In a stunning upset, Scott Schmerelson handily defeated two-term incumbent Tamar Galatzan in the race for LA Unified’s District 3 seat. Schmerelson beat Galatzan with more than 3,000 votes, 55 percent to 45 percent. “I am very happy, very excited, and I’m ready for my five-year term,” he told LA School Report late last night,...

As she arrived to the stage Monday night, Tamar Galatzan grabbed two bottles of water for the debate participants and handed one to her challenger, Scott Schmerelson, who smiled and thanked her. The gesture set the stage for the evening, as both candidates for the LA Unified District 3 seat avoided any criticism of each...

*UPDATED Scott Schmerelson says he is “feeling pretty good” these days, and the longtime LA Unified educator, counselor and principal certainly has lots of reasons for it. Schmerelson emerged from a logjam of five challengers to finish second in the March 3 school board primary election, good enough to make the May 19 runoff against District...

One of Tamar Galatzan’s challengers in the LA Unified District 3 board race said today he has filed a complaint against her with the City Ethics Commission, charging that she improperly used her board office as part of her campaign. Filiberto Gonzalez, a former Los Angeles City planning commissioner, cited two specific instances: the use of...

*UPDATED School board District 3 covers most of the western San Fernando valley from the Ventura county line to the 405 on its eastern boarder, with a cutout to include some of the tonier neighborhoods in the east valley. The district includes Chatsworth, parts of Woodland Hills, Northridge, Granda Hills, parts of Van Nuys and...

With six candidates crowding the stage, the LA Unified District 3 school board debate last night more often resembled a game show, as candidates were forced to limit answers to either a minute or 30 seconds. Incumbent Tamar Galatzan, who is seeking a third term in the March 3 elections, seemed to be thinking the same...