Live blog: Board of Education, March 7, 2023

Summary

• After scores of public comments in support of making Eid al-Fitr an official holiday, the Board approved moving Spring Break 2024 to a week that includes Eid. But it did not make a decision on adding Eid as a holiday to the school calendar going forward. The date changes every year.  

• The Superintendent mentioned a new issue with Empower, SFUSD’s payroll system, that messed up 2022 tax reporting to the state of California for all SFUSD employees.  

• Paraeducators will get a one-time payment of $1,550 this month. A recent article stated they are paid the minimum wage in San Francisco and can only work part-time.

• Central office staff presented a Facilities Master Plan that includes an updated audit of the conditions of school sites in the city. 

• Central office staff presented a proposal for a process for making changes to the school calendar going forward. 

Live Blog/Tweets

While others on our team are *on the ground* at 555 Franklin this is @noahsloss, I'll be live tweeting the first hour of tonight's SFUSD BOE meeting. Let's get ready to rumble. 

Fisher is the lone "no" vote on the first expulsion agreement. Abstains on the second. Expulsions pass. On to lawsuits, the Board approves paying out. 

Report from *outside* the meeting room: "Packed house, lots of people supporting Eid!" 

Superintendent's report time. Superintendent Wayne mentions he reported on the payroll "state of emergency" last meeting so no update this time, except… Apparently there is an "inexcusable" issue with tax filings that has arisen since then. Sup. Wayne is "disappointed". Communications will go out to staff. 

Sup. Wayne moves on quickly to an investment club, Social Worker appreciation week, and the Superintendent's Scholarship: 6 students will get $2,000.  

Student delegates encourage students to join the Student Advisory Council (SAC). Meeting next Monday will have food. 

Sup. Wayne gives a RAVE award to Ms. DeSanti(?) an executive assistant in the Supervisor's office and 39-year employee of SFUSD who is retiring. 

Boggess gives thanks to Ms. DeSanti on behalf of the Board. Fisher gives some personal thanks and recalls her time on the Special Education Committee. The Board Secretary (? the one who manages the public comment) celebrates Ms. Desanti as well as Comm. Weissman-Ward. Also a call-in celebration from former Superintendent Vince Matthews.

Boggess announces change to the agenda order. New Order:

Item G - General comment (items not on today's agenda)

Item K - Academic calendar (Eid probably?)

Item E - Hearing on UESF proposals 

General comments: 

2 complaints about "student outcomes" not being more prominent in the Board meetings. 

Comment from UESF member about Empower "we get money coming back to us but we don't know what it's for"  Next comment: it's hard to talk about student outcomes while Empower is still broken. The district didn't report taxes for the past 3 quarters (!) 

Comment in support of Eid holiday. There shouldn't be tests on fasting days. Culture should be respected. 

Meredith Dodson acknowledges Empower problems but asks again for the Board to spend 50% of each meeting on, you guessed it, student outcomes. 

Caller asks for SFUSD to scrap Empower

Caller asks for better access to meetings for visually impaired and ppl with other disabilities. 

Now to the calendar. 

Sup. Wayne starts reading from a statement. Proposes moving Spring break to the second week of April in 2024, which would include Eid al Fitr. (Is this a way to avoid dealing with making it an explicit holiday?)

There will now be public comment on this item. Boggess proposes having students and young people go first. 

Young kid with very cute voice says "Ladies and gentlemen, please give us Eid" 

Student from Galileo says there was no space for Arab/Muslim students to pray there until she started a student group. Now they do and she feels more respected and included. 

Sergio Hernandez wants to support his Muslim brothers and sisters and asks for an Eid holiday. Two students say the Board broke their promise. 

"You guys have caved to racist and islamophobic groups' lawsuits."

Reverend Joanna speaks about a letter she sent on behalf of other SF religious communities in support of Eid. Chair of SF Interfaith Council calls for Eid to be added to the school holiday calendar. 

President of Yemen-American Association wishes SF as well as CA adopt the holiday.

"We need to show these Yemen American kids that they're a part of this country. When I was a kid we said we were sick to explain why we didn't go to school on Eid." 

Jewish parent speaks in support of Eid and communities that are the most marginalized and targeted. 

Representative from AROC expresses disappointment that the Board and Supe are going heavy handed on process now, after all the process that they already went through that approved the holiday. 

Jewish SFUSD teacher says she likes to see students organizing for Eid but it breaks her heart that they have to do this. 

Another Jewish community member gets fired up in support of Eid and ends comment with calls of "shame!" 

SFUSD educator and parent: Listen to our students, learn from them and be educated by them. I've been educated by Muslim students about Eid and the importance of Ramadan. They deserve the holiday and respect

Organizer: These kids should not have to be here asking you for their civil rights, for their religious freedom.

Jewish community member: I am in solidarity and you should be ashamed. These students should get to be at home studying. Do the right thing or go down in history at Islamophobic and racist.

O'Connell student: If I miss school for Eid, I miss a lot of assignments. 

Other religions get to have their holidays. We wish you could accept it

Teacher: My Latino students after 9/11 didn't want to see Muslim faces. I would like this holiday to be observed for all families because teachers teach the culture and about the people

Jewish San Francisco resident is upset the BOE isn't doing its job and adding Eid to the calendar. "If you don't add Eid to the calendar, you are no better than Florida." 

Arab-American who recently moved to SF from Portland is very disappointed that students have to organize to ask to add Eid to the calendar. 

Speaker asks BOE members who are feeling pressure to not add Eid to the calendar asks them to think about how isolated and marginalized Muslim students feel when they walk the halls of their schools every single day.

Next speaker asks BOE to keep their promises to youth. 

Youth advocate who is a Mission High School alum speaks next. Talks about the importance of intersectionality, #BLM movement. Eid needs to be implemented into the SFUSD calendar like Lunar New Year. 

Union member and essential worker who is Muslim speaks about how much Muslims have been through since 9/11. Says, "there is no reason to delay" the implementation of Eid. 

@mentions

organizer notes that almost no one who opposes Eid has come out to give public comment and wonders what kind of decisions the district is making behind closed doors. Says that litigation will ensue if Eid is *not* implemented in the 2023-24 school year. ⚖️ 

E.D. of @AROCBayArea takes the Board to task for failing to listening to the community. 

"We will sue if you don't include Eid in the next calendar." ⚖️ 

SFUSD educator: "Three years" students "have been fighting for Eid. When will you listen to them?"

Another SFUSD educator talks about the Islamophobia that grew during the 2nd Bush administration. Urges the district to adopt Eid. 

Student speaks, says legal threats against adding Eid to the calendar are based on xenophobia.

Another speakers says that backtracking on adding Eid to the calendar is "embarrassing".

"Let's make sure those teachers are paid on time, all the time." 

@mentions

speaker has seen an assistant superintendent laugh at people who tried to add an Arab language pathway to the curriculum. Cites roadblocks the district has put up when Arab families have asked for change. 

SFUSD alum and public servant reminds the district of its responsibility to the Muslim community.

Jewish SF resident & member of @T4SJ asks the Board to add Eid and not put young people in the position of having to advocate for Eid for another year. 

The tone police are on the scene. #racism 

And nope, we're not going to quote them. 

Comm. Weissman-Ward motions to accept the calendar and ask the superintendent to move 2024 spring break to the 2nd week of April 

Alexander comments on how long students have been fighting for Eid, and important to say it's a racist lawsuit getting in the way. There's academic research showing when you don't belong, your achievement goes down. It's important for us to stand up 

Student delegate: Resolution acknowledges the diversity within our schools. SAC also asked SFUSD to recognize Eid. We hope you will listen to students and move spring break 2024 to the 2nd week of April 

Student delegate: We have to use data and policy and good governance. Making Eid a holiday doesn't make good fiscal sense. Student delegates aren't privy to legal info and we don't get the full picture 

Boggess: As board president, I take responsibility for the current situation. We need to be committed to equity and diversity. We are limited to engagement in board chambers 

Boggess, cont: The amendment calls for a shift in spring break but does not change the recognition of the holiday. There is a lack of consistency in the policy. 

The board approves the 2023-2024 calendar to a room full of shouts and immediately goes into recess 

We will take this break to say thanks to @noahsloss and @BluebirdRave for live-tweeting earlier tonight! The rest of the night -- however long I last -- is me, Allyson, another SFUSD Mom™️ 

Now a presentation on Expanded Learning Opportunity Program

Expanded Learning Opportunity expansion will add more than 10,000 spaces to after school programs

A few callers ask about sustainability of the new seats since it's coming from a 1-year federal grant 

Lam asks Lau-Smith if CBOs are having staffing problems. Lau-Smith says yes, but they are confident they can scale up. 

Fisher wants to be sure that requirements don't become restrictions to families, such as long hours 

Boggess: wants the board to discuss what the implementation will look like in terms of equity and outcomes 

Very excitedly moving on to paraeducator retention stipends! 

Each para gets a one-time stipend of $1,550 funded through the City go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board…

Sanchez: asking how this came about with Supervisor Safai. For retention sake, we should try to get a multi-year stipend 

Motamedi asks when paraeducators will receive the stipend. Bass says it will come on the March 27 paycheck. Excited unanimous vote yes 

Now on to the facilities master plan, possibly with less excitement. Here's the full plan

The report is from an engineering perspective using a facilities condition index

Head of Facilities Dawn Kamalanathan is going through the presentation kind of quickly for the sake of time, but we suggest going through the full report and looking at individual site details 

Four accelerated priorities that Facilities is recommending to the Board tonight

Commissioners are discussing the data in some of the maps, like the zip codes where students live vs where schools are, in re: zone system

Kamalanathan describes school security needs: door locks, updated PA systems, windows, and security systems 

Boggess wonders why water testing is on a 5-year plan and not accelerated 

This is the water testing recommendation (page 40 of the report)

Lam lifts up the need for affordable educator housing. Notes that it took 12 years to break ground on Shirley Chisholm Village, while a neighboring district got it done in 2 

Nobody brings up the possible new school on Treasure Island?

Onto the proposed process for adding holidays to the school calendar

On the Williams complaint report, Fisher notes that it's a report on the # of complaints received, not the total # of complaints/ existing issues. Asks how to make the reporting process easier 

Meeting is adjourned at 10:05!

If you find this helpful, please show us a little love!