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After what she called a challenging campaign, Heather Repenning 鈥� an L.A. Unified parent and former mayoral aide 鈥� is 鈥渙ptimistic鈥� she will defeat frontrunner Jackie Goldberg in the May runoff for the District 5 school board seat.

鈥淚 want to be a fighter, especially for the kids that are the underdog in the system. Along with my own daughter, they鈥檙e the ones I鈥檓 running for.鈥�

The Los Angeles County Clerk on Friday听听the results of the primary election, which put Repenning in second place out of 10 candidates. She squeaked into the runoff by 31 votes, over Huntington Park Councilwoman Graciela Ort铆z. Repenning had 13 percent of the votes, while Goldberg, a former District 5 board member and a longtime politician, captured 48 percent.

鈥淢y opponent had a big advantage in the primary. I think the strike really gave her an advantage,鈥� Repenning said about Goldberg, who was a prominent face of the teachers union during January鈥檚 strike. 鈥淣onetheless, she didn鈥檛 get the 50 percent, so here we are.鈥�

While Ort铆z could have called for a recount, Repenning has been effectively campaigning against Goldberg since March 15 when Repenning declared she would make the runoff. But on Wednesday, Ort铆z told LA School Report that .

The winner of the May 14 runoff will become the seventh member of the board, where power currently swings between board members elected with the support of education reformers and charter school backers and those elected with teachers union money and muscle.

Repenning, 44, vows to be a 鈥渃oalition builder鈥� on the board, where she says there鈥檚 an 鈥渙ngoing battle鈥� for control. She reiterated to LA School Report on Friday that she won鈥檛 take contributions from charter school operators.

鈥淚 will continue building my coalition. And I鈥檓 just going to continue moving forward with my message of the importance of having someone who reflects [parents鈥橾 needs, bringing a perspective of what are the changes that are going to most help our students right now.鈥�

In an hour-long interview earlier this month in a听coffee shop in Silver Lake near her home and in follow-up conversations and emails, Repenning outlined her qualifications for the job and her priorities for the district.

Background

If Repenning wins, she would be the only board member with a child in the school district.

Her daughter is in second grade at Ivanhoe Elementary, their neighborhood school in Silver Lake, in the northern section of District 5. The district, known as BD5, includes wealthier and whiter communities north of downtown as well as predominantly poor and Latino areas of southeast L.A.

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Repenning, who is divorced, has lived in the neighborhood since she moved to Southern California in 2001 for graduate school.

She was born in Kentucky and moved to Florida at age 10. She learned the importance of public education through her mother, who taught second grade in a Cincinnati school 鈥� across the state line from Kentucky 鈥� where the majority of students were African-American. 鈥淪he was always very focused on my education,鈥� Repenning said of her mother, a single mom.

Repenning attended public schools, including a magnet school in Florida for middle and high school. 鈥淚 was very lucky I had a world-class education.鈥� In her magnet school, 鈥淲e all went to college, there was no question about it, and that鈥檚 what I want for my daughter and for all LAUSD students.鈥� She graduated from Swarthmore College with a degree in literature and has a master鈥檚 degree in comparative literature from the University of California, Irvine. Before beginning her career in the public sector, she taught at L.A. City College and at a bilingual school in Honduras. She speaks Spanish and French.

Repenning has spent nearly two decades with the City of Los Angeles, working closely with Mayor Eric Garcetti in various roles including as political director on his 2013 campaign, director of external affairs and vice president of the Board of Public Works, which she resigned from when she announced her candidacy last year. She also worked with L.A. Unified helping organize parents and other stakeholders around the building of new schools, including those at the Robert F. Kennedy Community Schools site.

鈥淧ublic education is not theoretical to me, is not an idea or concept,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 working with the system every day and that will be true for the next 10 years of my life and my daughter鈥檚 life until she, hopefully, walks across the stage and receives her LAUSD [high school] diploma.鈥�

https://twitter.com/heather4lausd/status/1104426924628107265

Major supporters

During the primary campaign, Repenning鈥檚 top supporters were the mayor and the education workers鈥� union. SEIU Local 99 represents 30,000 custodians, cafeteria workers, special education assistants, bus drivers and other school workers at L.A. Unified 鈥� about the same number of members in the teachers union, United Teachers Los Angeles, which backs Goldberg. Nearly half of SEIU Local 99 members are also parents or guardians of school-aged children.

听has spent nearly $1 million to support Repenning so far. In the primary, Repenning was the听strongest fundraiser, with听听in direct campaign contributions.

On the day of the primary election, philanthropist Eli Broad made a $100,000听听to an SEIU Local 99 political action committee backing Repenning, the Los Angeles Times reported. Broad鈥檚 foundation has funded reform-minded board candidates and supports charter schools.

When asked about the donation, Repenning said it was made through an independent campaign on her behalf. 鈥淚 can鈥檛 communicate or coordinate with them. I built a really big, strong coalition of diverse kinds of people from every corner of this district, and I鈥檓 going to continue broadening and diversifying my coalition. I think it is a reflection of the type of leadership I鈥檒l bring to the district.鈥�

But she also made clear that in terms of her own campaign, 鈥淚鈥檓 still not going to accept contributions from charter school operators. My rule of thumb would be not to accept and return those because being in a position of having to vote on authorizing or renewing those, I think it would be cleaner. That has been my perspective, and I鈥檓 going to maintain that in the runoff.鈥�

She has positioned herself as a centrist candidate 鈥� pursuing neither charter backers鈥� nor teachers unions鈥� support. UTLA pushed for Goldberg to be appointed to the BD5 seat last August after it was left open when Ref Rodr铆guez resigned after听pleading guilty听to political money laundering charges.

The board听听the proposal to appoint Goldberg, which was introduced by board member Scott Schmerelson in August, after pressure from the community, particularly Latino parents from the southeast section of BD5.

搁别辫别苍苍颈苍驳鈥檚听听also include the United Firefighters of Los Angeles City Local 112 and at least a dozen other local unions, as well as the National Women鈥檚 Political Caucus LA Metro, the Los Angeles County Young Democrats and local and state elected officials. On Wednesday, days after Repenning officially made it to the runoff, Eduardo Cisneros, director of the National Census Program for NALEO Educational Fund and a former field director for Yolie Flores when she was an L.A. Unified school board member, announced his endorsement for Repenning through his Twitter account. Cisneros was also one of the 17 initial candidates in the BD5 race, but he withdrew in November.

Priorities

Repenning says she looks at basic priorities that the district needs to address 鈥渘ow鈥� from a parent perspective.

鈥淭he job itself isn鈥檛 easy,听but we need strong advocates who are going to fight for our kids on the board of education, and that鈥檚 what I will do. I believe I鈥檓 the best person to do the听job. I believe in our kids, I believe in their potential. My priorities will tell you how different I am from my opponent.鈥�

1. Afterschool programs.听鈥淚鈥檓 a working mom, my daughter started daycare at听nine months. I鈥檝e always worked. My daughter is at school until 5:30 or 6 every day. It鈥檚 important to me that we have, across all of our campuses, some type of academic support for students like homework assistance. Working families, we don鈥檛 always have the chance to help our kids after a long day of work. There are a lot of parents who are not necessarily prepared to support their kids [with homework]. To me, the learning doesn鈥檛 stop on minimum days, after school. I think whether it is with teaching assistants or reaching out to universities that are training our future teachers, we should have a program across all LAUSD, all ages.鈥�

2. Dynamic school communities.听鈥淚 think schools should be very trusted places in our communities. Eighty percent of our families are living at or near the poverty line, so there are a lot of things that we can do to help them, both the students and their families, at the school site, with the right partnerships. I believe that because of my background working with other agencies, I think I鈥檓 a very strong person to be able to organize and put those services together and make it work.鈥�

3. Early education.听鈥淭here鈥檚 a lot of money on the table for that right now from the state, and daycare and preschool are听very expensive. At the same time, we want our kids to be ready for kindergarten. We want our kids to start kindergarten ready to learn from day one. I see early education as a way to support working families but more than that to support students鈥� readiness as a way to address students鈥� achievement gaps. I would want our kids to come to our schools being bilingual starting from kindergarten. Bilingualism for me is very important.鈥�

4. College readiness.听鈥淚 think the LAUSD leaders should be advocates for affordable and accessible higher education. It鈥檚 expensive and it鈥檚 daunting, and we need to make sure that our students have the support that they need so they can get into higher education. The basic things are increasing access to counselors, increasing the support for students to fill out their FAFSA forms. Even earlier than that, I think there鈥檚 a shift that needs to happen. We need to start signaling to students at a much earlier age that, 鈥楬ey, you鈥檙e going to college.鈥� Students need to be seen not just as future college graduates but as future leaders. One of the most important jobs for a school board member is setting those high expectations. I believe in high expectations, the same expectations I have for my daughter. I have those expectations for every child at LAUSD.鈥�

5. Parent engagement.听鈥淎s a parent, we have so much work to do on parent engagement. Everything from making board meetings more accessible to giving parents more information on how schools are doing when they are trying to decide, choosing, where to send your child to school. I think we can take the听听and add more to it. I think the English and math proficiency scores don鈥檛 always tell the full picture. Data and information is a really import piece of accountability. The more information that we鈥檙e able to share, the more it empowers parents. At the end of the day, the more engaged they are, the more they can hold schools accountable, the better for the school system. I do think having real parent engagement is not something you turn around overnight, but you need to find ways to reach our parents, particularly at the middle and high school level.鈥�

6. Climate change.听鈥淟AUSD needs to be really thinking about climate change and how our campuses can help. Addressing the environment is actually important for our kids. It鈥檚 kind of a secondary area that is very important to me. It鈥檚 something I can bring a unique set of skills to because of the job I have done at the city.鈥�

7. Supporting principals.听鈥淲e all know that a very strong principal makes a really huge difference in a school. I think this is an area where we should target investment, really supporting our principals and administrators. A lot of them come out of teaching, they made their way up and principals are running major organizations that are LAUSD schools. We have to make sure they have access to the support and training that they need because I think that is an impactful way to improve the quality of our schools.鈥�

8. Testing.听鈥淚 think about the question of are we overtesting.听I鈥檓 going to look into the question of whether the assessments are working, how are they working? What are we doing with our assessments, is there a way to bring more qualitative [testing] versus standardized testing into the picture? And I think about what are we doing with those assessments, how are we making sure that we鈥檙e following up with the students. How are we making the results transparent to parents and making clear what the follow-up is when you see that students are not performing at the level that they should be.鈥�

9. Career readiness.听鈥淎s a parent, I think a lot about how are students spending their time, and I think about the key questions about what are we preparing our students for. What are the skills and the knowledge we want them to have when their time with us is over. How are we organizing their school day to match up with our goals for them. What are the careers we鈥檙e getting them ready for. I think LAUSD leaders should be able to look ahead to what the workplace of the future looks like, what are the growing career sectors and be able to point our kids in those directions. I think one area of opportunities is teaching. There鈥檚 a teachers shortage, and I think 鈥� how do we look at LAUSD students as future LAUSD teachers and [workers] in the city as well. We鈥檙e going to lose up to 40 percent of our city workforce in the next five to 10 years due to retirements. City jobs are incredible jobs, and I think 鈥� how can we look at those opportunities.鈥�

https://twitter.com/heather4lausd/status/1107704691675136000

Repenning leans heavily on her role as 鈥渁 coalition builder and my ability to work with different stakeholders and build coalitions鈥� 鈥� something she sees as 鈥渁 really important thing on that board right now. My campaign is not directed听at the ongoing battle for which side retains the control of the board of education. I don鈥檛 think that work is particularly beneficial to students. I think there are two sides, both of which represent their members. Sometimes what they鈥檙e doing coincidentally also represent the students, but they鈥檙e representing their members 鈥� that鈥檚 it. So we need people on the board who are focused on the work at hand, on what can be achieved right now, who understand the day-to-day realities of students and their families, who work trying to figure听the system out. It鈥檚 messy, it鈥檚 not black and white, we need someone who can figure it out.鈥�

The BD5 board member represents more than 81,000 students enrolled in 177 traditional schools, as well as nearly 15,500 charter school students, according to the California Charter Schools Association. Those students attend 32 independent charter schools. Because some of those schools are on multiple campuses, that brings the number of charter sites in BD5 to 41, a district spokesperson said.

Other school choice programs in BD5 that are run by the district include 38 magnet programs and 32 dual language programs. There are no affiliated charters 鈥� which are district-run schools with some autonomies 鈥� in BD5.

While Repenning has not been as direct a critic of charter schools as Goldberg has been during the primary campaign, Repenning said she 鈥渨ould have supported the resolution鈥� that the school board approved in January calling for a听听on new charters. Goldberg also said she supported the moratorium.

鈥淭he resolution itself is symbolic. The school board doesn鈥檛 have a lot of oversight. All of the rules are set by the state, so the district currently doesn鈥檛 have the ability to put a moratorium on charter schools. They can ask the state to look at it, which they did,鈥� Repenning said.

鈥淭o me, I see charter schools as, they are part of our system. One in five families, students are part of the charter community, and the way I look at it is that some of them are not performing. I was very disappointed to see nine charter schools on the听听that the state put up. If you鈥檙e going to get public money, that鈥檚 a huge responsibility; you need to be doing much better than us or else I don鈥檛 see the point of renewing, so that鈥檚 a concern. We know there are some that are doing a really good job. And some of them have been around for many years, so I think, is there a way to acknowledge the work and learn from them. I mean, the whole point was to create these laboratories that we learn from. Then, I see transparency 鈥� they are spending public money, I believe that we need transparency over how those funds are being spent.鈥�

鈥檚 position on charters closely aligns with that of UTLA. She told LA School Report that she isn鈥檛 proposing to close charter schools but claims they鈥檝e become a privatization scheme at the hands of billionaires that demands enhanced transparency and scrutiny 鈥� especially as the traditional public school system remains underfunded.

鈥淚鈥檓 concerned about some of the rhetoric right now,鈥� Repenning said, and 鈥渢he impact that has on parents and students in charter schools. My opponent said something on Sunday about how she would never send her child to a charter school. She said their parents were harming other children in deciding to send them to charter schools. I feel that parents are not to blame for any of this. We鈥檙e all doing our job, which is trying to find the best school for our kids, and LAUSD needs to do its job.鈥�

Latino representation

District 5 has the second-highest concentration of听听in L.A. Unified. Latinos make up almost 90 percent of enrollment in L.A. Unified鈥檚 Board District 5, which has some of the district鈥檚 neediest students and the state鈥檚 lowest-performing schools, particularly in the southeast section of the district, where many students are children of immigrants.

In the past 24 years, only two Latinos have occupied the BD5 board seat: Rodr铆guez, who was elected in 2015 and served as president of the board before resigning last year, and Yolie Flores in 2007.听Flores was vice president of the board for three years of her four-year term.

鈥淚鈥檝e lived in Board District 5 for 18 years, pretty much since I first moved to L.A. I understand the importance of representation,鈥� Repenning said. 鈥淲hile I am who I am, I can represent the things they most care about and that students need.

鈥淥ne core value that I share as well is that we have to invest in those schools that are serving a higher-needs population of kids. I believe in my ability to support immigrant parents, first of all on immigration policies. When I was at the city, I oversaw the office of immigrant affairs. I鈥檝e personally been involved, I understand DACA, TPS, I understand drivers licenses, I understand how vulnerable parents are right now. I believe schools are very, very important places to communicate about a variety of things, not just about a child鈥檚 education. [I understand] parents who may otherwise be nervous to access government services in the climate we are in. I believe in my ability to support immigrant parents and fight for the education that they deserve for their kids.鈥�

Repenning also said she believes in boosting bilingual programs in early education to support English learners whose first language is Spanish and that parent engagement 鈥渘eeds to be done in Spanish. It needs to be done in person.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 very, very important for me to speak Spanish. I think is very important that we support those kids who come to our schools speaking Spanish and not override their Spanish but preserve it, so they can actually come into kindergarten [being] bilingual.

鈥淕iven that the majority of BD5 students are Latinx, I think that as a parent who works hard so that my child can have the opportunities that come with a good education, I can directly relate to BD5 parents who share these values.鈥�

Goldberg has the support of prominent Latino political figures such as L.A. County Supervisor and former U.S. secretary of labor Hilda Sol铆s and iconic Latina activist Dolores Huerta.

Repenning was endorsed by the听, an organization that advocates for policies and legislation that benefit the Latino community in Los Angeles.

Alex Toruno, its president, said in an interview that Repenning 鈥渉as proven to be a problem solver, her experience is relevant to fix many of the issues LAUSD is currently facing.鈥�

Toruno said that as a first-generation Latino and graduate student at UCLA, 鈥淚 understand the importance of Latinos having access to high-quality early education and college readiness, and she [Repenning] has really addressed that as a priority in her vision.鈥� He also said Repenning showed that she cares for the social-emotional needs of students and recognized how poverty affects their learning.

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LAUSD鈥檚 Finances

听听of L.A. Unified鈥檚 finances and budget听reviews听by the district鈥檚听听have pointed to significant听听and ballooning health care and pension costs that will听听within three years. The district鈥檚 budget relies on new funding sources that are not guaranteed: projected revenue from Gov. Gavin Newsom鈥檚听听and local initiatives like a parcel tax, which will be听听this June.

The county could even听听of the district鈥檚 finances if officials are not satisfied with its updated听听presented last week and its ability to maintain reserve levels.

Goldberg and the teachers union have听听the district鈥檚 and county鈥檚 assessments of L.A. Unified鈥檚 financial stability. But Repenning affirmed that 鈥渢here are some really big challenges on the horizon,鈥� adding that 鈥渋t serves no one to turn a blind eye to the very real financial issues LAUSD is facing. First, we need more support for our schools from both Washington and Sacramento and for all of us to put aside political differences to ensure we pass Measure EE this June,鈥� she said, referring to the proposed parcel tax.

鈥淏ut we also need to take a serious look at eliminating redundancy and waste in our bureaucracy and how we can push existing resources out of the central office and back into the community. Finally, we need to be creative and think about how we can utilize existing local, county and nonprofit resources to supplement the district鈥檚 efforts in serving our kids.鈥�

She said she plans to bring change by moving 鈥渂ureaucracy out of the way.鈥�

鈥淚 do think that there are areas inside the bureaucracy where we can look to push out resources to the school sites. I鈥檇 love to create a program where everyone at Beaudry or at the local districts spends one day a month or maybe more working at a school site. Because a school site is at the core of what we鈥檙e doing, that鈥檚 where our focus should be.

鈥淲hether there are areas of waste, I think it鈥檚 important to be able to highlight those and be able to address them. One of the areas I see is that there are a lot of lawsuits being settled, a lot of payouts for whatever happened. It should have never happened in the first place, so [we need to be] trying to prevent that with better HR practices.鈥�

Repenning said,听鈥淚鈥檒l continue to emphasize the need to write a new chapter of change at LAUSD,鈥� emphasizing again that听she is in the race because 鈥渢here鈥檚 nothing more important to me than my daughter鈥檚 education. The things I want to change, they鈥檙e basic things I see through the lens of a parent and through my daily experience in LAUSD.鈥�

That vision includes not just students in District 5 but all district students, she said.

鈥淭here鈥檚 a huge amount of work in front of us. I plan to focus on what鈥檚 achievable now to move the needle to benefit our kids.听My goal is to make LAUSD a school system that works for every student.鈥�

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