Live blog: Board of Education, May 9, 2023
Summary
Public comment for all items was done at the start of the meeting. This way the public doesn’t have to wait until their agenda item comes up late in the evening to make their comments. It’s the second time they have tried this format. Comments started at 7 and ended at 9. While this meant the public didn’t have to wait until later to speak, it meant that student delegates (who are dismissed at 9:00) didn’t get to participate in any Board business, and it meant that because comments for agenda items were heard at the beginning, the public didn’t get to comment on amendments to those items.
Paraeducators, mostly from Grattan Elementary, spoke about the consequences of staff shortages. Many of them in tears, they described having to control sometimes violent situations. Kids with IEPs are asked to stay home when there aren’t enough staff that day. $30/hr minimum starting salary for paras and raises have been requested as part of UESF negotiations. This will attract new paras and make current paras feel appreciated
Students and parents from Bessie Carmichael advocated for saving the Filipino language WLES program and not consolidate 4th and 5th grades. Speakers said parents and teachers were not consulted on the change. Speaker said Filipinos are the 3rd largest ethnic group in SF and 3rd most in need of English learning support. WLES program helps newcomer kids.
Members and leaders from UESF and SEIU spoke about low pay, long hours, and poor working conditions. They urge the district, now in contract negotiations with UESF, to bargain in good faith and accept the economic (pay and benefits) package that will be presented at the next bargaining session on Monday, May 15.
Groups of speakers also commented on Parent Advisory Committee nominations and the Facilities Master Plan, specifically the SOTA proposal. Summaries on those below.
Empower update: Call center has been staffed up so there are on average 4 people answering calls. All taxes have now been filed with the state of CA. There is a tax consulting firm available to teachers. Alvarez and Marsal, the consultants brought in to help, will need to “transition”. We think their current contract ends at the end of May. Their role was to analyze and set the path forward but not solve the problem, but they might still be needed.
There are allegations of discrimination in the nomination of new Parent Advisory Committee (PAC) members that were raised in the Fall of 2022. Central admin staff read a statement recommending re-doing the nominations with their assistance. Commissioners Weissman-Ward and Motamedi introduced a motion to table approving PAC members until central admin can review all community engagement processes (including LCAP and PAC), possibly with outside help from the CA Department of Education, and come back with recommendations. Motion passed 6-1 with Boggess the only No vote. The discussion among Board members centered around oversight of the PAC. The last line in the motion, which mostly asked the district to research and recommend best practices, states that oversight of the PAC is now the responsibility of the Superintendent (it was with the Board previously).
Head of Facilities Dawn Kamalanathan gave an update on the Facilities Master Plan. The major update is that after doing community outreach, which consisted of school site presentations and a virtual presentation [link of available], the department has added another priority recommendation. Core Functionality priorities will include replacement and repair of HVAC, plumbing, and electrical, and restrooms. Many community responses mentioned restrooms, an issue both Kamalanathan and Commissioner Fisher said has been ongoing.
Commissioner Lam asked how the FMP serves students outcomes and the Vision, Values, Goals, and Guardrails. Kamalanathan referred to the guardrail of “Serving the Whole Child” and notes that a classroom and building that is cold or doesn’t have functioning restroom distracts from learning.
During public comment, a small group, including former Commissioner Jill Wynns, asked about the 2016 bond proposal to relocate SOTA to the old SFUSD administrative building at 135 Van Ness. There was objection last fall to bond funds being spent on necessary upgrades at Buena Vista Horace Mann from those who wanted to prioritize the SOTA project. Commissioner Sanchez asked Kamalanathan for a status report on that project. She said that no funds are left from 2016 bonds. SFUSD spent about $5 million on concept designs, but complete construction drawings would cost $20 million, and construction of the project itself would be another $500 million. Part of the project was in creating an arts and maker space and there was more donor interest in that side but still not enough.
Finally, the Board received recommendations from Capitol Advisors Group on current state education legislation that SFUSD may wish to publicly support. Those are:
AB 247
AB 483
AB 1517
Learn more about these Assembly bills: Assembly Education Committee https://aedn.assembly.ca.gov/
SB 274
SB 354
SB 445
SB 760
SB 767
Learn more about these Senate bills: Senate Education Committee https://sedn.senate.ca.gov/
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Pres. Kevine Boggess makes an announcement about public comment: it will happen for all agenda and non-agenda items at the beginning of the meeting. About an hour and a quarter of public comment is planned.
Superintendent’s update: Superintendent’s scholarships, it’s AAPI Month, also Jewish American Heritage Month, it’s teacher appreciation week (we’ve got hashtags!).
Student delegates report: express sympathy for recent mass shooting victims, youth summit happened last week (delegates give some Student Advisory Council totebags to the supe and commissioners).
Boggess on public comment format: this way the public won’t have to wait until their agenda item comes up late in the evening to make their comments. It’s the second time they have tried this format. There are 72+ speaking cards plus an unknown number of online speakers who want to give public comment, so Boggess warns that not everyone will get to speak.
The plan was to start public comment at 7 but it gets pushed back a little so a middle school student can read an appreciation and RAVE award for (Teacher? “peer resources”) Gary Cruz.
Students will go first for public comment.
Student from Bessie Carmichael mentions a survey of student priorities. #1 priority was fixing broken facilities. It makes them feel like the administration and board don’t care about them.
Grattan student asks for a raise for paraeducators.
A paraeducator from Grattan and a special needs student make comment.
A few students from Bessie Carmichael ask to save the Filipino WLES program and not consolidate 4th and 5th grades.
Now to non-student public comment
A KIPP employee invites board members to 12th grade graduation(?).
Para from Grattan describes in nightmarish detail a day when 6 paras were out and they had to supervise 8 kids with severe needs.
A para from another school describes how hard it is to survive on the current pay. Moved 5 times in the last 6 years. Her 6 year old autistic child has been denied after school care because of a shortage of paras.
Paraeducator in tears describes restraining a student from hurting themselves.
Gardners and housekeeping aides make more than paras. People who work at the corner store.
$30/hr minimum starting salary for paras and raises are requested. Has been requested as part of UESF negotiations. This will attract new paras and make current paras feel appreciated.
For sped students equity begins with being able to attend school. When there isn’t enough para support kids with IEPs can’t go to school, are asked to stay home, for their safety and that of the other students.
Kids with IEPs are legally entitled to support.
Parents and teachers from Bessie Carmichael raising concerns about Filipino WLES program consolidation in . Decision was made without consulting parents and teachers. No decisions about us without us.
Filipinos are 3rd largest ethnic group in SF and 3rd most in need of English learning support. WLES program helps newcomer kids.
Commissioner (Alida fisher?) makes motion to extend time for public comment to include all in person speaking cards.
Staff member from PPS-SF reads comment on behalf of a PPS-SF co-worker who has been unable to attend BOE meetings in person or make comment due to the meeting limitations. Asks that the district make meetings more accessible
Kim Ellis, Spanish T at GWHS, encourages fair & competitive contract. Teachers she has coached have left SFUSD for neighboring districts
Bivett Brackett: breaks my heart that we’re still not paying teachers, don’t have enough staff to make sure students can learn and feel safe, that contractors are getting millions of dollars. This will have long lasting effects
Leyla: please have more urgency around negotiations. We are interviewing other places and you might lose more talent. The urgency is there in the parents, and in the vacancy numbers. It’s time for us to see the urgency from you
Chinese-speaking parent requests that district performs a safety check for TK and MS students
Vanessa from PPS-SF thanks the educators for their comments. Concerned that SFUSD website is not accessible, they had an accessibility expert review the site
Grattan parent of autistic child supports para raises and UESF
Michelle, custodian is working OT due to shortage but low pay means she has to work a second job. Said a friend working for the city is getting a 23% raise but they’re just asking for 16%. Overworked and underpaid
Teacher of the Deaf at Cobb - we have no way to recruit but we have a shortage. We need an investment for deaf education
Now taking comments from UESF and SEIU reps
School social worker reading a letter from a student saying that she helped the student feel comfortable coming out to her mom. Asking the district to respect their work
Special education para making $28,000/year, doesn’t get paid during breaks. Union economic package would address this disparity. One job should be enough.
GWHS SpEd teacher - worried about negotiations. Waited weeks for proposals since March. UESF is working to get a deal before June and hope SFUSD is working for that too
Teacher - education is holistic, it takes all of us. We have a staff shortage and we need an agreement before the end of the year so we can keep and attract and hire new people for next year
Nurse in her 33rd and final year at GWHS - nurses stepped up these past 3 years. Provided extra care. But how are they being treated? Let nurses know they matter
UESF president - teachers jobs are a lot harder than it seems. We are asking for a partner at the table. The district does not seem engaged in bargaining.
SEIU health worker - it’s time for you to stop saying you put students first. Working for SFUSD now is like working for Amazon. We’re forced to work 2-3 jobs. We don’t want your words of support. We need a livable wage
Budget analyst - workers are leaving for city jobs where they will receive the pay and benefits they deserve. We have not received a raise since our last contract expired 3 years ago. If the district can throw millions at systems like Empower that dont work, you can give millions to the workers who do work
SEIU 1021 president - Enough is enough. Our members need to be paid fair and in line with their colleagues in city jobs. Student nutrition workers are having their hours cut but their work load is the same.
Commissioner Fisher moved to continue public comment so all those who submitted speaker cards could speak, but there was no second. The decision is ultimately up to President Boggess, and there were only 7 cards left.
Several commenters are speaking about moving SOTA to 135 Van Ness
CPAC and SFP comment against the PAC slate. They are calling for the application to not be redone, which would effectively end the PAC
On to virtual comment for agenda items
Someone with experience in the PAC says the rules were agreed upon and the goal was to be diverse not just by race, but by location. Didn’t want to have too many people from the same neighborhood.
Innovate Public schools advocating for SB445 related to translation of IEP materials in top 8 languages.
End of public comment
Supe update on Empower. Reducing tickets. Trying to establish the timeline when it will be fixed. For the next 90 days the goal is to get under 1,000 tickets. There is a dashboard for monitoring KPIs (Key Performance Indicators).
Call center has been staffed up so there are on average 4 people answering calls.
All taxes have now been filed with the state. There is a tax consulting firm available to teachers.
Alvarez and Marsal “transition”. Their role was to analyze and set the path forward but not solve the problem. But they might still be needed. (I think their contract ends at the end of May). Update next meeting.
Parent Advisory Nominations
District recommends re-doing the nomination process(?).
Boggess: the district has not investigated claims about what happened with the PAC nominations. The majority of the PAC members, not all of them, voted to move forward with the current PAC nominees.
Commissioner Weissman-Ward: risk of violation of state laws based on documented (not investigated) issues. Adult-centric decisions.
Comm. Motamedi: makes motion to table until
1. SFUSD investigation review of policy of addressing complaints that include legal issues
2. Independent investigation of SFUSD compliance with LCAP and ESA laws by CDE
3. Recommendation on path forward for PAC
Wayne timeline would be the Fall for delivering
Sanchez asks to clarify if PAC should be under Supe not Board. Motamedi says her understanding that is the case.
Alexander: we can’t direct CDE to investigate
Boggess: there is a Board passed motion saying the PAC is under the Board. So a change would need a Board vote.
Alexander: There are a number of issues around the PAC and things like QTPAC. He would like CDE to weigh in on SFUSD’s overall process of engaging with parents.
Fisher: the idea was for the PAC to be independent of Central Admin, wouldn’t be beholden, so they could be beholden. Her experience of being on a PAC is being a political football. Parents routinely feel stifled. There is no clear way for parents to contact central office. There is no org chart.
Seth Brenzel was brought forward by the PAC
Lam: claims superintendent search was ideal model of community engagement. Thousands of contacts.
Wayne: is down with the plan to reach out to CDE and have the central office come up with recommendation for a process around PAC
Motamedi: let’s expand the recommendation to have central office recommend plans for overall community engagement
Wayne: OK, we’ll focus on PAC but also overall
Fisher: what happens to the current 5 members of the PAC?
Alexander: they should be involved in the review process
Alida: asks that it be formalized that all advisory boards be included in the review process
Wayne says this could be difficult…
Motion passed: table seating current PAC and taking 3 steps listed above
On to consent calendar
Consent calendar passes
Adoption of Facilities Plan
Community outreach - responses focused on day to day - heat, bathrooms, electric, maintenance. Top priorities are classroom environment (comfort), safety, and [check presentation]
Added a priority recommendation for core functionaity - replacement and repair or plumbing, electrical, HVAC etc
Donor community has said 135VN/ SOTA project as conceived won’t work
Questions from Commissioners re: FMP
Boggess: wonders about gap between existing priorities and promises vs new ones in this plan
Kamalanathan: List from 2016 bond has been reviewed with new data. Goal is to focus on seismic safety, and mechanical, electrical, and plumbing of the schools in the worst condition
Lam: How does the FMP serve student outcomes and the VVGG?
Kamalanathan: The FMP emphasizes serving the whole child. We know that a building in poor condition distracts from learning.
Fisher: Glad to see bathrooms as a priority, asks for more information
Kamalanathan: Tired of hearing stories about kids who won’t go to the bathroom during the day. Have to have enough custodial staff. Need to think about the design of our restrooms for student health, for gender neutral restrooms. Listening to student voices and taking student voices seriously.
Sanchez: Asks for more information on the SOTA project.
Kamalanathan: No funds are left from 2016 bonds, we did spend about $5M to design a concept for 135VN, To complete construction drawings $20M, the project itself would be another $500M. Part of the project was in creating an arts and maker space and there was more donor interest in that but still not enough.
Recommendations for State Legislative Items
Ab247 facilities funding bill
Ab483 Medi-Cal billing
AB 1517 SELPA consult
Learn more about these Assembly bills: Assembly Education Committee https://aedn.assembly.ca.gov/
SB 274 Willful defiance ban extension
SB 354 Universal design for inclusive learning environments
SB 445 Translation of IEP documents - adds 30-day timeline
SB 760 All-gender restrooms by 1/1/2025 at least 1 in every school
SB 767 Expansion of compulsory school to include K
Fisher brings up SB 691 Dyslexia screening - thinks they should support it. CTA had concerns about this bill, but other commissioners are open to learning more
Learn more about these Senate bills: Senate Education Committee https://sedn.senate.ca.gov/
Board went into closed session at approximately 11:00