With one in five students in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD) area already enrolled in a charter school, it’s fair to say that Los Angeles schools are under serious threat of privatization.

Thankfully, Los Angeles also has the largest school district of its size in which school board members are elected by voters, rather than appointed by a mayor or city council. Consequently public education advocates in LA are heavily focused on school board elections to halt the creep of charters. This year they’ve put up two candidates with a strong pro-public education agenda and the backing of the teachers’ union United Teachers of Los Angeles (UTLA): Kahllid Al-Alim and Karla Griego, running for BD 1 and BD 5 respectively.

Al-Alim and Griego’s campaigns won’t be a cakewalk. Pro-privatization forces also have their sights set on the school board, with billionaires shoveling money into past school board races to get their candidates get a seat at the table. It’s no mystery why: the school board oversees big-picture decisions like approving the budget, setting curricula, and deciding the general direction of the district. It’s in charge of approving, or rejecting, new charter petitions and renewals in the city. It’s therefore no exaggeration to say that the future of public education in Los Angeles hinges on the outcome of school board elections.