LOS ANGELES (2UG) – Los Angeles Unified School District board member George McKenna will join Jackie Goldberg in not running for re-election, the Los Angeles Times reported.
McKenna plans to serve out the remainder of his term through 2024.
“I am and will always be an educator,” McKenna said in an interview where he announced his decision, adding that he’s been “able to make a difference in some ways, and not as much as I would like in others.”
LAUSD Superintendent Alberto Carvalho praised both of them for being exemplary public servants.
“Jackie Goldberg and George McKenna are pillars in the Los Angeles Unified community,” said Carvalho. “Their commitment, achievements, and impact could never be captured in a single statement as their work has transcended what we often expect from public servants. Both are trailblazers on educational and social issues not only in our community but across the entire nation.”
McKenna is a native of Louisiana and relocated to Los Angeles where he began his career as a math teacher at Washington High School, in South Los Angeles. His story was turned into a movie where actor Denzel Washington starred as McKenna.
McKenna then became administrator for the Inglewood Unified School District from 1998-1993. After leaving Inglewood, he became superintendent at Compton Unified School District.
He won a contentious election in 2014 for the Los Angeles Unified school board where he beat Alex Johnson despite then-Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas helping secure over $1 million to run against the well-known educator.
