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As the race for the open school board seat in聽Los Angeles officially heads to a runoff, frontrunner Jackie Goldberg has yet to break a sweat.

With ardent backing from the local teachers union, the 74-year-old former school board member nabbed 15,935 votes 鈥� 48.18 percent of the 33,074 total ballots聽聽鈥� in the March 5 primary election in L.A. Unified鈥檚 Board District 5. The county聽聽those tallies on Friday. Goldberg’s runoff opponent, district parent and former L.A. city official , clocked in far behind, with about 13 percent of the vote.

Even before Friday鈥檚 certification, Goldberg told LA School Report that she and her team were already prepping for a runoff, and sticking to the strategy and priorities that got her to where she is now. A prominent face of union support and charter school skepticism during January鈥檚 teacher strike, Goldberg mounted a primary campaign that nearly secured her the more than 50 percent majority vote required to win outright amid a pool of聽.

鈥淲e鈥檒l do what we鈥檝e always done, which is to run a campaign on why I think I鈥檓 the right person at this moment to help preserve and protect and promote appropriate funding of public education,鈥� said Goldberg, whose campaign has largely fixated on taxing the state鈥檚 wealth and strengthening oversight and transparency of charters. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 what we did in the primaries, and obviously it resonated with a lot of people.鈥�

Goldberg added on Monday that her campaign has 鈥減icked up additional endorsements, and people are calling up to say, 鈥楬ow can I help?鈥� So we鈥檙e off and running.鈥� Goldberg tweeted Tuesday that she had picked up the endorsement of Latino primary candidate聽, whom the Los Angeles Times had聽. United Teachers Los Angeles has spent about聽聽to support Goldberg’s election so far.

Though Goldberg is white and doesn鈥檛 speak Spanish 鈥� the board district鈥檚 enrollment is almost聽聽鈥斅爐he Silver Lake resident notes that she is not a 鈥渘ew resident鈥� in the district. She鈥檚 lived in L.A. Unified since the 1960s and taught in neighboring Compton for 16 years before serving as an L.A. Unified board member from 1983 to 1991. Goldberg then sat on the L.A. City Council from 1993 to 2000 before joining the state Assembly from late 2000 to 2006. She鈥檚 married to longtime partner Sharon Stricker and has one adopted son who attended school in L.A. Unified in the 1980s and early 鈥�90s. She has two grandchildren and five grand-nieces and -nephews attending district schools.

鈥淚鈥檝e got skin in this game,鈥� she said.

If elected in the May 14 runoff, Goldberg 鈥斅爓ho would swing the typically seven-member board toward a more聽聽agenda 鈥� would be seated as soon as the county certifies the results, which is tentatively slated for May 24, according to the county. The seat has been vacant since Ref Rodr铆guez, an education reformer and charter school founder, resigned in July after聽pleading guilty聽to political money laundering charges. The term runs through December 2020, though Goldberg told LA School Report in February that she could try to stay past then.

Up until Wednesday, there was a possibility that Huntington Park Councilwoman Graciela聽Ort铆z, whom Repenning narrowly beat by 31 votes for a spot in the runoff against Goldberg,聽would聽. Ort铆z聽 a recount on聽Wednesday.

A few weeks after LA School Report ran聽聽on Goldberg, we circled back for post-primary perspective on her priorities, her runoff strategy against Repenning and her views on student performance. Her answers have been edited for brevity and clarity.

Day 1 priorities

Q: If you鈥檙e elected, what would be your first-day priorities?

1. Per-pupil spending.聽鈥淥ne of the things we heard as I went around everywhere in this particular campaign was that some neighborhoods believe that even [in] L.A. Unified, they don鈥檛 get the same number of dollars per pupil as people who live in more affluent areas. So I want the district to do a study of the per-pupil expense given to each school to make sure that that鈥檚 either not true, or if it is true, that we fix it. Because that鈥檚 not what we鈥檙e supposed to be doing.鈥�

2. Budgeting.聽鈥淚鈥檓 going to sit down with the budget folks and tell them what I understand the budget to be and hear what they think it is, so that we can begin to reconcile some of the differences of opinion about what state the budget鈥檚 in.鈥�

Goldberg has said L.A. Unified鈥檚 current financial聽聽is an聽, stating that the district leans on 鈥渨orst-case scenario鈥� projections. While she doesn鈥檛 have explicit budget cuts in mind yet, she says she鈥檚 opposed to slashing administrative positions as a solution.

3. Charter school accountability.聽鈥淚 want to begin fairly quickly asking the charter office to tell me what they do鈥� when charter schools are 鈥渟hort by more than 50 percent for the number of students they said they would be serving. What do we do about that? Do we take money back from them?鈥�

About 34 of the 224 independent charter schools in 2017-18 鈥渕et or exceeded鈥� their enrollment targets, according to district data. It typically takes five years for new charters to reach enrollment goals, and California Charter Schools Association data show charter enrollment in L.A. Unified growing every year. Goldberg聽聽LA School Report last month that she isn鈥檛 proposing to close charter schools, but that there needs to be enhanced transparency and scrutiny 鈥� especially as the traditional public school system remains underfunded.

4. Social-emotional supports.聽鈥淚 want to take a good look at what schools have聽social-emotional programs聽going in Board District 5 鈥� whether or not we have social workers and psychiatric social workers.鈥�

Goldberg added that she鈥檚 already been talking with officials such as county Supervisor聽聽about additional supports. County supervisors in January OK鈥檇聽聽in funding for more mental health counselors in L.A. Unified鈥檚 schools.

5. Taxing the state鈥檚 wealth.聽鈥淚 want to begin talking with my friends and former colleagues in Sacramento about current year tax legislation possibilities, particularly around taxing the wealth of the wealthiest folks in California. 鈥� Rather than trying to tax their income 鈥� because mostly they don鈥檛 have income, they have holdings 鈥� I would want to put some kind of tax on their holdings and see if we get some authors [in the legislature] to do that.鈥�

Goldberg supports the聽聽tax referendum on the 2020 ballot, which would聽聽property taxes statewide on commercial and industrial properties.

6. School visits.聽鈥淚 want to begin to visit the schools, starting with those in the southeast first because I鈥檓 the least familiar with them. That鈥檚 really the best way to know what鈥檚 going on in the district 鈥� to get up out of your chair and go visit schools.鈥�

Goldberg said that in all of her past positions, she鈥檚 never represented the southeast part of Board District 5, known as BD5. The southeast is the poorer section of BD5. Student enrollment is almost entirely Latino, and all seven of the state鈥檚聽聽that are in BD5 are located there. It includes the cities of Huntington Park, Maywood, South Gate and Bell. Goldberg lives in Silver Lake, which is in the northern, more affluent part of BD5. Other northern cities in the board district are Highland Park, Echo Park, Eagle Rock and Los Feliz.

Goldberg is familiar with the southeast, however, 鈥渂ecause I taught in Compton, and that鈥檚 just south of [that area]. So it鈥檚 not a part of the county where I鈥檓 like, 鈥極h, where are they, I can鈥檛 find them.鈥� I feel comfortable there even though it is a new area for me to represent.鈥�

And one longer-term goal鈥�

7. Bolstering special education resources.聽鈥淚 want to take an in-depth look at how we are dealing with special education students. It鈥檚 near and dear to my own heart because of the difficulties my own son had getting what I thought was appropriate special needs services when he was in school [with ADHD] in L.A. Unified. 鈥� The complaints I鈥檓 getting [from parents] are that they don鈥檛 want the special education schools closed; that they鈥檙e聽. They don鈥檛 want their kids to be聽, but they鈥檙e being mainstreamed. A lot of them do not believe that鈥檚 in the best interest of their children, and they鈥檙e very upset about that. That鈥檚 what I do not know about, so I have to look into that more deeply.鈥�

础产辞耻迟听聽of students in BD5 require special education services.

Runoff strategy

Q: What is your runoff strategy, and is it different from your initial campaign strategy?

础:听鈥淚t鈥檚 not much different. We relied heavily on 鈥� canvassing and talking to people and meeting with people in their homes and emailing folks and answering specific questions every time we did a canvassing. We contact people to tell them that we think that this fight is about public education and the need to improve the funding of public education.鈥�

Goldberg said earlier this month that she had 800 volunteers while campaigning in the primaries, in part because of vast union and educator support.

Q: Why do you think you鈥檙e the better candidate than Repenning?

础:听鈥淲ell, for Heather there鈥檚 just the matter of a steep learning curve about education. If you were to ask me who would I go to if I had an issue with public works, it would be Heather, because she鈥檚 done that, knows it, she was vice president of the public works commission. She鈥檚 smart as a whip, and she鈥檒l learn. But I will tell you that from my own personal experience it was a good two years before I felt comfortable that I had any real idea what was going on at LAUSD the first time I was there, because there鈥檚 a lot to know in a district this size. And that鈥檚 really the advantage. I hit the ground running and she would have a large learning curve.鈥�

Q: What are the main criticisms of you that you expect to hear during the runoff campaign, and how would you respond?

A:聽During the primary campaign, SEIU Local 99 鈥斅燼 union聽representing education workers such as cafeteria staff聽that鈥檚 backing Repenning 鈥� 鈥渢alk[ed] about cuts that I鈥檝e made,鈥� she said, referencing the millions board members cut from the 1991-92 budget at the end of Goldberg鈥檚 tenure. 鈥淵es, I did, I made those cuts. But it doesn鈥檛 talk about the fact that we were in a deep recession when I made them, and it was that or take the district into bankruptcy.鈥�

She added: 鈥淭hey talk about how I doubled my salary鈥� during her fifth and sixth year on school board. 鈥淲ell, it went from $12,000 to $24,000 鈥� I ended up going into debt with my family that took me 16 years to get out of. But instead of saying, 鈥極h my god, for six years [she] was willing to work for $12,000 a year instead of the $34,000 [she] was making teaching鈥� 鈥� they attack me because I tried to raise the salary so someone other than the wealthy aristocracy鈥� could serve on the board. 鈥淚 know it鈥檚 going to happen. And it鈥檒l make me sad. But you just live with it.鈥�

Representing students

Q: How are students in BD5 performing? What鈥檚 at stake for them in this election?

础:听鈥淲hat happens is that the lower income the community, the more challenges there often are for kids who are in school. They aren鈥檛 any less intelligent than anyone else, and in fact in some ways they might be more intelligent because they鈥檙e figuring out how to survive in very desperate circumstances economically. But I do think that we have had probably 50 years of studies which show extreme聽聽between being very low income and not doing well in school because of those challenges that come from poverty. So because we have high levels of poverty in Board District 5, we鈥檝e got a lot of students who are not doing well.

鈥�We need to do a number of things to change that 鈥� the most important of which is to get to be $22,000 a year per kid in the schools,鈥� which is around what New York, home to the country鈥檚 largest school district,聽聽to educate students. 鈥淭hat will change things dramatically, because then you lower class sizes, then you provide additional teaching assistance, then you provide additional assistant principals so that you have more folks that are looking out for and observing and taking care of the instructional program. So you just need more money first.鈥�

Q: Do you understand the social, financial and cultural challenges of BD5 students?

A:聽鈥淚 pick a very diverse staff, and they will help me be informed on those things I know about and on the things that I don鈥檛 know anything about. It takes a good office to do things. I have an intellectual understanding of a great deal of the cultural issues of my board district, but I don鈥檛 have personal experience with it, so that鈥檚 what I need from other people. Basically, it鈥檚 about listening; that鈥檚 mostly what people have to do in public office.鈥�

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