Independent expenditure groups are spending at record-setting levels on next month’s Los Angeles Unified School Board primary — which you could’ve probably guessed from all the ads filling your mailboxes.
And an unusual number of those mailers ask LAUSD voters to vote against a candidate, rather than for one.
So far this year, charter school proponents have spent more than $2 million on negative ads. For an LAUSD race, that number is insane. That’s more negative advertising than was purchased in the last three election cycles featuring these same LAUSD board seats ($1.7 million) — and we’re not even past the 2020 primary.
Most of that spending has been concentrated in LAUSD Board Districts 3 and 5, where charter advocates are trying to unseat incumbents backed by United Teachers Los Angeles. The teachers union hasn’t bought any negative advertising thus far, and generally hasn’t kept pace with charter proponents’ spending.