Posted on 02/15/2022 4:08:26 AM PST by devane617
As school board meetings across the nation become increasingly contentious, parental pushback over COVID-19 related regulations and virtual learning has brought things to a head in San Francisco. There, voters are headed to the ballot box Tuesday to decide the fate of three school board members in an unprecedented recall election. San Francisco School Board President Gabriela López and board members Faauuga Moliga and Alison Collins could all be recalled Tuesday. The recall effort began in January of last year as tensions rose during the pandemic with parents claiming board members misplaced priorities, focusing their attention on social issues rather than pandemic reopening strategies at a time when many other school districts were open. In April, board members dropped their plans to rename a third of the city's public schools honoring historical figures linked to injustices following backlash from parents. The board said it would revisit the plan after students returned to in-person learning.
(Excerpt) Read more at abcnews.go.com ...
Go after their surety bonds. They literally cannot “serve” if they cannot be bonded.
KQED.ORG
Faauuga Moliga: There is a recall effort to recall the school board, but, you know, realistically, the school board is not being recalled, three individuals are. Our legislation and the work that we’ve done are very different, in a sense. Like our interests, things they pursue, they’re just very different.
I constantly wanted schools to be open. I’ve constantly been working at addressing the budget deficit. And I can’t speak for what Gabriela or Alison have done or what their interests have been around those things. I’m currently running the race to stop the recall of myself. I’m not running in tandem with Gabriela or Alison currently.
Mayor London Breed originally appointed you to the board. Now she’s endorsing this recall effort. How do you think about her role in this?
I disagree with the mayor in terms of her reasoning to recall me, and I let her know that. Things that she’s mentioned about my work, I just strongly disagree with. I was hoping she was going to stay out of it.
‘I know things weren’t perfect, and if people felt unseen during that time, I personally would just like to say we could have done better.’
Faauuga Moliga, SFUSD Board of Education vice president
What role do you think race plays in the recall?
As the first Pacific Islander to ever run for the school board, it’s critical. One of the reasons I ran is because Pacific Islanders were not doing well. And the reason why they were not doing well was because there’s a lot of systemic barriers that have really been a hindrance for the growth of Pacific Islanders in the city. So having a voice at the table and being able to advocate for things like the Fa’a Sāmoa Initiative, the Samoa Community Development (Center) learning hub, those things just don’t show up if you don’t have a seat at the table.
In terms of being equitable and being able to serve all your constituents and families that live in the city, you have to have representation, especially for those groups that are marginalized the most. And so race, it really matters to public education.
One thing that you didn’t hear a lot during the pandemic publicly was voices from the marginalized communities. So for me, going out there and meeting with families in projects, indigenous communities, Black communities, Latinx immigrant communities and trying to figure out what are their needs (was important) because they’re not the ones that are showing up at the school board meetings. They don’t have that kind of access.
This thing around learning loss and the opportunity gap, they kind of go hand in hand. The same students that were facing challenges prior to the pandemic are the same students that were also impacted during the pandemic. Because these are the communities that are currently impacted. If we weren’t able to get resources to them as a city and county and a school district prior to (the pandemic) it is going to be really tough for us to do it now. And so, as a school district, we did our best, we did a lot of things: we opened up lunches every day, breakfast every day, fed the whole entire city of San Francisco. We provided technology for all the kids that didn’t have it.
I know things weren’t perfect, and if people felt unseen during that time, I personally would just like to say we could have done better. I apologize if that was how people felt during that time, and I’m committed to continue to work and to make sure that all our families are heard.
In the context of the budget crisis, I hear a lot of criticism about the board’s fiscal stewardship. How do you defend your track record?
Now that we’re coming out of the pandemic, we’re finally able to address it in a way that makes sense for not only the school district but also our partners, including our labor partners. When I first came on, I knew we were going into a budget deficit. Repeatedly I said we have to continue doing things that are going to cost-save. It’s not an easy issue that we’re working on right now, but I do feel confident that we’re going to be able to get a balanced budget and not have the school district be taken over.
^^ This right here.
KQED education reporter Vanessa Rancaño spoke with San Francisco Board of Education President Gabriela López about the recall effort against her and her colleagues.
This interview from Oct. 25 has been edited for length and clarity.
Vanessa Rancaño: Do you draw a distinction between yourself and Collins and Moliga? And do you think voters should draw distinctions?
Gabriela López: That’s a good question, and I really believe that they should view us as a board, because it really is a recall against the school board. There’s a part of me that knows if they could do all seven they would have. There’s been talks and attempts to do that as well. So in remaining united as we have been, considering the year we’ve had, that’s important for voters to view as well because this is really part of a larger issue — on trying to take over school districts and school boards — that we’re seeing across the country.
Mayor London Breed was pretty vocal about wanting schools reopened. She was openly critical of this renaming effort. How do you think about her role in this recall, as the official who would appoint a potential replacement?
I think the underlying issue is that fact: the amount of control that the city and the mayor would have over these positions. And I completely understand the area around reopening schools and the issues that that created. But what people fail to remember is during that time, at the beginning of this year, it wasn’t even that long ago, we still weren’t in a place where people had access to vaccines, where we were out of the tier that allowed us to be in-person and to be safe, and that we weren’t ready to put people in that situation when it wasn’t clear yet. Once that opportunity opened up in April, then we began to do that work, understanding that younger learners, who were the most impacted, should get priority.
But this sense of just returning to return because of the pressure that people were giving us, or the fact that the city sued the school district — which I still disagree with — and trying to push these efforts to appease a voter base that honestly wasn’t impacted by the pandemic in as many ways as other communities were who didn’t want to return, is all political. The fact that people keep pointing to the renaming issue is another, for me, excuse to kind of point to that fact. And I say that because the renaming work had begun before members were even on the board. It was passed by a previous school board a couple of years back, and work had begun on a topic that hadn’t been finalized yet.
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But it didn’t take away from the planning that was occurring already to [reopen schools]. The fact that we had been meeting and organizing and getting all of the information ready for our families — it didn’t take away from that. So in fact, the response to the renaming and using that as an excuse of us not focusing on [just] one thing was what created the distraction, in my belief, because we were still doing all of that. We hadn’t taken a break over the summer before, like we do in regular years. We’ve been meeting almost on a weekly basis. ... In fact, [it] was all people were doing seven days a week.
What role do you think race plays in this recall push?
Obviously that’s an important question, and I’m not going to say that we’re not noticing that this is a recall against people of color, and it’s against people who have also been doing a lot of work to support those communities across our city who are often not in these spaces. So, I do believe if it wasn’t someone with my background, and I’ll speak for myself, my experience, my understanding or cultural understandings, I don’t think I would be getting as much pushback as I am now.
[This recall] is aligned in many ways with other issues that are happening across the country. ... People might disagree, but I think a lot of the issues that we’re facing have to do with who’s in a position of power right now, who isn’t usually.
False. School board members in California don’t have bonds.
http://blog.csba.org/surety-bonds/
In addition to spending more time talking about renaming schools than getting kids back inside them, one of these “ladies” accused Asian-Americans of using “white supremacist thinking” (i.e. prioritizing education) to get ahead. Apparently there is such a thing as too far left even for the Bay Area. I hope they all get recalled.
You really believe a hotbed of communism from one of the most communist-leaning states in the country.
I do hope you’re kidding. I’m also a citizen of CA and a member of the State Bar Of California. No public officials in California have surety bonds.
Commissioner Alison Collins
Yes 93,016 79.06%
No 24,640 20.94%
TOTAL 117,656
President Gabriela López
Yes 88,564 75.49%
No 28,762 24.51%
TOTAL 117,326
Vice President Faauuga Moliga
Yes 85,174 72.70%
No 31,991 27.30%
TOTAL 117,165
Thx........wow.
They got resoundingly dumped.
The results are stunning! As I understand it, more would have been recalled, but they have to be in office for a certain time before they can be recalled. Let’s see if the remaining board members have learned anything from this.
Many thx for the realtime facts.
Dumped member Faauuga Moliga, SFUSD Bd of Ed VP,
was asked what role race played in the recall movement?
He stupidly responded:
“As the first Pacific Islander to ever run for the school board, it’s critical. One of the reasons I ran is because Pacific Islanders were not doing well. And the reason why they were not doing well was because there’s a lot of systemic barriers that have really been a hindrance for the growth of Pacific Islanders in the city. So having a voice at the table and being able to advocate for things like the Fa’a Sāmoa Initiative, the Samoa Community Development (Center) learning hub, those things just don’t show up if you don’t have a seat at the table.
In terms of being equitable and being able to serve all your constituents and families that live in the city, you have to have representation, especially for those groups that are marginalized the most. And so race, it really matters to public education.”
KQED education reporter asked San Francisco Bd of Ed
President Gabriela López about the role race played in the recall.
Gabriela López inanely said: “ Obviously that’s an important question, and I’m not going to say that we’re not noticing that this is a recall against people of color, and it’s against people who have also been doing a lot of work to support those communities across our city who are often not in these spaces. So, I do believe if it wasn’t someone with my background, my experience, my understanding or cultural understandings, I don’t think I would be getting as much pushback as I am now.”
“People might disagree, but I think a lot of the issues that we’re facing have to do with who’s in a position of power right now, who isn’t usually.........”
Huh? Come again?
No, EDUCATION really matters to public education. This idiot surely doesn't get that.
Then that means there’s no direct recourse to get rid of them. Keep fixing the vote and they’ll die in office like Robert Byrd.
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