*Updated March 15 The top three finishers in L.A. Unified’s Board District 5 election retained their positions after Tuesday’s vote count, though the race for second place narrowed to only 35 votes. A runoff election on May 14 is now certain, as Jackie Goldberg is 596 votes shy of a majority and there are fewer than...

*Updated March 7 The Board District 5 special election in L.A. Unified is almost certainly headed to a runoff, with teachers union favorite Jackie Goldberg clinching just shy of half the votes while her future opponent remains undetermined. Goldberg, a former school board member and vocal charter critic, received 48.26 percent of the vote with...

On Tuesday, L.A. Unified’s Board District 5 will hold a special election to fill a school board seat that’s been vacant since last year, potentially determining whether the board swings more pro-reform or more pro-union. The board district’s students — who are nearly 90 percent Latino — haven’t had a representative since last July, when education reformer...

*Updated March 4 Tuesday is the special election to fill the school board seat in L.A. Unified’s Board District 5. The person elected will become part of the seven-member school board that decides on policies, budget and approval of charter schools in L.A. Unified, which is the largest school district in California and second-largest in...

Latinos make up almost 90 percent of enrollment in L.A. Unified’s Board District 5, which has some of the district’s neediest students and the state’s lowest-performing schools. But they most likely won’t be the ones electing their next representative to the school board. Next week’s special election for the vacant school board seat is expected to...

Parents whose children attend L.A. Unified schools in Board District 5, where voters will go to the polls next week to choose a new board member, hold widely varying views of their schools depending on the language they speak at home, according to a new survey. Nearly half of all Spanish-speaking respondents said their child’s...

*Updated Feb. 26 For public education firebrand Jackie Goldberg, next Tuesday’s special election to fill the vacant seat in L.A. Unified’s Board District 5 is a chance to block a pro-charter majority on the school board — and not just through 2020. Goldberg, who served on the school board from 1983 to 1991, told LA...

*Updated Feb. 19 Parents, students and community members were able to question the candidates running for L.A. Unified school board in District 5 at two separate forums last week, one led by parents and the second by students. High school students wanted their new representative to make sure they are better prepared for college, while...

*Updated Feb. 19: Board members voted down the resolution 4-2. Voting against it were George McKenna, Scott Schmerelson, Kelly Gonez and Richard Vladovic, who had co-sponsored the resolution.  The L.A. Unified school board will vote Tuesday on whether to get rid of a district policy that can force schools to hire “displaced” teachers — even if...

*Updated Feb. 13 The 10 candidates in the race for L.A. Unified’s vacant school board seat are in full swing participating in community forums and other public events as the March 5 special election approaches. The new board member for Board District 5 will represent about 100,000 students in some very different communities: from the...