Voters in L.A. Unified Board District 1 will decide between two candidates to replace board member George McKenna this November. Board District 1 (BD1) covers the majority of South L.A. and southwest L.A., abutting Beverly Hills, Culver City, and Inglewood. Candidates Sherlett Hendy Newbill and Kahllid Al-Alim advanced from the primary election in March, receiving 25 percent and 20 percent of the vote respectively.

The L.A. Unified Board oversees the Superintendent and the district’s $18 Billion budget. L.A. Unified is the second-largest school district in the country, with over 700,000 students and over 70,000 employees.

Two other board seats are up for grabs this election. Current board president Jackie Goldberg of BD5 also announced her retirement at the end of the year, and board member Scott Schmerelson of BD3 is facing a runoff election for his seat. With three seats in play, the balance of the board could shift dramatically. 

Kahllid Al-Alim is a community organizer and parent in L.A. Unified. He has served on the LAUSD Parent Advisory Committee and the LAUSD African American Education Taskforce and has organized to support the community schools initiative and the Black Student Achievement Plan (BSAP).

Among his priorities for BD1 are expanding and investing in BSAP and community schools, ethnic studies, the arts, and support systems for students, their families, and LAUSD staff. He also advocates for further divestment from the L.A. Unified Police Department and the development of community-based safety initiatives to dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline. 

“We need to do more to target our most marginalized students and staff,” Al-Alim told LAist. He wants to bolster support systems for LGBTQ+, immigrant, and unhoused students in the district and ensure that supports like BSAP are fully funded and thoroughly implemented. 

Neither candidate responded to Westside Voice’s multiple inquiries in recent weeks.

In 2022, Kahllid Al-Alim retweeted an image of “The Secret Relationship Between Blacks and Jews” published by the Nation of Islam. Al-Alim said the book should be “mandatory reading” for students. The first volume of the book contended that Jewish people controlled the Atlantic slave trade, a claim roundly rejected by historians. The book is widely regarded as antisemitic.

The post first came to light in late February. United Teachers Los Angeles (UTLA), who voted to endorse Al-Alim, rescinded their endorsement of him in March, calling his posts “offensive,” “unacceptable,” and “inconsistent with what [they] have seen of Kahllid as a decades-long organizer for education justice.”   

Al-Alim apologized for the post in a statement, saying “I was wrong. I have connected with educators and community members and have since learned about the issues. I fully rescind that post. It has no place in our schools.”

On his campaign website, which was only recently restored after being offline for some time, Al-Alim said he was opposed to all forms of “demagoguery, oppression, or terrorism towards any people.”

Al-Alim also encouraged voters to base their BD1 choice “on my platform and work, not on misrepresentation of character and political deceit.”

In response to the scandal, Sherlett Hendy Newbill told supporters “We have to keep Kahllid Al-Alim off the school board and away from our children,” according to the L.A. Times.

UTLA announced its endorsement of Al-Alim’s opponent, Sherlett Hendy Newbill two weeks ago, citing her dedication to keeping neighborhood schools open and mentorship to L.A. Unified students.

In recent history, UTLA endorsements consistently matched with candidates who eventually won their elections. Before UTLA rescinded its endorsement of Al-Alim, it had donated around $690,000 to his campaign. In the March primary, pro-charter groups funneled nearly $530,000 toward Didi Watts’s unsuccessful bid for the BD1 seat. The majority of spending on the BD1 race occurred during the primary. 

Hendy Newbill taught at Dorsey High for 25 years and served as a dean and a basketball coach there. She is an LAUSD parent and currently works as an education policy advisor for board member McKenna. She has his endorsement, along with board members Rocio Rivas, Jackie Goldberg, and Scott Schmerelson.

Unlike Al-Alim, Hendy Newbill did not support the board’s decision to remove police from L.A. Unified campuses in 2021, saying the decision should be made by schools. Though police are no longer permanent fixtures on school campuses, police are still responsible for responding to incidents and are stationed nearby.

Her stance on school police differs entirely from UTLA, which has consistently advocated against the policing and surveillance of L.A. Unified students. Before she was endorsed by UTLA earlier this month, Hendy Newbill claimed her position on school police was a large part of her not receiving the union’s endorsement.

Hendy Newbill also wants to bolster community schools and mental, emotional, and social support systems for L.A. Unified families. She wants to continue expanding resources for marginalized students through BSAP and special education services while encouraging student achievement across the board. 

She also wants the district to be more transparent with students and families about spending and policy. The lack of clarity around district budgeting decisions has been a consistent concern at L.A. Unified. 

Hendy Newbill has also received the endorsement of Mayor Karen Bass, Supervisor Holly Mitchell, and Parents Supporting Teachers.

Image is a Screen Shot of District 1