Jackie Goldberg wins LAUSD special election

LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- Following her special election win of the district five seat on the Los Angels Unified School District Board, veteran politician and educator Jackie Goldberg spent Wednesday morning meeting with students, teachers and school administrators at Micheltorena Elementary School in Silver Lake.

Goldberg talked about issues she wants to look into including the importance of language programs in school, class size, and the impact of Proposition 13 on education.

"We think that kids are important, not just some kids, but all our kids are important,'' Goldberg told reporters Wednesday morning. "And because all our kids are important we're going to spend a little bit more of our money to make sure that those children get what they need."

She is a former teacher who previously served on the LAUSD board and also on the Los Angeles City Council and in the state Legislature. With more than 70 percent of the vote, Goldberg handily defeated ex-teacher and mayoral aide Heather Repenning in Tuesday's special election.

Her seat had been vacant since last summer when Ref Rodriguez pleaded guilty to conspiracy and other charges for laundering campaign donations.

Goldberg's election completed a political shift on the seven-member board, which previously had a four-member majority perceived as supportive of private charter schools. It was that majority that helped spearhead the hiring of Austin Beutner, a businessman with no previous education experience, as superintendent.

City News Service contributed to this report.