“NOW MORE THAN EVER, we need dedicated public school educators on school boards,” says Victoria Chon, Fremont Unified District Teachers Association president and member of the Santa Clara County Board of Education.

Running for reelection this fall, Chon’s race is one of more than 2,000 school board elections statewide that will have significant impacts on our students and communities. The importance of these races to our public schools cannot be overstated — educators in Chino, Orange and Temecula (see page 26) organized and mobilized for the past two years to defend their students after decisions at the 2022 ballot box put extremists on their school boards.

CTA President David Goldberg commends members who serve as elected officials and those taking the leap for the first time this year. He says it’s up to all members to put in the work to elect fellow educators and union siblings to school boards and win for our students, families, communities and our very democracy.

“People trust us — showing up on their doorstep matters to them. Every one of us has a role to play,” Goldberg says. “We have to take these school board races seriously. Our opposition does. We all need to get stronger together. We cannot let them win.”

Meet a few of the CTA members running for election this fall and join the movement to win on election day. Visit cta.org/election to read about other members running for office and how you can be a part of our winning team on Election Day.

Karla Griego

United Teachers Los Angeles
Running for: Los Angeles Unified School Board
karlagriegoforschoolboard.com

Why are you running?
I was inspired to run because of my daughter Romy, who is an 11th grader at our local high school. I watched Romy grow as a student organizer and witnessed time and time again how the school board dismisses young people’s voices. I want to be a part of a school board that not only reflects the community that it serves but also listens, makes decisions and sets policy based on real community input.

What are your top priorities?
• Protecting and expanding programs that support our most marginalized students, such as the Black Student Achievement Plan and community schools;
• Building transparency and accountability around school budget development and charter schools;
• Expanding mental health support staffing and school-based safety programs that address the needs of our most vulnerable students including special education, LGBTQ+, and Black and brown students.

Why is it important to have educators on school boards?
As an educator that has been working in schools for 19 years in various positions, including special education, I understand the high levels of need of our students and their families. Working with pregnant and parenting teens has taught me about the unique and varied needs of our student population but also about the resiliency of our students and the communities that we serve. As a union representative, I have organized alongside thousands of educators who not only continue to fight to better their own working conditions, but also the learning conditions of their students. Understanding all these dynamics is essential when making decisions for such a large school district.

What does it mean to you to be part of the movement to protect and defend our public schools?
Public education has been under attack for decades through privatization and defunding, but now we are seeing attacks on our academic freedom and attacks on students’ rights from right-wing white supremacists. These attacks must be challenged on many fronts, including electing people who will not let homophobia, transphobia or anti-Black racism rule our school systems. We also have to continue to put forward a different vision for public schools, one that brings joy and transformative teaching and learning to the classroom so that our students may thrive and become powerful agents of change.

How important is the November election?
Local races impact our livelihood and those of our students more immediately and directly. They can determine to what extent the community, students and teachers are heard around the issues that matter to them the most. Furthermore, the networks that are built amongst locally elected leaders can have a powerful impact at the state and national level. I look forward to building coalitions to fight for public education at all levels.

For more information and updates, see our Election 2024 webpage at cta.org/election.

For a personalized list of CTA’s recommended candidates appearing on your ballot, visit cta.yourvoter.guide.