollment: The district’s enrollment has declined for more than two decades. There are also fewer immigrant students attending L.A. schools in the wake of the Trump administration’s widespread immigration arrests. California uses attendance to set school funding levels — over time, fewer students means a smaller multiplier for state funding.
• Continuing academic improvement: LAUSD students have achieved notable gains on California's standardized math and reading tests in recent years. Scores rose above pre-pandemic levels in the 2024-25 school year, outpacing 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.  
• School safety: How well LAUSD does or does not protect students is one of the most frequently cited topics during board meeting public comment sessions. On one side are parents who seek the restoration of school police to district campuses after the board cut that department's annual budget by $25 million (35%) in the summer of 2020. On the other side are students who want to see a greater investment in student and community-based safety programs.

What it takes to win

Incumbent Kelly Gonez is the only qualified candidate in the race. Her potential competitor, a parent and special education advocate, dropped out in March. Gonez is all but guaranteed to win the election. A qualified write-in candidate would have to earn more than 50% of the vote to defeat Gonez.

The candidate for Los Angeles Unified School Board, District 6

Kelly Gonez

Kelly Gonez is a former teacher at a charter school and went on to serve as an education policy adviser in the Obama administration. She is also the parent of three LAUSD students. Voters first elected Gonez in 2017, and if re-elected, this will be her final term on the board. Her past campaigns have garnered support from both deep-pocketed charter school advocates and LAUSD’s politically powerful teachers union.

Gonez’s priorities are rooted in the challenges she’s observed in the East San Fernando Valley, including rampant federal immigration enforcement, rising temperatures and a lack of greenspace. During her tenure, the district expanded transitional kindergarten to every 4-year-old ahead of a state mandate to do so. She also wants to continue her work to expand access to programs for the district’s youngest students.

In her own words

Gonez says she learned the value of education from her mom, an immigrant from Peru, who attended an adult school for her vocational certification. “That second chance changed everything for my family,” she says. “It took us from living paycheck-to-paycheck to stability, and it taught me the transformative power of education. Her example inspired me to pursue teaching and instilled in me the importance of expanding opportunities for students in my community.”

Top three priorities if elected

Access to high-quality, welcoming, fully resourced public schools: “Board District 6 has been disproportionately impacted by federal immigration enforcement, and I will continue using every tool to keep our campuses safe, trusted places for all children," she says. "Strong schools require stable, well-supported communities. That is the work I have been doing for eight years, and it is exactly what I am committed to finishing in this final term.” Gonez says schools should be shielded from budget cuts and argues that more investment is needed in mental health support, enrichment programs and early education.

Climate resilience and healthy school campuses: “The East San Fernando Valley faces some of the highest heat burdens, worst air quality and least green space in Los Angeles," she says. "Our students feel that every day. I have already helped secure over $1.2 billion for green schoolyards and authored the Resilient Schools resolution to accelerate heat mitigation, shade and cooling infrastructure across our campuses. But the work is far from finished.”

Expanding access to high-quality early education: “In my third term, I will focus on deepening the quality of our early learning programs, expanding infant centers and dual-language pathways from the earliest years, and ensuring students with disabilities have full access to inclusive preschool," she says. "The research is unambiguous: Investments in early education pay dividends for children, families and communities for generations. Every child in Board District 6 deserves that foundation.”

More voter resources:

• Website: https://www.kellygonez.com
• Social media: Instagram, Facebook, X
• Endorsements: United Teachers Los Angeles, L.A. County Federation of Labor

Go deeper: 

• LA school board candidate survey: Kelly Gonez, District 6 (LAist)
• LAUSD Board Candidate Interview, District 6: Kelly Gonez (LAist)

Where does the candidate stand on key issues?

Should the district have issued preliminary layoff notices in February?

The outcome: The board voted 4-3 to send the notices. Gonez was among the minority no vote.

Why? “LAUSD is facing real and serious budgetary challenges. State funding per pupil has increased but enrollment has declined, and costs have risen faster than revenue. That fiscal reality is not going away and I take it seriously.

“But I voted no because I did not believe enough work had been done to explore every available option before sending layoff notices to district employees. The people who work in our schools every day are the ones caring for our students and families. That work is irreplaceable, and notices like these have a real human cost.

“Before we get to workforce reductions, we should be asking hard questions about other areas where costs could be reduced. I also had serious concerns about the process itself regarding opportunities for feedback from our constituents.”

Should the district enact new limits on charter school co-location?

The outcome: The board voted 4-3 to enact the policy. Gonez was among the minority no vote.

Why? “Co-locations are genuinely challenging for our school communities, and I heard that directly from schools in my district. The disruptions to programs, the strain on shared facilities, the real impacts on students and staff. Those concerns deserve a real response.

“When the September 2023 resolution came before the board, I brought an amendment designed to address those same concerns more effectively. Unfortunately, that amendment didn't pass.

“I voted no on the final vote because I was not confident the policy as written would solve the problems we’d identified.

“I remain committed to protecting our neighborhood schools from the harms that co-locations can cause.”

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