Candidates rush to fill LAUSD seat
A long-time District 1 board member will retire this December, leaving an open seat.
By ANMURY IGLESIAS
Last year, George McKenna III, a longstanding member of the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education, announced his plan to retire at the end of his current term in December. Since 2014, McKenna has represented LAUSD’s District 1, which covers the area from Koreatown westward to Mid-City, Westside neighborhoods and South Central, including USC. Now, seven candidates are in the running to fill his seat.
As the second-largest school district in the nation, LAUSD policy impacts more than 500,000 K-12 students and 74,000 employees. In accordance with LAUSD, board members have a duty to be leaders that create and oversee policies dedicated to bettering school communities within their jurisdiction.
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Board members are elected to serve up to three four-year terms, which can comprise the entirety of a child’s educational career. Their responsibilities include adopting and communicating a mission and vision, engaging their respective communities in developing the vision, representing the needs of all students, operating openly with trust and integrity, providing adequate resources to schools which includes allocating an annual fund budget of about $10 billion and evaluating the Superintendent.
Nonpartisan primary elections will be held on March 5. A November runoff election will be held if no single candidate wins more than 50% of votes.
Kahllid Al-Alim
As a South Central native and parent to former LAUSD students, Al-Alim has been involved with District 1 for 20 years.
Since 2003, Al-Alim has served on the LAUSD African American Education Task Force and LAUSD’s Parent Advisory Committee, as well as president of his neighborhood council.
His vision for L.A. schools involves focusing on mental health, reducing class size, investing in the Black Student Achievement Plan and community schools, increasing parent and community engagement, fully funding special education, and expanding career education, early education and adult education. He also aims to support LGBTQIA+ students and staff.
On Feb. 23, United Teachers Los Angeles suspended its campaign in support of candidate Kahllid Al-Alim, who recently came under fire for his “social media posts and likes that expressed antisemitism, glamorized guns and celebrated pornographic images.”
On his campaign site, Al-Alim stated, “I have spent my life fighting against antisemitism, anti-Arab hate, Islamophobia, and all forms of oppression. I have spent my life fighting for the equality of all people. I also apologize for my likes on social media of graphic content. It was inappropriate. I will never do that again.”
Al-Alim did not respond to requests for comment.
John Aaron Brasfield
Born and raised in L.A., Brasfield attended LAUSD schools throughout his childhood and later graduated from USC with a master’s degree in school counseling.
According to his campaign website, Brasfield has worked in LAUSD schools since he was 15 years old. Brasfield has also served on the Good Teaching Planning Committee and acted as a California Teachers Association State Representative while he finished his master’s degree.
His goals for District 1 include implementing a zero-tolerance policy for bullying; focusing on raising the district-wide reading proficiency and math comprehension levels; and fostering an environment that prioritizes well-being, mental health and transparent communication.
“The students are the reason why I ran; they asked me to. This is all coming from the heart,” Bradsfield said in an interview with the Daily Trojan.
DeWayne Davis
Davis has served LAUSD for several years, during his 29 year-long career as an educator, he has worked as a teacher, assistant principal and principal. Davis is an educational strategist in areas of school operations, finance and instruction. He also serves as an adjunct professor at Teachers College, Columbia University–Teachers College and holds a PhD in institutional management from Pepperdine University.
On his campaign website, Davis lists four priorities for District 1: a comprehensive safety plan for students and staff within school and during commutes to and from campus; quality education implemented by the community school model; an outreach program to involve parents as partners; and ensuring programs are targeted towards student populations most in need.
These priorities come together in support of his vision for district-wide safe and supportive communities that provide students with resources to be globally competitive.
Davis did not respond to requests for comment.
Seven candidates are running to fill the vacant District 1 seat on the Los Angeles Unified School District’s Board of Education on March 5. (Isabella Villanueva / Daily Trojan)
Christian Flagg
As a South Central native, Flagg grew up attending District 1 LAUSD schools and now serves as a community organizer and education advocate.
While his work is directed to transform the public school system, it’s been rooted in District 1. As a candidate, Flagg’s priorities include: protecting and expanding educational strategies to support students with the greatest needs; cultivating innovative educational strategies; building parent and family engagement for shared decision making; empowering school administrators, educators and staff; and ensuring accountability for staff, faculty and administrators regarding student and family goals.
Flagg did not respond to requests for comment.
Sherlett Hendy Newbill
Endorsed by George McKenna III, Newbill has served as an LAUSD educator for more than two decades.
Newbill’s ideas for improving District 1 involve: supporting comprehensive safety plan policies and programs; establishing quality afterschool programs in addition to health, mental health, social and family services; supporting innovative programs; and enforcing School District accountability.
Newbill also supports creating space spaces for LGBTQIA+ students, providing consistent funding for Black Student Achievement Plan programs and creating apprenticeship programs for nontraditional careers.
Newbill did not respond to requests for comment.
Rina Tambor
A former New York educator, Tambor has been connected to LAUSD through her grandchildren, who attended schools across Districts 1, 3 and 4. As a senior staff member for sleep-away camps in Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and New York, as well as a tutor across a variety of subjects, Tambor spends most of her time working with children.
According to her campaign site, Tambor believes enhancing education requires a “back to basics” approach, having smaller class sizes, increasing parent involvement and reallocating funds for students with “special needs.”
Tambor did not respond to requests for comment.
Didi Watts
Having served as an educator in South Central for nearly three decades, Watts has held the position of school psychologist, special education administrator, principal and nonprofit leader. Watts serves as the chief of staff to District 7 LAUSD board member Tanya Ortiz Franklin.
Her priorities if elected to the position are ensuring equitable allocation of resources to support underserved students, providing support to students with “special needs,” creating more opportunities for family and community engagement, increasing college readiness and providing housing options for staff.
“Intervention is key, but only necessary if students aren’t able to engage academically at their grade level. What we really have to focus on is good first instruction,” Watts said in an interview with the Daily Trojan. “One thing that I’m doing along with my husband is recruiting, training, placing and housing Black men who are interested in becoming teachers in L.A … To support our students, providing more affordable housing may result in having staff who are more willing to stay after school or come to work early to provide tutoring.”
