Today, I announced my support for the recall of three members of the San Francisco Board of Education: Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez, & Faauuga Moliga.
These commissioners have failed our students and families. It's time for new, responsible leadership.
These commissioners have failed our students and families. It's time for new, responsible leadership.
Not only did these commissioners fail to do their jobs adequately, they engaged in abusive and disruptive behavior, interfered with the Superintendent’s ability to do his job, & caused the school district to deteriorate during the pandemic.
These commissioners:
1) Failed to prioritize the safe reopening of our public schools.
They rejected Superintendent Matthews’ request to retain an expert consultant to help navigate the pandemic & ensure a smooth reopening. The Superintendent described this as a “body blow.”
1) Failed to prioritize the safe reopening of our public schools.
They rejected Superintendent Matthews’ request to retain an expert consultant to help navigate the pandemic & ensure a smooth reopening. The Superintendent described this as a “body blow.”
In response to data showing significant learning loss due to remote schooling, President Gabriela Lopez stated that students were instead having “different learning experiences” spending all day at home, learning in front of a computer.
sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl…
sfchronicle.com/bayarea/articl…
2) Allowed the school district’s fiscal standing to deteriorate so severely that the state Superintendent of Public Instruction had to intervene to stop the school district from becoming financially insolvent. SFUSD is now at risk of being placed under state control.
3) Contributed to a significant decline in enrollment, with more and more parents pulling their children from the school district. Enrollment is at its lowest level in decades, leading to projected loss of state funds in the tens of millions. sfchronicle.com/education/arti…
4) So thoroughly jeopardized the functioning of the school district that the Superintendent announced his retirement and ultimately agreed to stay on another year only with a new contract that required BoE members to “govern in a dignified and professional manner…
...treating everyone with civility and respect.” The new contract also required the BoE to focus exclusively on reopening schools & reduced its ability to interfere with the Superintendent’s hiring & firing. To say that this kind of contract is extraordinary is putting it mildly.
5) Prioritized and then mismanaged a process to rename dozens of schools despite these schools being closed – with no plan to reopen – during the pandemic. newyorker.com/news/q-and-a/h…
6) W/o engaging significantly with the community, stripped Lowell High School of its merit-based admissions process – on exceptionally short notice – w/o considering other options to support Lowell’s need to address racial equity. This took place while schools were still closed
7) Commissioner Collins tweeted racist remarks about Asian Americans & after those tweets surfaced, she was stripped of her role as Vice President & removed from committees. In response, she sued the already financially drained district and her fellow commissioners for $87m.
Our BoE is in dire need of change. Families are pulling their children from our schools.
I’ve never before supported a recall. It's only under truly exceptional circumstances that I’m doing so here. Sadly, they've mismanaged the district so badly that I feel I have no choice.
I’ve never before supported a recall. It's only under truly exceptional circumstances that I’m doing so here. Sadly, they've mismanaged the district so badly that I feel I have no choice.
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