Two more people this week entered the March 7 race for LA Unified school board.

Gregory Martayan will join Nick Melvoin in challenging board President Steve Zimmer for his District 4 seat. And Joanne Baltierrez-Fernandez joins one other challenger in seeking an open seat in District 6.

Martayan and Baltierrez-Fernandez filed with the city Ethics Commission on Tuesday an intent to raise money for their respective races. Candidates officially file to run for the seats in November.

Zimmer has represented school board District 4, which includes the Westside and Hollywood, since 2009. In his latest re-election bid, he won with 52 percent of the vote.

Melvoin has taken a wide early lead in fundraising. The latest campaign finance records show Melvoin has raised $124,344 from Jan. 1 through June 30. Records show that Zimmer raised $7,304 in the same period.

Melvoin touted grassroots support for his campaign.

Zimmer said he has been focused on statewide ballot measures in the Nov. 8 election, including Prop. 55, an extension of income taxes on the wealthy for public education, and Prop. 58, which would repeal a law that prohibits non-English languages from being used in public schools. Zimmer said he is also working to elect Democrat Hillary Clinton as president.

Martayan did not immediately return a request for comment.

In the board District 6 race, where Monica Ratliff is not seeking re-election as she is running for Los Angeles City Council, Baltierrez-Fernandez joins Araz Parseghian in running for the seat. The district encompasses the east San Fernando Valley.

Neither candidate has reported any fundraising or spending to the Ethics Commission. Both just filed their intentions to run this month.

Baltierrez-Fernandez unsuccessfully ran for the 39th District state Assembly seat occupied by Patty Lopez. She came in fourth in the June primary.

Baltierrez-Fernandez, who served on the San Fernando City Council from 1994 to 1999, said Friday that as she was campaigning for the state Assembly seat, many LA Unified school district issues came up.

She is a mental health clinician and said she sees that there is a need for more mental health services in the public school system.

“Children can’t learn if they’re angry, depressed or worried,” she said.

The other seat up for election is in board District 2 occupied by Monica Garcia since 2006.

Four candidates have filed paperwork with the Ethics Commission to raise money to run for the seat, which covers East LA, Pico-Union, downtown Los Angeles and its surrounding neighborhoods.

Garcia has dominated early fundraising, the latest campaign finance records show. Seeking her third term on the seven-member board, Garcia collected $119,858 in donations between Jan. 1 and June 30. One challenger, Carl Petersen, raised $805 in the same period.

Other candidates for the seat are Berny L. Motto, Walter Bannister and Manuel “Manny” Aldana Jr., who all filed their paperwork within the past two weeks.

Mónica García

Seven months out from the primary, L.A. Unified school board member Monica Garcia has already raised nearly 150 times more money than her opponent, including donations from former L.A. Unified Superintendent John Deasy and both charter school and L.A. district employees.

Garcia, seeking her third term on the seven-member board, collected $119,858 in donations between Jan. 1 and June 30, according to the latest campaign finance documents filed with the city Ethics Commission. She has spent about $18,000.

Challenger Carl Petersen has raised $805 and spent $412. Neither candidate responded to requests for comment.

Garcia’s 2013 re-election bid and the two other contested school board races that year received national attention for the large amount of money — $6.16 million — poured into the campaigns by independent expenditure committees, which are not subject to fundraising limits.

About $1.2 million of the independent expenditure money went into Garcia’s race to support her. Independent expenditure committees meanwhile spent $113,000 trying unsuccessfully to defeat her.

She received support in 2013 from a coalition formed by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that donated money to all three school board races and received backing from outside donors like former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. She raised $504,224 on her own that year and spent $507,032, according to city finance documents. Her closest competitor in the five-way race, Robert Skeels, raised and spent $19,000.

This year, in addition to donations from Deasy and charter and L.A. Unified school educators and officials, Garcia’s contributors so far include philanthropists, film executives, the Los Angeles School Police Management Association PAC, several employee unions, Eli and Edythe Broad, and Netflix CEO Reed Hastings.

Garcia, who was board president for an unprecedented six consecutive years, from 2007 to 2013,  has been an advocate of charter schools and sweeping reforms to low-performing schools. She has called for “Diplomas for All” with a goal of 100 percent graduation rate in the district.

“It has been an incredible honor to serve you for the last 10 years; together we have been able to increase graduation and reduce the dropout rate,” Garcia wrote in a letter to supporters earlier this year announcing her re-election bid.  “I am looking forward to continuing our work transforming this district so that all children can learn to read, write, think, believe and be college ready and career prepared. But I need your help to win.”

In the past, Garcia has not been endorsed by the L.A. teachers union, UTLA.

Petersen has said he and his family will move into District 2 specifically to run against her.  District 2 covers East L.A., Pico-Union, downtown Los Angeles and its surrounding neighborhoods and is heavily Latino.

Carl Petersen

On his campaign website, titled Change the LAUSD, Petersen said the board needs a “parent’s perspective.”

“This campaign will not be funded by the California Charter School Association,” he writes. “I will answer to the parents and students of the district, not corporate donors.”

Petersen ran unsuccessfully in 2015 for the school board District 3 seat against incumbent Tamar Galatzan and came in fifth place in the primary. (Scott Schmerelson won that seat.) District 3 includes the west San Fernando Valley. Petersen raised $2,160 and spent $2,641 in that failed bid, records show.

The primary election will take place on March 7. Also running are Board President Steve Zimmer in District 4, who is seeking re-election against challenger Nick Melvoin. Melvoin has raised about $124,000, compared to Zimmer’s $7,300, according to city filings.

Zimmer said he has been focused on statewide ballot measures in the Nov. 8 election, such as Prop. 55, an extension of income taxes on the wealthy for public education, and Prop. 58, which would repeal a law that prohibits non-English languages from being used in public schools. Zimmer said he is also working to elect Democrat Hillary Clinton as president.

No one has officially declared for an open seat in District 6 where school board member Monica Ratliff is running instead for a seat on the City Council.

So far, no one else has entered the District 2 race against Garcia. She was first elected in 2006 in a special election where she replaced her boss, Jose Huizar, who had won a seat on the City Council.

School board candidates officially file for the race in November, but they can begin to raise money and declare their intent to do so with the Ethics Commission.

If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes in the March 7 primary, the top two vote-getters go on to compete in the May 16 general election.

Nick Melvoin

*UPDATED

The candidate challenging LA Unified board President Steve Zimmer for school board has raised more money early on in the March 7 election campaign than the incumbent did in his entire re-election bid three years ago, according to city campaign finance records.

Nick Melvoin announced this week that as of the June 30 filing deadline, he has raised $124, 344. Records show that Zimmer raised just $7,304 in the same period.

“I’m grateful to all the individuals who have supported this campaign so far,” Melvoin said in a statement. “I’ve just begun to share my vision for improving public education in Los Angeles, and I look forward to working on behalf of all the communities in the 4^th District to turn those plans into real change.”

Melvoin noted that many of his campaign contributions were $100 or less, but about 30 percent of the donors who gave more than $100 live outside California, records show.

The early filings indicate that money will likely be pouring into this race, as it has in previous elections for school board seats.

But money wasn’t the deciding factor in Zimmer’s previous reelection bid. He won with 52 percent of the vote even though he was outspent by his opponent.

Zimmer said he is “very focused” on November, specifically the passage of statewide ballot measures Prop. 55 and Prop. 58 and the election of Hillary Clinton as president. Prop. 55 is an extension of income taxes on the wealthy to fund public education under Prop. 30 that was passed by voters in 2012. Prop. 58, the California Multilingual Education Act, would repeal a law that prohibits non-English languages from being used in public schools.

“There will be plenty of time to talk about the looming battle for control of the school board and the obscene amounts of money that will be raised and spent on that struggle,” Zimmer said in an email. “For now, as Michelle Obama said this week, ‘We have important work to do.'” 

It is early in the citywide election season. The primary is March 7. The general election will be held May 16. If no candidate receives more than 50 percent of the votes in the primary, the top two vote-getters will compete in the general election.

Melvoin launched his campaign in February. So far, no one else has entered the race. Candidates officially file for the race in November but can begin to raise money.

In his previous reelection bid in 2013, Zimmer raised a total of $122,000. His opponent, Kate Anderson, brought in $263,603. Independent expenditure committees poured nearly $2.7 million into the race.

The school board races that year received national attention and money from outside donors like former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who gave $1 million to a coalition formed by then-Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that donated money to the three school board races and supported a slate of candidates. Villaraigosa’s group opposed Zimmer.

Two other school board seats are up for reelection next spring. Longtime board member Monica Garcia, who was first elected in 2006, is seeking reelection in board District 2. She is being challenged by Carl Petersen. Petersen ran in 2015 for the school board District 3 seat and came in 5th place in the primary. (Scott Schmerelson won that seat.) The city Ethics Commission has not posted campaign finance reports for Petersen or Garcia on its website.

School board member Monica Ratliff will not seek reelection and has opted to run for City Council. No one has announced an intention to run for the open board District 6 seat in the East San Fernando Valley.

So far no independent expenditure committees have spent any money in the school board races.

School board District 4 includes the west side of Los Angeles to Hollywood.

In a news release, Melvoin touted that 70 percent of his campaign contributions came from donors who gave $100 or less. In total, 824 individuals gave donations, according to Melvoin’s campaign.

Campaign Finance records show that of the 489 individual donors to his campaign who gave more than $100, 144 reside outside California.

Among the notable donors was philanthropist Eli Broad, who gave $1,100. Broad, who lives in Los Angeles, has previously given to LA Unified school board candidates. Other donors to Melvoin included attorneys, college professors, consultants, film executives, investors and educators.

Of the 30 donors who gave to Zimmer’s campaign this reporting period, nine were LA Unified employees. All but one of the donors live in Southern California. Zimmer, a former LA Unified teacher, was reelected to his second term as board president earlier this month.

Melvoin spent $24,657 during the reporting period. He has $101,000 cash on hand.
Zimmer spent $2,523 and has $6,185 cash on hand, records show.

In his previous re-election campaign, Zimmer was backed by UTLA, the teachers union. His opponent was backed by groups that support charter schools. Zimmer has not taken a hardline position against charter schools and votes both ways when charter school applications go before the board. He was praised by charter school leaders for a speech he gave Saturday at a best practices forum promoting inclusiveness between district and independent charter schools.

*Updated with comments from Steve Zimmer. 

*Updated to clarify the number of donors to Melvoin’s campaign. 

Monica Ratliff is sworn in by her mother

Before her election to the LA school board in May, Monica Ratliff was virtually unknown. Now, the race to influence her is on — and all sides have entered.

Ratliff, a former teacher and upset winner over Antonio Sanchez in District 6, has raised just over $30,000 since her election to help retire her campaign debt, according to a campaign finance report just released by the city ethics commission. The donors come from all poles of the education debate, giving her at least a veneer of political nonalignment. Ratliff’s ideological stance — that is, how she might line up on school board votes — has been the subject of much speculation. By some indications, she could be something of a swing vote, like board members Steve Zimmer and Richard Vladovic, even though she received strong teacher support in the general election campaign.

Among post-election contributions, UTLA President Warren Fletcher gave $1,000, the maximum allowable amount in School Board races, while UTLA Secretary David Lyell gave $350, and Brent Smiley, vice chairman of the union’s political action committee and a campaign volunteer, donated $50. The California Federation of Teachers’ Political Action Committee also gave $1,000.

On the other end of the spectrum, the California Charter School Association’s Political Action Committee gave $1,000, while Kathrine Baxter, wife of Frank Baxter, chipped in $500. Both Frank Baxter and the CCSA gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to the Coalition for School Reform, which spent heavily in an attempt to elect Sanchez.

Dixon Slingerland, the Executive Director of charter operator YPI, and Lisa Bercovici, the Executive Director of Gabriella Charter Schools, each gave $1,000.

Donations like these, to a candidate seeking to retire his or her campaign debt, represent the first opportunity to contribute money to a newly elected office holder.

Other noteworthy contributors include Dan Chang of the LA Fund ($150), prominent city lobbyist Bill Delvac ($1,000), former Board President Jackie Goldberg ($200), the LA School Police union ($1,000), and the blogger / activist Robert Skeels ($50).

Roughly 37 teachers, many of whom volunteered for her campaign also contributed, mostly in amounts of $100 or less.

The report also revealed that Ratliff’s campaign consultant, Fred Huebscher, received a $5,000 win bonus.

Ratliff declined to comment for this story.

Previous posts: “Motley Crew” Attend Ratliff Campaign Debt Fundraiser; Monica Ratliff Does “Which Way LA?”; UTLA President Appears at Sanchez, Ratliff Events; Door-to-Door in Sunland with Monica Ratliff

According to sources who attended the lunch, the roughly 20 to 25 people who were there comprised a “motley crew” from both sides of the public education debate — including not only union leaders such as teachers union President Warren Fletcher and UTLA General Counsel Jesus Quinonez, but also charter school operators such as Dixon Slingerland of Youth Policy Institute, Dr. Jacqueline Elliot of PUC, and Liza Bercovici of Gabriella Charter School.

There were also a few education reform donors — perhaps most notably Frank Baxter, the Republican ex-diplomat who gave $100,000 to the Coalition for School Reform, the independent expenditure committee that supported Ratliff’s opponent, Antonio Sanchez.

Baxter told LA School Report that he found Ratliff to be a “very impressive woman. She seems really committed to children-first in LA Unified.”

One other notable attendee was Jefferson Crain, the Executive Officer of the LAUSD School Board, who is in charge of calling the roll, recording votes and making sure that the Board follows proper procedure.

The event was at least partially organized by independent consultant and ex-Board member David Tokofsky, who served informally in Ratliff’s “kitchen cabinet” during the election. A source that was there said the candidate was introduced by Tokofsky, then made a speech which lasted under three minutes.

According to the last campaign finance statement submitted before the election, the Ratliff campaign had nearly $12,000 in debt, although one source said it was closer to $14,000.

Having debt like this is not unusual for a campaign, but fundraisers held after an election to retire the debt presents an early opportunity for people to donate money to a candidate who’s already won.

Previous posts: Ratliff Supports Proposal Linking Teacher Pay to Test Scores; UTLA President Appears at Sanchez, Ratliff Events; Door-to-Door in Sunland with Monica Ratliff

Close-up of Coalition mailer for District 6 candidate Antonio Sanchez

As of May 4, the independent expenditure (IE) committee known as the Coalition for School Reform had a staggering $850,000 left in the bank, according to papers filed with the City Ethics Commission.

That dwarfs the $55,000 left in the coffers of the Antonio Sanchez campaign, whom the Coalition is supporting, as well as the $21,000 held by the Monica Ratliff campaign.

Both are seeking to win the District 6 (East Valley) School Board runoff election that’s being held May 21.

Rather than airing new ads on television or radio, or going for broke with a door-to-door field operation, Coalition spokesman Addisu Demissie said the group would spend heavily on direct mail.

“The good thing about mail is, we can talk to different people in specific ways,” Demissie told LA School Report.  “It’s more efficient that way. You know how expensive TV can be in Los Angeles.”

The Coalition’s recent mailers have all been positive — in contrast to some of the pieces sent out in the primary, some of which were negative.

Sounding fairly confident, Demissie stressed that the general election doesn’t exist in a vacuum, and that the money spent during the primary — some of which went to talking to and registering non-traditional voters — would have an effect on the runoff.

“A lot of the benefits of running a strong primary and coming in first, we’re gonna see the benefits of that next week,” he said. “It’s compound interest.”

The Coalition’s beefed-up 2013 field campaign has continued, according to Demissie, but is not expected to generate massive increases.

“What we’ve been doing in our field is talking to non-traditional voters, doing voter registration, particularly in the Latino community,” he said.  “It’s not a huge number to be honest. It’s on the margins. That’s the kind of work that field does — it gets you three percent.”

The Coalition for School Reform has been a semi-permanent organization throughout the Villaraigosa years, promoting reform-friendly School Board candidates. With the election less than one week away and no television advertisements currently on air, it’s unlikely that the Coalition will spend all of its money before May 21.

The Coalition could save some money for the next School Board elections in 2015.

Garcetti meeting with parents of 24th St. Elementary via Parent Revolution

The American Federation of Teachers and its California chapter, CFT, have just given a combined $60,000 to a super PAC named  Lots of People Who Support Eric Garcetti for Mayor.

Although UTLA, the local teachers union, endorsed Garcetti back in February, this is the first time a teachers union has spent any money on the 2013 Mayoral election.

“I think the AFT is sending a loud and clear message that the status quo — ensuring that the worst teachers are impacting students — is still the law of the land,” said political consultant Michael Trujillo, a strong (though unpaid) supporter of Garcetti’s opponent, Wendy Greuel. “And they’re gonna hold Eric Garcetti’s feet to the fire.”

The union contribution may come up later today, when the candidates will take part in an education-focused debate hosted by KPCC.

The disclosure of AFT’s donation came on the same day that both candidates visited 24th St. Elementary, the site of a recent “parent trigger” petition, a controversial parent empowerment mechanism that both Mayoral candidates have endorsed.

Though UTLA has been relatively quiet in its opposition to the trigger concept in recent weeks, the national union has been (and presumably still is) bitterly opposed to it.

More recently, Sunday night’s televised debate at USC showcased the reality that Greuel and Garcetti agree on nearly every policy issue — as they themselves admitted.

Education is no different. Both candidates support Superintendent John Deasy, both support the parent trigger law, and both support teacher evaluations that use pupil progress.

Nevertheless, the candidates will try to draw contrasts based on past positions and experience at today’s debate.

Greuel meeting with 24th St. parents

Greuel will remind voters that she is a mother of a boy in LAUSD.

“Wendy has never wavered in her support of school reform,” said Greuel spokesperson Connie Llanos. “I don’t believe that councilman Garcetti has been as clear on what his vision of education reform.”

A little known fact is that Garcetti has, in the past, been a foster parent to children who attended LAUSD — although he hardly ever talks about it.  He currently has a 16-month-old adopted daughter.

Garcetti spokesman Jeff Millman said that Greuel “hypes herself” as a school reformer but doesn’t “deliver anything.” He added: “Eric’s principal position is that he’s an advocate for kids.”

The new teachers union contribution may also come up. Garcetti has focused much of his recent campaign, including his latest TV ad, on blasting the Department of Water and Power union for spending millions of dollars on a pro-Greuel Super PAC, arguing that the money makes Greuel beholden to the union.

This debate, which will be broadcast live on KCRW 89.9 from 2-3 PM, was scheduled after Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa chided the two candidates for not focusing enough on education.

After Garcetti spokesperson Millman suggested the debate, Greuel challenged Garcetti to a debate at Camino Nuevo Charter School — with just two hours’ notice.

After a bit of inter-campaign squabbling, the two camps agreed to the KCRW debate.

“We put this thing together,” said Millman. “She called a flash mob debate. And we put together a real debate.”

KCRW news program director Gary Scott said he hopes today’s debate, to be held at the Peterson Automotive Museum at 2 PM and hosted by Warren Olney, will draw contrasts between the two candidates.

“The game here is, let’s not have them on same side,” he said. “Let have them distinguish themselves. That’s the goal.”

Indeed, there are a few things we still don’t know about the candidates’ education positions, including where they stand on the controversial No Child Left Behind “waiver” that LAUSD is trying to get from Washington, whether they support SB 441, the teacher dismissal bill going through the state legislature, and — perhaps most important — which candidate they support for the District 6 School Board runoff.

Previous posts: Handful of Education Issues Could Split Mayoral Candidates; Garcetti and Greuel to Meet With “Trigger” Parents; Garcetti Praises Partnership School, Differs with UTLA Poll; Greuel Endorses New Teacher Evaluation Plan.

L.A. Unified Fight Focuses on Breakfast Program
Los Angeles Unified will eliminate a classroom breakfast program serving nearly 200,000 children, reject more school police, cut administrators and scale back new construction projects unless the school board votes to approve them, according to Supt. John Deasy. LA Times
See also: LA School Report, Sac Bee, LA Daily News, KPCC

‘Super PACs’ Negate Spending Limits in L.A. Mayor’s Race
As groups raising funds for Greuel and Garcetti pour money into the race — a record $6.1 million so far — voter-approved contribution restrictions become meaningless. LA Times

Eric Garcetti for Mayor
Perhaps most important, Garcetti has demonstrated the capacity to grow, learn and improve his performance. He admits mistakes, such as his vote in favor of a settlement allowing, for a time, virtually unregulated digital billboards. LAT (editorial page)

L.A. Schools Finish One-Two in National Academic Decathlon
After months of preparation, Granada Hills Charter High wins the title for the third straight year. Finishing second was El Camino Real Charter High, a six-time national champion. LA Times
See also: Sac Bee

iPads in School: a Toy or a Tool?
Whether equipping all students with iPads is a gimmick or a great idea, one San Fernando Valley school that’s using them is sold. LA Times Column (Steve Lopez)

Gov. Brown As Robin Hood
His plan to shift money from suburban to urban districts might help disadvantaged students but it could hurt other kids. LA Times Opinion

Want to Build a Better Teacher Evaluation? Ask a Teacher
To generate more effective teaching through evaluations, teachers, principals, and school system leaders need to embrace a culture of ongoing two-way feedback and a commitment to continuous improvement. EdWeek Commentary

School Health Centers Are Not Just for Students
Lack of access to health care is a national problem, but it’s a particular problem in poor neighborhoods like South Los Angeles. California Report

California Legislature Ignoring Teacher Pension Gap
Those who occupy the Capitol have an infinite ability to evade reality, even something as seemingly stark as a huge deficit in the teacher pension system that’s growing, by its own numbers, by $17 million each day.  Sac Bee Opinion

Downey Teacher, Arrested for Allegedly Molesting 3 Girls, Out on Bail
A 55-year-old teacher at a charter school in unincorporated Willowbrook was out on bail Monday after his arrest for allegedly molesting three girls at the school between October 2012 and last March, authorities said. Daily Breeze

California Gets Mediocre Grade for Preschool Access and Quality
California got a mediocre grade in both access to preschool and the quality of the programs in a new study released today by the National Institute for Early Education Research. The state meets only four of the group’s ten benchmarks for quality preschool. KPCC

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg Donates $350,000 to LAUSD Reformer’s Campaign
With the runoff now less than a month away, Bloomberg has given the coalition an additional $350,000 – again at Villaraigosa’s request – to support the election of Antonio Sanchez to the District 6 seat. LA Daily News
See also: LA School Report

Teacher Evaluation Bill Opposed by Unions Dies in Committee
Legislation that would have required more frequent evaluations of educators was killed by a state Senate committee Wednesday under strong opposition from teachers’ unions. LA Times
See also: LA School Report, SI&A Cabinet Report

Jerry Brown Vows Battle With Democratic Critics of Education Plan
Gov. Jerry Brown offered a spirited defense of his plan to overhaul the state’s education system Wednesday and warned Democratic critics of his plan that they were “going to get the battle of their lives” if they attempt to change key parts of his proposal. LA Times
See also: EdSource, Fresno Bee

Law That Holds Parents Accountable for Kids Truancy Applied Differently Across Southern California
Last week, six parents in Orange County who had let their kids miss up to 22 days from school were charged with two misdemeanors: contributing to the delinquency of a minor and failure to reasonably supervise or encourage school attendance. KPCC

Calif. Neglecting Thousands of English-Learners, Lawsuit Claims
More than 20,000 English-learners in California’s public schools are not receiving language instruction and the state department of education is failing in its role to ensure that schools educate such students, alleges a lawsuit filed today by the American Civil Liberties Union. EdWeek
See also: LA Times, KPCC

Tom Bartman, Who Helped End LA School Busing, Dies
Tom Bartman, who helped end forced busing for integration in the Los Angeles Unified School District, has died. He was 67. KPCC

Funeral Today for Sal Castro, Who Led ’68 Chicano Student Walkouts
Funeral services will be held Thursday morning for former teacher Salvador “Sal” Castro, who played a central role in the 1968 Eastside school walkouts to protest inequalities in education for Latinos in the Los Angeles Unified School District. LA Times

Arrests Made in Fatal Stabbing at High School
An 18-year-old man was playing handball at Cleveland High School in Reseda when he was fatally stabbed and three suspects were arrested in connection with the death, police said on Thursday. NBC LA

Eli Broad

The Coalition for School Reform’s District 6 (East San Fernando Valley) runoff election coffers have been replenished thanks to big donations received from Los Angeles philanthropist Eli Broad and StudentsFirst, Michelle Rhee’s education advocacy group, among others.

According to reports just filed with the LA City Ethics Commission, Broad gave the Coalition $250,000. StudentsFirst contributed another $100,000. A LA-area business consulting group called Aurora Management Partners contributed $30,000 to the Coalition, and Century City 1800 Partners gave $20,000. As LA School Report reported Monday, the Coalition had $230,000 in its war chest at the beginning of April. These new contributions push that amount to $630,000.

Previous posts: Runoff 2013: Slow Fundraising Start for District 6; Runoff: Union & LA Times Might Shift Endorsements

In terms of direct campaign fundraising, Ratliff hasn’t raised any money at all since the primary election, and Sanchez has raised just $15,000 since early March.

As for the IE committees, the latest financial reports from the LA City Ethics Commission cover a time period between mid-February and April 6:

*UTLA-PACE, the teachers union’s political arm, received $237,000 in contributions, as well as $628,000 in “miscellaneous cash increases” but only has $73,000 left for the runoff because the union spent heavily in the weeks leading up to the primary. (See report here.)

*The Coalition for School Reform received $712,000 in contributions during the same time period. But it also spent heavily on the primary, so the Coalition has $230,000 in its account to spend on the District 6 election. (See report here.)

*And the Local 99 branch of the Service Employees International Union collected $398,000 between February and April. It has $261,000 to spend on the runoff. (See report here.)

In terms of spending, outside groups including the Coalition for School Reform and the LA County Federation of Labor spent almost $1.3 million to support Sanchez in the primary, but they have spent only $66,000 on him since then.

L.A. School Reform Effort Draws Diverse Group of Wealthy Donors
Republicans, liberals, Hollywood notables and global corporate executives are among those who gave to the Coalition for School Reform. LA Times

LAUSD Chief John Deasy Draws Fire as He Pursues Aggressive Reform Plan
The reforms that Deasy enacted – and just how aggressively he’s pursued them – have put the fast-talking New Englander at the center of a heated debate over the future of the nation’s second-largest school district. LA Daily News

Interest in Teaching Continues to Drop in California
Interest in teaching is steadily dropping in California, with the number of educators earning a teaching credential dipping by 12% last year — marking the eighth straight annual decline. LA Times
See also: EdSource

A To-Do List for L.A.’s Next Mayor
I want the next mayor to be an education mayor, but not by simply operating his or her own network of schools. I’d like the mayor to create an Office of City Schools to provide a one-stop informational shop for families. LA Times Opinion (Gloria Romero)

Villaraigosa’s Legacy
Throughout Villaraigosa’s tenure, there has consistently been a sense that he has fallen short of his potential and delivered less than he promised. LA Times (Jim Newton)

Race for Campaign Cash; Mayor’s Race Exceed $10 Million
In the Los Angeles Unified School District board campaigns, the primary race for the District 6 seat had generated more than $1.2 million in donations, but in the runoff, contributions are off to a slow start. LA Daily News

As Nation’s Schools Get More Diverse, Instruction of Students Learning English Remains Bleak
Of all the challenges facing minority students and their schools, English learners are arguably the most disadvantaged. It’s hard to find enough teachers who are qualified to instruct them, and there’s little consistency in the programs used to educate them. AP

Growing Charter Network Under SBE Draws Interest From Lawmakers
A sharp increase in the number of charter schools petitioning – and receiving – permission to open from the California State Board of Education has attracted the attention of the Legislature. SI&A Cabinet Report

California Pension Fund to Divest From Gunmakers
California’s pension fund for teachers made official on Friday its plan to divest holdings in firearms companies whose weapons are illegal in the state. Reuters

Robot Experiment Coming to Los Angeles Classrooms
A dragon-like robot will soon grace the classrooms of one Los Angeles elementary school in hopes of helping first-graders adopt healthier eating habits. KPCC

California High Schools Are Sick of the Coachella Cut Day ‘Mess’
In L.A., administrators and teachers at some of the top schools that have struggled to contend with the empty classrooms of Coachella Fridays are finally learning how to deal with absence in the age of the music festival. Atlantic

LAUSD Manager Scot Graham Suing District Regarding Alleged Harassment
A Los Angeles Unified School District manager is suing his employer, alleging the district failed to prevent former Superintendent Ramon Cortines from sexually harassing him. Scot Graham’s lawsuit was filed Thursday in Los Angeles Superior Court. LA Daily News

New Program Creates ‘Education Champions’ for Every Foster Child
California is on the leading edge of an innovative effort to give foster children a fighting chance in school.  A new national initiative to provide a trained adult to act as an education advocate for every foster child in the nation was recently launched in Santa Cruz County, which is piloting the program in California. EdSource

However, it may be awhile. The Coalition for School Reform and UTLA-PACE won’t have to report contributions or expenditures again until April 11, when the next round of pre-election reports will be due at the LA City Ethics Commission. UTLA-PACE, which is a longstanding general purpose committee that is active throughout different election cycles, doesn’t have to provide updates until it begins spending, so we may have to wait until after April 11 to see its reports.

Previous posts: Union Schedules Special Session To Reconsider Endorsements; School Board Primary Averaged $55 Per Vote

However, the rate varied widely across the three races:

According to numbers from the LA City Clerk’s office and the LA City Ethics Commission, the per-vote cost in District 2 (East LA) was the highest, at $71 per vote — the result of low voter registration, 13 percent turnout, and the $1.9 million that candidates’ campaigns and outside groups spent.

The cost per vote was $52 dollars in the District 4 Westside race. Though overall spending was the biggest of the three races — $3 million — so was the turnout, which kept the vote cost from surpassing District 2’s.

In the East Valley’s District 6, where the race will go into a May 21 runoff, the price per vote was, comparatively speaking, a modest $42. The union did not spend any money in this race, and so spending was limited to “just” $1.3 million.

The rates come out even higher when calculated by candidate, as done by the Daily News. The campaign to elect Steve Zimmer cost $33 per vote, compared to the pro-Anderson effort’s $52 per vote.  The effort to support Monica Garcia cost about $85 per vote, and the effort to support Antonio Sanchez cost $90 per vote.

$5M in Outside Funds Helps Reelect LAUSD Board Members
Incumbents Monica Garcia and Steve Zimmer survived a bruising reelection campaign with millions in funds from non-local sources. CBS LA

Dismal Turnout Puts Greuel and Garcetti in Mayoral Runoff, Sales Tax Bombs
After months of build-up and millions of dollars spent on a blizzard of television ads and mailers, Los Angeles voters went to the polls Tuesday and selected Wendy Greuel and Eric Garcetti as their next potential mayor. Turnout in the city races was dismal at 16% in a contested mayoral primary. LA Times
See also: LAist

Local Fixes for ‘Failing’ Schools
Nine California school districts are drawing up a more comprehensive way of measuring student progress. LA Times Editorial

If It’s Monday, the L.A. Unified School Cafeteria Is Meatless
Los Angeles public schools have just gone meatless on Mondays. But unlike the Los Angeles City Council’s resolution in November that simply urges people to observe a Monday without meat, the school system really has issued an edict. LA Times Opinion

LAUSD Searches for Funding for San Pedro Science Center Facility
Wanted: Someone with enough money, expertise and vision to take over and expand a struggling 3.5-acre Los Angeles school district science center in San Pedro.  Did we mention money? Daily Breeze

News Corp Bids for Education Market With New Classroom Tablet
News Corp’s education division, Amplify, on Wednesday introduced the first tablet computer built specifically for the classroom, in a bid to capture a slice of the billions of dollars spent in U.S. public schools. Amplify’s sister company, News America Inc, this week donated $250,000 to support a slate of candidates running for the Los Angeles school board. Reuters

So far, UTLA has spent $994,000 on two races — District 2 (East LA) and District 4 (Westside/Hollywood) — but has stayed out of the District 6 (East San Fernando Valley) race so far. (See spending totals here.) The union hasn’t reported any sizable late contributions.

The Coalition for School Reform has spent almost $3.1 million on three candidates. Late contributions it has received include $300,000 from the California Charter Schools Association (CCSA) and $250,000 from Rupert Murdoch’s News America Inc. (See contributions report here and spending totals here.)

Primary election day — March 5 — is only a day away, but the total amount of outside spending is likely to rise as these groups make their final primary pushes today and tomorrow.

Previous posts: Coalition Fields Effort to Avoid Runoffs; Analysis: Air War Vs. Boots On the Ground

District 2 (Downtown – East Los Angeles): Robert Skeels has raised a total of $19,000, adding $2,000 since the last reporting period last month; Annamarie Montanez has raised $9,200 altogether, adding less than $100 since last month; Abelardo Diaz has raised $3,900 altogether, adding only a few dollars to his coffers since last month. Isabel Vazquez, has raised $15,200, up $2,000 from last month. Incumbent Board President Monica Garcia has raised $430,000 so far, adding $100,000 since late last month.

District 4 (Westside to Hollywood): School Board member Steve Zimmer has raised $82,000 for his own campaign, adding $12,000. Kate Anderson has raised $251,000, adding $50,000 since the last reporting period late last month.

District 6 (East San Fernando Valley): Antonio Sanchez has raised $55,000, up by $15,000 since late last month. Maria Cano has raised almost $17,000, a big jump of $8,000 from last month. Monica Ratliff has raised $14,000, adding just $1,000.

Previous posts: Update: Robust Fundraising Numbers for Candidates; Fundraising: Latest Reports Trickling In; January Contribution Reports, Part 2; Outside Spending Tops $2 Million, Grows Negative; Campaign Consultants Win — Either Way

Outside Cash Prominent in L.A. School Board Races Outside spending is dominating campaigns for three seats on the Los Angeles Board of Education, surpassing $4.4 million through Friday. LA Times

Profiles of Candidates for Los Angeles Board of Education A brief look at candidates for three L.A. school board seats. LA Times

Tuesday’s Election Could Redefine Los Angeles City Government In an election that will redefine Los Angeles for up to the next eight years, voters on Tuesday will have the rare opportunity to elect three new citywide leaders, plus a majority of the City Council and the board of the Los Angeles Unified School District. Daily Breeze

Election 2013: Reform at Center of LA Unified Race The race for three seats on the LAUSD board has shaped up into a pitched battle for control of the city’s public schools, with reform-minded candidates hoping to maintain the momentum of Superintendent John Deasy and union-backed rivals trying to halt it. LA Daily News

Candidates for Mayor Take Different Tacks on Education Eric Garcetti has the backing of the teachers union and wants to unite the union and reformers. Wendy Greuel wants local decision-making. Jan Perry wants a non-voting seat on the board. LA Times

Standardized Testing Becomes the Great Divide in Schools Policy Use of standardized tests in schools is growing, but so is push-back – an issue playing out in L.A. school board elections. LA Times

One of Nation’s Oldest teachers retires in LA at 94 Rose Gilbert wanted to be a schoolteacher since she was in the first grade and was inspired by the teacher who taught her to read and write. AP

City Section Schools Must Come up With Money for Sports Dues When the City Section breaks apart from the Los Angeles Unified School District on July 1, the 92 LAUSD schools that are part of the City Section will have to start paying sports dues that range from $2,300 a year to an estimated $7,000 for the largest schools. LA Times

Teacher-Evaluation Plans Bedevil Waiver States Even though 34 states and the District of Columbia have No Child Left Behind Act waivers in hand, many of them are still negotiating with the U.S. Department of Education over their teacher-evaluation systems—a crucial component if they want to keep their newfound flexibility. EdWeek

The turnout is generally low, and the polling is weak.  The majority of voters tend to make up their mind while they’re looking at the ballot, and forget who they’ve voted for 10 minutes later.

Undaunted, LA School Report talked to a few campaign consultants and insiders to try to get a sense of what knowledgeable observers expect to happen when the votes are counted late Tuesday night. The predictions we got — tentative as they were — included a decent chance of runoffs in Districts 2 and 6 and a District 4 race that’s too close to call.

District 2

School Board President Monica Garcia is expected to finish a strong first in District 2. The question then becomes whether she will get 50 percent of the vote, obviating the need for a runoff, and if there’s a runoff who will it be against?

One consultant put the chances of a runoff at roughly 60 percent, thanks largely to the fact that Garcia has four opponents, and thus a greater chance of each biting off little shares of her vote.

Insiders are expecting turnout to be between 20 and 25 percent — thanks to a very uninspiring Mayor’s race. Low turnout helps the campaigns with better field operation — and makes things more unpredictable.

Barkan also noted that a last-minute spending binge by UTLA could impact the race. “I don’t know what else UTLA has in store for the weekend,” he said. “They tend to do last-minute bombardments.”

As for who might make the runoff along with Garcia, many observers have been impressed with Robert Skeels, who seems to be running an effective grassroots campaign. But second and third place could be decided by as few as a couple hundred votes, so this one is too tough to call.

District 4

The closest, most anticipated and most bitterly contested of all the 2013 School Board races has been waged in District 4 between incumbent Steve Zimmer and challenger Kate Anderson. There are only two candidates on the ballot, however, so — barring celestial intervention — there will be no runoff.

An internal poll conducted by pro-Anderson forces had the challenger a couple of points ahead of Zimmer, within the margin of error — and this was before the attack mailers against Anderson really kicked into high gear. But internal polls done by the campaigns aren’t shared publicly and give little definitive information to those who see them.

“The polls are impressionistic,” said one political strategist. “They’re like a Matisse painting rather than a photo.”

In District 4 particularly, it could all come down to who does better at reaching and motivating voters. Zimmer has his own small, under-funded operation, as well as the support of UTLA and the service workers union, SEIU Local 99.  Anderson has her own, moderately well-funded campaign and the support of the Coalition for School Reform.

“That race, to me, feels like a jump ball,” said the political strategist.

Thanks to one-sided spending in favor of Antonio Sanchez, there seems little doubt about who comes in first.

However, a pro-reform consultant we spoke with still thinks this race has a 60 percent chance of going to a runoff, citing in part the surprisingly strong campaign by Monica Ratliff, who won endorsements from the LA Times and Daily News. 

“She has put a real credible effort together without much resources,” said one pro-reform consultant.

Ratliff has barely been able to campaign herself, since she teaches full-time at San Pedro Elementary.

Previous posts: Zimmer Irate Over Reform Coalition Attacks, Analysis: Air War Vs. Boots On the Ground, Outside Spending Skyrockets, Reform Coalition Attacks Sanchez Opponents in District 6, Reformers Try to Match Union “Ground Game”

How Outside Spending Is Changing the Race to Represent Northeast San Fernando Valley Schools
Sanchez has been able to hire three paid staff members, had more than a dozen mailers go out on his behalf and was the subject of a commercial that aired during Lakers games. KPCC

Steve Zimmer and Kate Anderson Face off on AirTalk
Both candidates talk about where they stand on Deasy, why Zimmer does not agree with charter school expansion and Anderson is pushing for it, and if teacher evaluations can be tied to student performance.. KPCC

L.A. Unified, Other School Districts Seek New Measures of Success
Nine California school districts, including Los Angeles Unified, will apply to the U.S. Department of Education for relief from rules that, over time, have labeled most schools that receive federal funds as failing, officials announced Thursday. LA Times
See also: LA Daily News

Arne Duncan’s Education ‘Sequester’ Claims Questioned
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has long been seen as an administration asset. But this past week, he’s also been the chief spokesman for the White House claims about the potential impact of sequestration on education jobs. Now those estimates have run afoul of fact-checkers. EdWeek

California Students Leave Hundreds of Millions in Aid Untapped
Only about half of California’s high school seniors applied for federal and state financial aid last year — leaving hundreds of millions of dollars on the table, according to a report by Education Trust-West, an Oakland-based nonprofit advocacy group. LA Times

Los Angeles Parents Powerless as Candidates Ignore Abuse
Seven Los Angeles public school teachers and aides have been charged with molesting more than 50 children in just over a year, though you’d hardly know it from the campaigns for next week’s municipal election. Bloomberg

California Schools Earn Bronze When It Comes to Serving Healthy School Lunches
The results of the latest HealthierUS School Challenge for schools are in, and California schools didn’t do too badly. They didn’t do too well, either. KPCC

LAUSD Adding Security Aides to Boost Safety
Specially trained security aides are being added to all elementary school campuses in the Los Angeles Unified School District, and it’s all in an effort to boost school safety. ABC LA

Student Panel Offers Expert Advice to Lawmakers on Evaluating Schools
If the state wants an accurate accounting of how its schools are performing, it should find a way to include student input in its Academic Performance Index, said those perhaps closest to the issue – the students themselves – at a state hearing Wednesday. SI&A Cabinet Report

Jazz Day at 24th Street Elementary
The Los Angeles Jazz Society is hosting concerts at three LAUSD elementary schools as part of the Black History Month celebration. These concerts are a part of a larger initiative to bring jazz programs to public schools. South LA Intersections