LAUSD school board incumbent Schmerelson, was ahead with 51.86% over newcomer Dan Chang, at 48.14% in the latest election results on Tuesday, Nov. 12. Schmerelson, ahead by 8,725 votes, said he is not declaring victory over Chang, who said he is not conceding.
The two candidates are competing for a seat on LAUSD’s seven-member school board to represent District 3 in the West San Fernando Valley, covering areas from North Hollywood, Sherman Oaks, and Van Nuys to Canoga Park, Chatsworth, Woodland Hills, and West Hills.
“I’m cautiously optimistic,” Schmerelson said in a phone interview. “It’s been positive every single day with the presentation of the votes, but you have to wait for an answer.”
Chang said he planned to monitor the results “before making any final declarations.”
He added: “We ran hard and I think we brought real issues to the table.”
The seven LAUSD board members oversee the country’s second-largest school district, serving more than 538,000 students. LAUSD is also the second-largest employer in the county, with more than 74,000 teachers and staff.
The board members’ key responsibilities include hiring and dismissing the LAUSD superintendent and approving and determining the allocation of the district’s nearly $18 billion budget.
LAUSD board Member Scott Schmerelson talks with new students Kayla Madell, 5, and Annibell Kim,5, as they wait for the start of their class at Germain Academy in Chatsworth, CA, Monday, August 14, 2023. Monday was the first day of classes for the new year at LAUSD. (Photo by David Crane, Los Angeles Daily News/SCNG)
Schmerelson, born in Philadelphia, holds a B.A. in foreign language education from Temple University in Pennsylvania. He served as assistant principal at Griffith Middle School in East Los Angeles for five years and then as principal at Lawrence Middle School in Chatsworth for five years.
Chang is a middle school math teacher with degrees from UC Berkeley and the UCLA Anderson School of Management. A father of three LAUSD students, he teaches at James Madison Middle School in North Hollywood. In 2012, he co-founded the Los Angeles Fund for Public Education, collaborating with artists to support arts programs within LAUSD.
Several weeks before the elections, Chang wrote an op-ed in the Daily News, saying that LAUSD misallocated $81,954 designated for an elementary school in the San Fernando Valley. Due to this alleged misappropriation, Chang argued, the school was deprived of three additional arts teachers on its campus.
Proposition 28, approved by voters in 2022 and created by former Los Angeles schools Superintendent Austin Beutner, was intended to support arts education in California’s K-12 schools, including music, theater, dance, and other arts programs.
LAUSD school board candidate Dan Chang (Photo by Terence Patrick)
However, Beutner stated in a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom, LAUSD district officials redirected the funding and, instead of enhancing arts programs, allocated it for other uses.
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In the op-ed, Chang alleged that similar misallocation occurred at other elementary schools throughout Los Angeles, while LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho and board members overlooked the problem.
In response to Beutner and Chang’s claims, Schmerelson stated that he recently discussed the alleged misappropriation of arts program funds with LAUSD’s inspector general. He added that Carvalho agreed to conduct an independent audit of Prop. 28 funds.
Schmerelson said that the audit results are expected at the beginning of next year.