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Los Angeles Unified board meeting, Sep 15, 2026

2 videos · 62 public speakers

School closures ▶ 5:44Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 5:17Enrollment ▶ 5:17Safety, weapons and police ▶ 4:56:54Vouchers and school choice ▶ 2:15:47
Meeting video · district archiveLos Angeles UnifiedSep 15, 2026Watch on the district’s video site ↗Opens in a new tab; skip to 0:00

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
  2. Scott SchmerelsonBoard President
  3. Karla GriegoBoard Member
  4. Tanya Ortiz FranklinBoard Member
  5. Nick MelvoinBoard Member
  6. Kelly GonezBoard Member
  7. Sherlett Hendy NewbillBoard Member
  8. Rocio RivasBoard Vice President
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Los Angeles Unified board approves bond funds for 50 electric school buses 1:30:06

  • The board voted unanimously on the use of bond program funds to support the purchase of 50 electric school buses. 1:30:06
  • The board heard a presentation on the district's unaudited actuals, in which a presenter reported an operating deficit of over $1.1 billion in the unrestricted general fund and a projected positive unassigned ending balance of $5 million by the end of the 3rd year. 2:30:05
  • On procurement actions, a staff member said an amendment to postpone Item E passed and later said Item G passed. 6:47:33
  • The board passed one item with 5 ayes, 1 absent and 1 no, and board members voted yes on a motion to postpone another item until discussion at an upcoming board workshop and a vote at the October meeting. 7:35:32

Until Nov 4, lines where a board member takes a side don't name the member. Why →

Item by item (15)
  1. Opening and roll call 0:00
    • A staff member took roll and opened the regular meeting of the Board of Education at 10:18 AM on September 15th, 2026. 0:00
    • The meeting included the Pledge of Allegiance and a land acknowledgment. 0:26
  2. Labor partner comments 5:01
    • A speaker for UTLA said the union was open to conversations but skeptical that restructuring and consolidations would save money, and said the union was relieved a planning contract was removed from the agenda. 5:17
    • Speakers with SEIU described being laid off as restricted employees and asked the district to bring workers back. 20:57
    • A speaker said over 2,000 employees who had been with the district for more than 6 months had not received their evaluation. 31:30
  3. Committee and superintendent reports 35:25
    • Karla Griego reported on the Special Education Committee and the Curriculum and Instruction Committee. 35:40
    • The superintendent described the Stronger Schools Together initiative and said a contract for campus utilization and consolidation review services was no longer before the board. 38:28
    • The superintendent recognized two district high schools ranked by U.S. News and World Report and invited the schools' principals to share slides. 38:28
  4. Consent calendar review 1:27:26
    • A staff member read through the agenda items and noted which would be on consent and which were pulled for questions or discussion. 1:29:03
    • The staff member said items marked for discussion or questions were pulled off consent for a separate vote. 1:36:02
  5. Bond funds for electric school buses 1:36:17
    • The chair of the Bond Oversight Committee raised concerns about the buses' range, charging infrastructure and cost, noting the $25 million project is 80% subsidized by the EPA. 1:37:08
    • The chief procurement officer said there was currently no charging agreement with LA Metro but that conversations were ongoing. 1:43:14
    • A staff member said the grants require the district to decommission diesel buses. 1:51:43
    • A staff member announced that the vote was unanimous. 1:57:23
  6. Charter school renewal public hearing 1:57:23
    • The board held a public hearing on renewal petitions for several charter schools. 1:57:23
    • Speakers at public comment asked the board to support renewal of their schools. 1:59:49
    • A staff member said the board would act on the charter petitions at a subsequent meeting. 2:30:05
  7. Unaudited actuals financial report 2:30:05
    • The chief financial officer said the county had conditionally approved the district's budget and that enrollment as of week 5 was about 2,300 students lower than projected. 2:30:05
    • Kelly Gonez asked when final enrollment figures would be known, and a staff member said validation typically takes about 2 to 3 weeks. 3:18:11
  8. Latino Heritage Month resolution 4:45:47
    • A sponsor of the resolution said it reaffirms the district's commitment to ethnic studies, bilingual education and support for multilingual learners. 4:46:36
    • Students presented poetry as part of the item. 4:49:21
    • A board member proposed adding language recognizing Belize, which the sponsors accepted as a friendly amendment. 4:59:36
  9. General public comment 5:23:16
    • Several speakers at public comment asked the board to protect funding for the Black Student Achievement Plan and mental health staff and to cut the school police budget. 5:24:45
    • Speakers at public comment raised concerns about artificial turf at Eagle Rock High School and about spending on technology contracts. 5:39:02
  10. Personnel actions and seismic projects 6:11:51
    • A staff member said a hiring fair drew 77 applicants for 47 vacancies and that 9 people received offers. 6:14:31
    • A staff member read salaries for an educational transformation officer at $275,400 and a chief information officer at $280,377.36. 6:20:00
    • Nick Melvoin asked about state reimbursement for seismic modernization projects totaling around $323 million in bond dollars. 6:23:38
  11. Procurement actions 6:28:31
    • A staff member said one contract under the procurement item, Item I, had been totally withdrawn. 6:28:31
    • One board member said the board received new materials the day before showing nearly $100 million more expensive contracts, with one contract going from $351 million to $447 million, and said they would vote no on items G and H. 6:32:05
    • The board voted to postpone Item E, a technology contract item, until receipt of an audit of tech contracts. 6:46:52
    • A staff member said Item G did not pass and Item H passed, and a staff member later said Item G passed. 7:11:58
  12. Facilities contracts and athletic field 7:12:36
    • Speakers at public comment asked the board not to ratify the artificial turf contract at Eagle Rock Junior Senior High School. 7:13:28
    • A staff member said switching to natural grass would require redesign and rebidding and cause about a year and a half delay. 7:22:12
    • One board member said they felt very strongly about natural turf, would vote no and could not vote for artificial turf. 7:27:14
    • A staff member announced 5 ayes, 1 absent and 1 no, and said the item passed. 7:35:32
  13. Textbook resolution and contract capacity 7:35:32
    • The board took up a textbooks and instructional materials certification resolution and a request for increased aggregate contract capacity. 7:35:32
    • Scott Schmerelson introduced a resolution recognizing the work of the district's pupil services and attendance counselors. 7:51:13
    • The board recessed until 9:00 a.m. the next day with Tabs 18 and 19 remaining. 8:03:56
  14. Community school parks resolution 8:08:17
    • The resolution's sponsor said Los Angeles ranks 93rd among 100 largest cities in park space and asked the board to work with the city to open more school playgrounds on evenings and weekends. 8:08:43
    • The sponsor accepted a friendly amendment adding the word collaboratively to the resolution. 8:23:24
  15. Initial bargaining proposals 8:26:13
    • A board member moved to strike a proposal allowing variance of class sizes and norm positions during fiscal crisis. 8:34:35
    • The superintendent said the proposal was about optionality and that changes would be negotiated with labor. 8:42:13
    • The board then voted on a motion to postpone the item until discussion at the upcoming board workshop and a vote at the October meeting. 8:53:16
    • After a roll call on the motion to strike line K, a staff member said the board was now back to the underlying item, unchanged. 8:51:39

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Board of Education Meeting”