What do YOU want to hear from the candidates?
We’re asking Inglewood voters to tell us what matters most to them ahead of November’s election. Take our survey to help shape our coverage and the questions we’ll be asking the candidates for mayor, city council and school board.
On Nov. 3, Inglewood locals will elect new Inglewood Board of Education trustees in what may be the most pivotal race in district history.
The Inglewood Unified School District has been under state control since 2012, which left the school board with no voting power. Since then, all decisions have been approved by an administrator appointed by LA county and the state.
However, the district is expected to exit state control in 2027, meaning the board could regain voting power.
Two candidates are running in Trustee Area 1:
Two candidates are running in Trustee Area 2:
And, two candidates are running in Trustee Area 3:
The LA Local asked all six candidates to fill out questionnaires for this guide.
Joyce L. Randall
About the candidate for Trustee Area 1: Joyce L. Randall is the elected Trustee for the Inglewood Unified School District, Trustee Area 1. Joyce is a long time educator, community advocate, and ordained clergy. She previously taught biology in the Inglewood Unified School District and currently teaches health in the Los Angeles Unified School District. Joyce served as the PTSA Council president and grievance chair of the Inglewood Teachers Association. She earned degrees from UCLA and Cal State LA. She completed a civic engagement certificate at USC’s Cecil Murray Civic Engagement Center and is pursuing a doctoral studies degree in Organizational Leadership and Learning Technologies at Pepperdine University. She brings both classroom and governance experience to her commitment to students, families, employees, and the Inglewood Community, restoring confidence in our school system. She wants to create excellent neighborhood schools that families choose, employees are proud to serve in, students are excited to attend, and the community can be proud of.
The district could regain local control within the next year. What will your top priorities be if the Board of Education regains voting power?
I will focus on maintaining and improving student achievement, financial responsibility, and rebuilding trust with transparency. Support students, teachers and staff with tools to be successful. Making sure we are delivering the services outlined in students’ IEPs (Individualized Education Plan). Engage parents and the community in transparent and meaningful ways with content that is easily understood. Clear communication outlining district finances and exactly how money is spent is a great way to engage the community. Education on previous bond issues to answer all lingering questions. As a Board Member with a voice I will hold Town Hall meetings and include the community in the decision making and value their input as stakeholders. As a board member I will be able to speak and provide opportunities for residents, parents, employees, students, and the community partners to participate in shaping the future of IUSD. Local control means more than restoring voting authority, to me it means restoring full confidence in our schools.
How will you ensure campuses across Inglewood Unified School District are safe?
Every child deserves to enter a safe environment on a daily basis. I will focus on making sure all
staff has been well trained on opportunities to identify safety concerns. All staff, inclusive of
parents, teachers, classified employees, administrators, and students need to be trained on
what unsafe looks like and how to respond. Physical safety, emotional health, dignity, and
opportunities to learn are all basic human rights. Education is compulsory. Safety is compulsory
as well in our school environment. Cameras installed with constant and consistent monitoring.
Bathrooms monitored at all times. Proper supervision when students gather is an absolute
must. Students must be encouraged to not remain silent. See something, say something. Safety
boxes, available in strategic and visible places where students can leave notes expressing
concerns about their safety are other ways to communicate. Incentives for students caught
being kind and excellent ways to promote school safety. Identifying concerns before they
escalate, means using systems that are known to all stakeholders, at the school. Students who
require intervention and additional support need to be supported as well.
What would your priorities be for spending the district’s money?
I would include residents who deserve full transparency on how money is spent. Every dollar
should be connected to improving opportunities and outcomes for student achievement. My
priorities would always include classroom instruction, improving the metrics on test scores,
maintaining qualified teachers and staff, and supporting special education students. I would
support mental health, social-emotional supports, technology, career and college readiness,
trade schools, and safe facilities. I would support programs that attract students and retain
families in IUSD. I would support spending on modern, safe; state of the art schools that would
attract families to bring their students back to IUSD. I would provide learning environments
worthy of our children and staff. I would support fiscal responsibility with regular review of
expenditures, measurable outcomes, public reporting, and careful oversight of contracts. Our
budget represents our priorities and students must remain at the center of every spending
Decision.
If you win, what else will you promise people in the community?
My goal is to help build an IUSD that earns the confidence of the community and gives every
student a genuine opportunity to succeed. I will never forget that I am elected by the
community to serve the community. I will always do my homework and study the situation, ask
questions, listen, and explain my decisions to the community. I will always advocate for student
centered decision making that is equitable for all students. I will be an advocate for our most
vulnerable population to get the services prescribed in their IEPs. When local control is restored
I want residents to have greater opportunity to participate directly in district governance. I will
support transparency by hosting Town Hall meetings. I will not promise that every decision will
be easy or that we will always agree. I will promise to be respectful of my constituency and
include their participation in my decision making. Strong communications with families by
providing greater financial transparency is the key to building a strong supportive community.
Learn more: Website
Cheryl Williams
Williams did not respond to an inquiry from The LA Local.
Joe W. Bowers Jr.
About the candidate for Trustee Area 2: Joe W. Bowers Jr. is a 30-year resident of Trustee Area 2. For more than a decade, he has followed Inglewood Unified’s finances, governance and recovery from state receivership. He also worked with policymakers and state agencies to help ensure the district operated in students’ best interests. He brings decades of management and problem-solving experience with IBM, Exxon Research and Engineering, and The Coca-Cola Company. Joe earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in engineering from Stanford University, where he was a student-athlete, and later earned an MBA. He holds a U.S. patent and, as a part-time journalist, covers education policy and state politics.
The district could regain local control within the next year. What will your top priorities be if the Board of Education regains voting power?
My priorities will be student achievement, financial stability and accountability.The district’s progress toward ending receivership must show up in the classroom. More students must read and do mathematics at grade level and graduate prepared for college, careers or whatever path they choose. Teachers need the resources and support to help them get there. I will support responsible budgeting, effective academic programs and the resources teachers need to help students succeed. Restoring the board’s authority will also make the superintendent and administration directly accountable to it. Board members must be prepared to ask questions, make decisions and explain those decisions to the public.
How will you ensure campuses across Inglewood Unified School District are safe?
Every student and employee deserves a safe school environment. I would support updated campus safety plans, appropriate employee training, emergency preparedness and timely attention to maintenance and security concerns. The district also must address bullying, student mental health and other problems that can affect whether students feel safe at school.Students, parents and employees should have reliable ways to report concerns and confidence that the district will respond.The board’s role is to provide oversight, make sure safety remains a priority and confirm that identified problems are addressed.
What would your priorities be for spending the district’s money?
My budget priorities would be to improve student achievement, strong teachers, safe campuses and continued financial stability. District resources should support effective classroom instruction and provide additional help for students who need it. The district also must offer competitive compensation to recruit and retain qualified employees. I would support careful review of district spending to make sure programs are consistent with the district’s academic priorities and available resources. The budget must address current student needs while maintaining adequate reserves, managing debt responsibly and preparing for changes in enrollment. Financial stability and student achievement must remain connected.
If you win, what else will you promise people in the community?
I promise to work in the best interests of students and the school district. I will listen to parents, students, employees and residents, work with my fellow board members and keep the community informed about important decisions. I will approach the position with an open mind, respect different points of view and remain focused on improving educational opportunities for every student. I will also support responsible use of district resources and hold myself accountable to the residents of Trustee Area 2 and the broader Inglewood Unified community.
Shelby Richardson
About the candidate for Trustee Area 2: Shelby Richardson is an Inglewood native, education advocate, and community organizer. Raised in a single parent household by mom and older sister, she grew up surrounded by a village that taught her the importance of family, authenticity, resilience, and community. She was an athlete, a daydreamer, and an avid reader, and someone who always loved math. In fact, Shelby was a math tutor while she earned her B.S. in Economics and M.S. in Quantitative Economics. She currently works in the nonprofit sector in youth justice and policy advocacy, and wants her career to be rooted in community building and organizing.
The district could regain local control within the next year. What will your top priorities be if the Board of Education regains voting power?
My top priorities when the Board regains voting power include increasing math and English proficiency, partnering with businesses and community-based organizations to expand resources for our students and families, and exploring ways to retain and repurpose closed school campuses. But I also want to make sure these priorities are informed by Inglewood students, families, and community members so that our work directly reflects the community’s greatest needs and concerns. It will be equally important for me to act as a true representative of community values and an advocate for our collective vision. That means creating consistent spaces for community engagement through forums, town halls, workshops, and teach-ins where we can listen, learn, and strategize together about how to provide the best education and enrichment for our youth. I envision an Inglewood school district that does for the community because it is led by the community.
How will you ensure campuses across Inglewood Unified School District are safe?
School safety is an extension of community safety. In today’s political landscape, fear is fueled in part by surveillance and harassment by federal agencies, including ICE, particularly in Black and Brown communities. But safety also means ensuring students and families have equal access to the resources and support they need to thrive. As a Board member, I would advocate for strong protections for immigrant students and families, while encouraging the City of Inglewood to adopt sanctuary city policies. Within the district, I would prioritize safe and well-maintained campuses, strong emergency preparedness, culturally relevant curriculum, and expanding a community school framework that connects students and families to wraparound services, including mental health and family support. I believe safety is both protection and prevention. When we create strong protections, welcoming campuses, culturally responsive learning environments, and accessible support systems, we make all of Inglewood safer.
What would your priorities be for spending the district’s money?
My top priority for district spending would be investing in math and English proficiency, particularly for elementary students, so they enter high school prepared and confident. Recent CAASPP results show that we have significant work to do, especially in closing achievement gaps among our students. At the same time, some of our highest-performing schools and programs may not be equally accessible to everyday Inglewood families. We need to expand opportunity and investment across IUSD so that a student’s access to a strong education is not determined by which school they attend. That also means being responsible with the money we already have. I would prioritize evaluating existing math and English intervention programs to determine what is actually improving student outcomes before simply spending more. From there, I would work with educators, families, community-based organizations, and proven academic programs to expand effective tutoring, literacy, after-school programs, and enrichment opportunities. Every dollar we spend should have a clear purpose and, whenever possible, a measurable benefit for students. Our investments should prove to work!
If you win, what else will you promise people in the community?
As Trustee Area 2’s School Board Member, I promise to advocate for reopening or repurposing closed school campuses before resorting to selling district property. There is so much pride in Inglewood schools, and I believe the district should work with the community to find innovative ways for vacant campuses to continue benefiting our students, families, and district. Some campuses could potentially reopen with specialized or magnet programs that attract families back to IUSD and help increase enrollment. Others could be repurposed as community centers, educational spaces, or venues that generate revenue for the district while remaining community assets. Most importantly, I believe we should exhaust our options before permanently giving up public school property. Once that land is sold, the community may never get it back. I will advocate for decisions about these campuses to be made transparently and with community, and with the long-term interests of Inglewood students and families at the forefront.
Learn more: Instagram
Brandon Myers
About the candidate for Trustee Area 3: In November of 2020, Brandon Myers was elected to represent Trustee Area 3 of the Inglewood School Board District. Since that time, he has worked to improve educational opportunities, strengthen fiscal accountability and invest in safe and modernized learning environments. He has also supported the successful completion of the Bennet Kew TK-8 campus expansion which entailed adding six new classrooms and a multipurpose space in addition to improving access to high-quality early childhood education at the District’s Child Development Center for Inglewood families. As a longtime resident, Brandon brings more than eight years of experience in education and over fourteen years of serving children and families. Additionally, he served as founder of the Inglewood South Bay Democratic Club and has dedicated his public service to advancing equity, opportunity and community engagement. As a Board member, he’s also supported responsible governance, fiscal stewardship and the progress towards restoring local control while advocating for accountability from leaders in the decision-making process.
The district could regain local control within the next year. What will your top priorities be if the Board of Education regains voting power?
Once the Board of Education regains voting power, my main focus will be centered on establishing governance framework & rebuilding community trust, auditing and assessing district performance and finances and developing a community-informed strategic plan.
How will you ensure campuses across Inglewood Unified School District are safe?
In order to ensure that campuses across IUSD remain safe, my main focal points include creating committees focused on improving the IUSD safety team to address campus issues and include safety prevention partners to support all outer perimeters of school sites.
What would your priorities be for spending the district’s money?
My top priorities include improving student achievement, enhancing school facilities and increasing classified and certified salaries. It is my belief that these factors have contributed to the lack of accountability, declining student enrollment and high staff turnover. By addressing these issues, we can begin to look toward a much brighter future which will entail not only fiscal responsibility but also overall pride in student achievements.
If you win, what else will you promise people in the community?
Upon my victory, I can ensure that IUSD will be returned back to local control by rendering the current balance of state loan, increasing partnerships with local organizations to help improve student pathways to career opportunities and addressing the current funding deficit by implementing a structured plan to eliminate the misuse of funds.
Learn more: Website
Yaritza A. Gonzalez
About the candidate for Trustee Area 3: Yaritza A. Gonzalez is a lifelong Inglewood resident, community advocate, and candidate for Inglewood School Board Trustee Area 3. She proudly attended Inglewood public schools before earning her bachelor’s from Dartmouth College and Master of Public Policy from UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs, where she concentrated on immigration and education policy. She served with the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for Hispanics, was awarded a Fulbright Public Policy Initiative Fellowship and now works as a Policy Manager at the Central American Resource Center (CARECEN-LA), advocating for students and their families. Yaritza is running to put students first, strengthen neighborhood schools, and restore transparency, accountability, and local control to the District.
The district could regain local control within the next year. What will your top priorities be if the Board of Education regains voting power?
If Inglewood Unified School District regains local control, my top priority will be rebuilding the foundation for student-centered governance. First, I will prioritize financial stability and oversight. The Board needs a clear understanding of the District’s finances, enrollment, obligations, and available resources, so we can make responsible long-term decisions. I will also work to keep neighborhood schools open and strengthen student enrollment. We need to understand why families are leaving the District, invest in high-quality programs and resources that attract and retain students, and ensure every school has what it needs to help every student thrive. Regaining local control is an opportunity to establish a new culture of responsible governance — one grounded in transparency, accountability, and collaboration. My goal is to help restore confidence in the District and give every student a high-quality public education.
How will you ensure campuses across Inglewood Unified School District are safe?
Every student deserves to learn in a school where they feel safe, welcomed, and supported. I will take a comprehensive approach to campus safety that goes beyond policing and focuses on prevention and well-being. I will invest in counselors, social workers, and restorative justice programs so students have support before conflicts escalate. Moreover, I would ensure schools are safe environments for every family, including immigrant families. I will ensure the District follows California law and its required policies related to immigration enforcement. Our teachers and staff should be trained on how to respond if ICE or other immigration enforcement authorities come to campus, and families should be promptly informed when confirmed, consistent with the law and safety requirements. Most importantly, I will listen to students, parents, and teachers about what safety looks like in each school. My goal is to create campuses where students can focus on learning.
What would your priorities be for spending the district’s money?
My priority will be making sure every dollar the District spends directly supports students, parents, teachers, and strong neighborhood schools. First, I will prioritize funding for student support, including multilingual education, special education, and mental health resources. Every student deserves access to high-quality programs and resources regardless of which school they attend. I will also prioritize funding for teachers. Competitive wages, professional development, and classified staffing are essential to student success. We should invest in people before technology or short-term solutions. Finally, I would demand strong financial oversight. Before approving major expenditures, the Board should evaluate whether they are necessary, sustainable, and producing measurable benefits for students. This includes auditing technology spending and reviewing corporate and vendor contracts to ensure that the District is getting a fair value for its money. We need to eliminate unnecessary expenditures, pursue state and local funding opportunities, and make difficult budget decisions openly with our community. Our budget should reflect our values.
If you win, what else will you promise people in the community?
If elected, I promise to be accountable, accessible, and responsive with the community. I will be present in our schools and in our community, listening directly to the students, parents, teachers, and those who are most affected by District decisions. I will communicate honestly about the District’s challenges and decisions, and I will make every effort to explain not only what decisions are made, but how and why. I will ask hard questions, examine the data, review the facts, and remain open to changing course when the evidence points to a better path forward. Most importantly, I will never forget that I was once an Inglewood student myself. I know what it means to sit in an Inglewood classroom and depend on our schools to see your potential and give you every opportunity to thrive. I am running because I want every student today to have the same opportunity — and to know that their voice, their school, and their future matters. I will bring that perspective, along with transparency, accountability, integrity, and a student-centered approach to the work.
Learn more: Instagram
