San Francisco School Board Notes

School Board Notes 9.25.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling

GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• Board Calls on City to Halt Hunters Point Development
• Hot Line Established for Bullying, Student Harassment

Board Calls on City to Halt Hunters Point Development

The board called on the city Tuesday night to halt construction on a controversial Hunters Point residential development. Residents in the neighborhood say they have experienced nosebleeds, headaches and asthma attacks, which they blame on construction-related dust and toxins. Several schools are in the vicinity of the building project, including Malcolm X, Bret Harte and George Washington Carver elementary schools, and Drew Academy, a K–3 school.

Impassioned residents of the Bayview Hunters Point community packed the house Tuesday night, many speaking before the board to criticize the actions of the city and the developer, Lennar Corporation, in providing inadequate air quality monitoring on the site. Lennar, a Florida-based company, is building a 1,500-unit condominium complex on the former site of the Hunters Point Shipyard. The board resolution, authored by board members Eric Mar and Kim-Shree Maufus, alleged several problems with the way Lennar and regulatory agencies have monitored air quality and toxin exposure. The allegations included:

Construction crews' failure to turn on air monitors during the first four months of the project during heavy grading

• Retaliation against workers who blew the whistle on monitoring activities
• Excessive amounts of asbestos routinely allowed in the air
• Poor communication with neighbors about these incidents

San Francisco Health Director Mitchell Katz disputed the claims that the construction had posed undue health risks.  The parcel being developed, he said, had been used for residential purposes in the past and did not contain the toxins found on other parts of the shipyard. He said the problems caused by the construction were limited to those associated with dust from any major construction project.

“Dust of any sort is certainly a health risk if you are asthmatic, but dust in and of itself does not cause asthma,” he said. The dust also contains some naturally occurring asbestos, which, he said, is part of the serpentine rock prevalent in California. “As you move earth, you will disturb some of that rock,” he said. He said the level of resulting asbestos in the air is lower that it is at some of the district’s schools.

Some board members expressed concern about getting involved in an action that is essentially a non-binding. “What we’re asking to have happen in this resolution is not going to happen. That’s very clear to me,” said Commissioner Hydra Mendoza, who also works in the mayor’s office as the school district liaison. She also expressed concern about straining in any way the board’s relationship with the city, “a relationship we’ve worked so hard to build.”

But board members agreed that the district had a legitimate right to ask for health reports when its students and facilities are affected.

The resolution does not compel any action but calls upon the city to halt construction, order health assessments and communicate these reports to the district and the public. Language added by Commissioner Norman Yee also asks the city to consult with the district on any major construction projects in close proximity to schools that might pose adverse health effects.

“It’s clear things the city does in proximity to schools ... (are) going to have some effect. If they agree to consult with us, that’s perhaps the most meaningful action we can take with this issue,” Commissioner Jill Wynns said in supporting Yee’s amendment, which passed unanimously.

Maufus praised board members for reaching agreement on an issue they had started out far apart on just a few weeks ago. “By passing this resolution, we’re showing we’re in the action on this for real. It’s not symbolic.”

Hot Line Established for Bullying, Student Harassment

The district has established a hot line for students who feel threatened or bullied by other students to report incidents anonymously to school officials. The students can contact the Safe School hot line at (415) 241-2141 or via email at safeschool@sfusd.edu to report an incident, where it occurred and the people involved. Online forms will soon be available as well, in English, Spanish and Chinese. For phone conversations, officials will attempt to find translators for other languages as well.

Once students file a complaint, the principal will be notified and the involved students counseled.

“We need multiple, anonymous access points,” said Associate Superintendent Trish Baskum. She said she hopes the new method will encourage greater reporting and response. “At the very least, we’ll be able to see trend data that can tell us if there are more incidents than we think.”

School Board Notes 6.12.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• District Names New Superintendent
• Guadalupe School Still Fighting for Computer Lab
• Proposed Budget Shows District Revenues Holding Steady

District Names New Superintendent

The board voted in former Las Vegas superintendent Carlos Garcia to be the new superintendent of SFUSD, starting July 16. Garcia, currently serving as vice president of National Urban Markets for McGraw-Hill Education Company, was superintendent of the Clark County School District in Las Vegas from 2000 to 2005. He also served as superintendent of the Fresno and Sanger, Calif., school districts, as a principal of San Francisco's Horace Mann Middle School, and as a school board member for the San Mateo County Board of Education. He grew up in Los Angeles, a student of Los Angeles public schools.

The board voted 6-1 in favor of Garcia. Kim-Shree Maufus cast the dissenting vote. She said she did so out of concern that the process had moved too fast, rather than because she had a problem with the candidate. "I felt we did not take the time to look right and look left, and make sure we were doing the most we could for the students of San Francisco." She went on to say, "My colleagues have heard my concerns and I know will continue to work to address them."

The district says the compensation package it is offering Garcia — including an annual salary of $255,000 — is less than that received by former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman in her last year of service. Ackerman was making a similar salary but had higher retirement contributions than Garcia will. The differential is due to fiscal constraints faced by the district, according to a press release. Garcia will also receive an $8,000 automobile allowance, a one-time $30,000 signing bonus, a $2,500 monthly housing allowance, and health and retirement benefits similar to those of other full-time district employees.

Board members, along with members of the public who spoke, generally applauded the superintendent search process, which they said had been conducted respectfully and amicably even when disagreements arose. Board members described Garcia as the best fit from among six highly qualified finalists, "all of whom were great people, all of whom I could've seen as superintendent," said Commissioner Mark Sanchez. The commissioners cited as attributes Garcia's experience working with a highly diverse student population and a high percentage of English language learners, his California-centered background, and his experience managing one of the largest school districts in the country. Several went on to qualify, however, that he was "not perfect." "We heard from detractors as well as supporters," said Commissioner Eric Mar. "It'll be up to us to work with him, but also to hold him accountable when necessary."

The Clark County School District and SFUSD share many problems, such as high dropout rates and achievement gaps, that bedevil many urban school districts. But Garcia's former district is also different in a key respect: the 5th-largest school district in the nation, it is also the single fastest growing. During Garcia's tenure, enrollment grew about 12,000 a year, with a new school opening about once a month.

The board voted to extend Gwen Chan's tenure as interim superintendent until Garcia takes over in July; she will stay on in an advisory capacity until the end of August.

Members of the board and the public voiced their appreciation for Chan, who has worked in the district for 40 years. Commissioner Norman Yee was so overcome with emotion he could not finish his speech. Others thanked Chan for her openness and genuineness, and for ushering in an era of cooperation with the board and labor groups.

Guadalupe School Still Fighting to Save Computer Lab

Teachers and students from Guadalupe Elementary School in the Crocker-Amazon neighborhood entreated the district again not to close its computer lab. Many of the students are from low-income families without other access to computers. The lab is closing to make room for additional classrooms due to overenrollment. Teachers and parents complained the move is jeopardizing the very students for whom the district has vowed to increase resources. The district has said it cannot get a bungalow set up at the school by the time school starts again in August.

Yee asked the staff to come back with a report as to how quickly they could get a new bungalow put on site. Commissioner Jill Wynns stated such a move was out of order as the board had not put discussion of Guadalupe School on the agenda. Legal counsel David Campos said he thought Yee's suggestions "stretched" what was allowable but probably was not out of bounds. Commissioners Mar and Maufus seconded Yee's request, further aggravating Wynns. Her protests were met with angry rumbling from the crowd. "What is your problem, lady?" one parent shouted.

Proposed Budget Shows District Revenues Holding Steady

Next year's proposed budget shows district revenue holding about even with last year in spite of declining enrollment. The budget includes some cuts, such as layoffs of paraprofessionals and classified employees. It also restores some funding to areas cut last year, when a deficit forced school closures.

According to the district's budget packet, its general fund revenues are expected to increase by about $5.1 million this year over last. Much of this increase represents funds that go directly to charter schools; the increase to district coffers is closer to just over $1 million. That increase, however, along with cuts in other areas is allowing the district to put some money back in to areas it trimmed last year, including weighted student formula (the allocation of money to schools based on the needs of each student), student nutrition and child development (i.e. care for after school and children younger than kindergarten age.)

Copies of the proposed budget are available from the district office at 555 Franklin Street. The board will hear a presentation and hold a public discussion on the budget at its Committee of Whole meeting Thursday, June 14 at 7 p.m. It will vote on the budget at its next regular board meeting, Tuesday, June 26.

District's Plan to Boost Lunch Money for Schools

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

School officials appealed to the city for a $1 million electronic meal payment system that they said would save SFUSD $1 million a year, money that could go into providing healthier student meals. Following the meeting Thursday of the Select Committee of the Board of Education and Board of Supervisors, Supervisor Ross Mirkarimi (District 5) said he believed funding such a system would have broad support on the Board of Supervisors.

"It's incumbent upon us to figure out a way to come up with this money," said Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, (District 10), who was responsible for bringing up the discussion. "This is important for us, it's important for our children and it's a way for us to say that this city cares about its families."

Also in attendance at the meeting were Supervisors Bevan Dufty (District 8) and Commissioners Hydra Mendoza and Jill Wynns.

Representatives from the Mayor's Department of Children, Youth and Families, and from the district's Student Nutrition program, discussed efforts that have been made to improve student nutrition, beginning with outlawing the sale of junk food and soda in 2003. They highlighted some pilot programs that have shown promising results. One is developing "Grab and Go" breakfasts that students eat at their desks during the first 15 minutes of school. The idea came about because many students rush to class just in time for the bell without having a meal first. In the schools where the Grab and Go breakfasts have been implemented, the numbers of kids eating school breakfasts has shot up 225 percent, according to district representatives.

Another initiative has been putting salad bars in cafeterias at schools such as Balboa High; this has increased the number of kids eating school lunches by 26 percent.

However, the district's Student Nutrition Services continues to face a gap between the "lunch money" it gets from the state and federal government and the costs of operating the program. The gap has shrinking over the last several years from $1.2 million to about $560,000, but that deficit has to be made up from the district's much-strained general fund.

A point-of-sale system, in which students pay for meals using prepaid electronic swipe cards, would bring tremendous value, supporters said. They estimated after the one-time cost of installation, it would save the district a million dollars a year by eliminating the need to collect and count cash, providing better inventory control and enabling faster reimbursement from the government. The program would make meal lines move much faster and, because of this streamlining, make it possible to expand the successful Grab and Go breakfast program to every school, supporters said. Also important, the system would eliminate the stigma of receiving free meals by making it impossible to know which students qualified and which were full-paying. The reduced stigma could mean more kids would apply for free and reduced lunches, which are reimbursed through federal funds. The district policy is not to turn away any child who doesn't have lunch money; in the cases of children who haven't applied for free lunches, the district simply absorbs the cost.

The money the district saved each year would mean nutrition services would not encroach on the general fund budget, district representatives said. The district would also have about $350,000 a year to put back into school meals for improvements, such as expanding salad bars and bringing more seasonal produce to the menu.

"None of this is in the mayor's budget that has come to us," Mirkarimi said. "We need to figure out where to come up with it." But he said he thought there would be support for finding the funds. "I definitely think it will be well-received by the other supervisors. I can't see why it wouldn't be." He noted, however, that "we seem to be discovering this almost by accident. I'm wondering why it wasn't put to us more formally by the mayor's office or the school district."

For her part, Wynns said she hadn't known district representatives intended to ask the city to fund the program, although she supported the idea. Wynns said the district has applied for a grant to fund the system but could put those funds to other student-nutrition-related uses.

Board Discusses NCLB's Impact on the District

By Nicole Achs Freeling
Greatschools.net Correspondent

With George W. Bush's education reform initiative No Child Left Behind soon to come up for reauthorization in Congress, school board members discussed the impact of NCLB on the district at a Committee of the Whole Meeting Monday night.

The board, along with the district and teachers, has been highly critical of NCLB and its members have lobbied heavily against it.

What is NCLB?

The discussion Monday began with an outline of the requirements of NCLB. The act requires states to set targets for students and categories of students to achieve proficiency in key subjects, as measured by state standardized tests. These targets determine whether a school makes "Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)." The goal is for 100 percent of students to reach proficiency by 2014. Schools and districts that do not meet growth targets two years in a row are deemed to be in "program improvement." SFUSD has 26 program improvement schools and this year it was deemed a program improvement district.

Critics of NCLB say the 100 percent proficiency target is unattainable. Rather than being measured by one national standard, proficiency is measured differently state by state. Commissioner Jill Wynns said California standards are especially high. "Proficiency" according to state standardized tests was designed to be higher than grade-level, and, in fact, to the level that would be on target to qualify for admission to the state university system. There are estimates, Wynns said, that every district in the state will be a program improvement district within the next three years.

NCLB has a number of other key requirements, including:

• That, by the end of this year, all teachers be "highly qualified." This means they must have a bachelors degree, have proper certification, and be actually teaching in the subject areas in which they are trained. District representative Ky Vu said 95 percent of SFUSD teachers will meet that requirement by the fall.
• That junior and senior students' contact information be made available to military recruiters, unless those students "opt out" of receiving information from both the military and college scholarship/financial aid organizations. The district, Vu said, has adopted a rigorous opt-out program, which informs students of the program and gives them the opportunity to opt out starting in the 9th grade.
• That the district allow students to transfer out of a program improvement schools to another school, and that the district provide transportation to the new school. This has not affected SFUSD much because of its choice-based enrollment system, Vu said. Only two students requested transfers this year under NCLB.
• That the district fund after-school tutoring for students who are testing below proficient and at program improvement schools. Under this provision, the district must use some of its federal funding to pay for tutoring services through private firms like Kaplan and Sylvan Learning Centers.

Impact On Curriculum

During the discussion, district representatives laid out several key areas in which they feel NCLB has negatively affected San Francisco schools. The biggest impact is in curriculum itself, district representatives said. "We're testing rigorously every three to six weeks," fifth-grade teacher Dawn Murmur said. "The curriculum is mediocre, dumbed down. It's an insult to the students and it's an insult to me."

One of the biggest impacts, board members agreed, has been the narrowing of curriculum at under-performing schools. Board members say this hurts the very students it's meant to help, by not offering them a rich curriculum that will excite them and keep them in school.

"One of the reasons test scores have gone up is people have learned what's going to be on the test, and they teach toward that, and the kids are being cheated," said Board President Mark Sanchez, who is an eighth-grade teacher. "[Meanwhile] the numbers go up and it makes it look like we're doing our job."

NCLB mandates that kids below proficiency take additional remedial classes in core curriculum rather than electives. Because of this requirement, electives have been virtually eliminated at some under-performing, mostly East Side, schools, according to Vu. "In some middle schools, kids are getting two to three hours of math and English a day," Sanchez said.

NCLB has also been controversial in the way it treats special-education students and English language learners. Critics say the tests are stacked against these students, and schools with high numbers of these students end up penalized for lower test scores.

Where the Act Stands in Congress

Some members of Congress including Democrats are pushing to have a bill reauthorizing NCLB out of the House of Representatives before the summer recess, and a Senate version could be taken up as early as the fall, according to UESF leaders. National Educators Association representative Cecil Cahoon said the fast timeline would pre-empt the kinds of rewrites needed to improve the program. And, if there were to be major revision, Bush might veto it, leaving NCLB standing as is, he said. He urged people to write to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi voicing their opposition to NCLB in his current form. For more information on the letter writing campaign, Cahoon can be reached at ccahoon@nea.org.

Community Budget Workshop 5.23.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• District Offers Primer on Next Year's Budget
• Interim Superintendent Chan to Retire

District Offers Primer on Next Year's Budget

At a Community Budget Workshop Thursday night at Balboa High School, district representatives offered a primer on the district's budget: where the money comes from, how expenditures break down and what changes might be coming at the state level.

Increases in federal, state and local revenue have helped to offset the loss of funds due to declining enrollment, according to district budget documents. Commissioner Jill Wynns said the district has not had to make the major cuts it did last year — such as closing schools — to balance its budget. But the district faces continued budget pressure due to declining enrollment, which amounts to about 800 students a year, equal to about $7 million of funding.

Myong Leigh, chief of policy and planning, explained that the district's two main funds are its facilities fund, comprising bond money, developer fees and state building funds, and its general fund, made up largely of revenue from the state. The general fund is broken down into unrestricted funds, which can be spent at the discretion of the district, and restricted funds, which are earmarked for categorical programs such as special education.

The district is looking at a $640 million budget for 2006-07. It is expecting unrestricted general fund revenues of $356 million, up from $332 million last year. Its budgeted expenditures are $334 million.

Most of the budget pressure has fallen in the area of unrestricted fund. The reason is that the district gets money per pupil from the state, based on average daily attendance. As enrollment has declined, this money has declined. "A well-funded district can weather some declining enrollment," Leigh said. "But a chronically inadequately funded system that shows continual declines can't do it."

Some good news came from Sacramento earlier this month in the form of the governor's May revision of the state budget, which allocated a cost-of-living (COLA) increase of 4.58 percent to the district, higher than S.F. school officials were expecting. The COLA increase is meant to keep state funding in line with increasing costs of operating schools.

The 4.58 percent COLA represents about $13 million in additional money for the district, according to district Budget Director Reta Madhavan. Expected declines in attendance will represent a loss of about $7 million, leaving a net of about $6 million in additional money. That, however, will be wiped out by salary increases for teachers reaching higher seniority levels, increases in health benefit costs and pay raises negotiated in last year's union contracts with employees, district representatives said.

The district is looking at two main strategies for addressing the budget crunch caused by declining enrollment, representatives said. One is the development of a long-term plan to increase enrollment, a first for the district, Leigh said. The other is the launch of a parcel tax, which is currently slated for the February 2008 ballot, to coincide with presidential primaries. The tax would seek to raise funds largely to increase compensation for teachers and add additional classroom and administrative staff, as well as develop other initiatives aimed at building enrollment.

The parcel tax could be a huge boon to the district, on the order of Proposition H, Leigh said.

But, Wynns said, tax increases are always a hard sell, and they must pass by a two-thirds majority. "It's very unlikely we can pass a parcel tax if we have a big fight with the unions this year." To that end, she said, the district is working hard to reach an agreement with the teachers union on its upcoming contract by the end of this school year, a move that would be unprecedented in the district.

Wynns encouraged community members to get involved in helping the parcel tax succeed. "This is one of the few things we can do — not just in the district but in the whole community — to make a big impact on the (funding) dilemma."

Interim Superintendent Chan to Retire

After a 40 year career with the school district, in addition to 13 years as student here, Acting Superintendent Gwen Chan announced she would be retiring from the district July 1, 2007. She said she would be happy to help with the transition to the new superintendent, which the board is expecting to name by the end of the month, according to BOE President Mark Sanchez.

Chan's move disappointed those who had hoped she would seek the post of permanent superintendent.

Chan made her announcement Wednesday at Francisco Middle School, which she had attended as a youngster, giving the graduation speech in 1960. She spoke to a crowd of supporters that included Mayor Gavin Newsom, current and former board members, the police chief and other civic leaders. Commissioner Norman Yee gave Chan a big letter "F" for service that had he attained at Francisco as a youngster.

School Board Notes 5.22.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• District Names First "Small Schools"
• Getting Youth Out to Vote
• Teachers Want Deal by End of Year

District Names First "Small Schools"

The first two schools to participate in the district's small schools initiative will be San Francisco Community School (a K–8 school) and June Jordan High School, Interim Superintendent Gwen Chan announced at the school board meeting Tuesday night. Several schools had applied for the program, said Chan. The selected schools will have more site autonomy, different governance structures, and different evaluation and budgeting procedures from other schools in the district, in an effort to allow them to develop as models of small schools by design. The small schools program seeks to foster student achievement through limiting schools size and offering more customized instruction.

Getting Youth Out to Vote

How to get youth excited and interested in the voting process was a main issue of policy discussed at Tuesday night's meeting. One resolution — introduced for first reading and directed to committee — seeks to adopt a YouthVote curriculum that would educate students about voting and upcoming election issues.

The YouthVote initiative provides for a certain number of days of instruction in voting, as well as discussion about the politicians and issues involved in ensuing elections. The district would hold mock elections to correspond to real ones; students would be able to cast their vote on the delegates, candidates and propositions up for decision. Several members of the Student Advisory Council registered some concerns with the proposal, including that it called for two rather than three days of instruction per year. The proposal was sent to the Curriculum Committee for further discussion.

The board unanimously passed a resolution proposed by the Student Advisory Council that would, in part, seek to increase the number of schools represented. Student delegates to the board have often come from two or three star high schools. The resolution calls for at least one interim delegate to be elected from a school that has not been represented by student delegates for at least three years. The interim delegates will serve from July until November, when the results of student elections are announced.

Teachers Want Deal by End of Year

Members of the teachers union turned out again to press the board for agreement on a contract by the end of the school year, a move that would herald a new era for district-labor relations, according to union representatives. Union leader Dennis Kelly asked the district to put some of the 4.53 percent cost-of-living increase in funds from the state toward salary increases. "We've been bargaining since February 1, and the district has yet to put a single dime on the table," he said. He urged the district to make good on a pledge to bring a compensation package to the table at a meeting on Thursday. "We want to start next year with a contract settled and harmony in this district."

School Board Notes 5.8.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• District Declares Surplus Property
• Guadalupe School Pleads to Save Computer Lab
• District Makes Offer for Tech Workers Raise

District Declares Surplus Property

The district will designate 20 percent of its property as surplus and lease or sell it to third parties in response to declining enrollment, the school board decided at its meeting Tuesday.

Decades of declining enrollment have left the district with more property than it needs at the same time it is struggling to meet budget shortfalls, according to members of the board and staff. In an effort to turn shuttered school buildings and unused grounds into cash for the district, the board unanimously passed a resolution that adopts guidelines — put together by a citizen's advisory committee — for putting properties up for sale or lease. The district would especially support use for affordable housing, teacher housing and child care facilities.

The resolution named a number of properties to be deemed surplus. These are:

• Children's Center Administrative Building at 20 Cook St.
• Florence Martin Children's Center at 1155 Page St.
• Vacant land at 1101 Connecticut St.
• The 7th Avenue parking lot at 1350 7th Ave.
• Louise Lombard High School (currently vacant) at 700 Font St.
• The former Phoenix High School site at 1950 Mission St.
• The former Newcomer High School site at 2340 Jackson St.
• Vacant land at 7th Avenue and Lawton
• A parking garage at 1340 Bush St.
• The Golden Gate Annex at 1513 Ave.

The list represents only a portion of the 20 percent called for. District staff has established a subcommittee and is working to identify excess property, including unused parts of buildings or grounds, said Chief Facilities Officer David Goldin. One such property is the former SOTA site at 135 Van Ness. "We're beginning to say the cost of renovating this historic old building isn't doable, but maybe it has value for a developer for the rights to the space above that will help us work on the building below."

A number of citizens protested the designation of the 7th and Lawton lot as surplus, saying it is actually open space and was deeded to the city with the requirement that it remain so.

"Designating this as surplus property is the first step toward making a property that was designated open space and turning it into something that is not," said local resident Jeremy Friedlander. The spot houses an annual pumpkin patch and Christmas tree farm and is used as "an ad hoc park by the community," according to another resident. "This is part of a corridor of very interesting open space. It's an ideal location to educate kids about the natural world, maybe have a garden where they could grow their own vegetables or natural plants," he said.

Goldin confirmed there is a deed restriction on the property, which was given to the district by the city in property swap years ago that could "make it difficult to sell to a developer." Board members appeared to believe, however, that a use in line with its designation or some way to remove the restriction could be found.

Goldin also underscored that sale or lease of any single piece of property, even that deemed surplus, would still have to come before the board for public testimony and a vote.

Guadalupe School Pleads to Save Computer Lab

Dozens of families from Guadalupe Elementary School turned out to press school officials not to close the school's computer lab. The school serves mostly underprivileged families, including low-income African-American and Latino students.

Many of the seats in the audience were filled with squirming elementary schoolers holding handmade signs. The school recently learned it would have to close its computer lab to accommodate over-enrollment in the 4th and 5th grade, parent Terry Factora told the board. She presented a petition with 200 signatures asking the board for a bungalow. "We are a school that is succeeding," she said, noting improved test scores. At the same time, she said, the school has historically been given few resources from the district. "With our speech therapist working out of a closet and our behavioral specialist working out of an old bathroom, now our kids are expected to go without a valuable resource."

Board President Mark Sanchez, who has often stressed his commitment to under-served communities, put the item on the agenda for the next Buildings & Grounds Committee meeting, May 29. At the behest of Sanchez and Commissioner Eric Mar, Chan said she would look into that case and any other schools that came to the district with a similar complaint.

District Makes Offer for Tech Worker Raise

After years of having no contract with the union governing IT staff and technical workers, the district adopted an initial proposal including an annual increase in pay and benefits of a total of $700,000 to $800,000 going forward and a lump sum payment of $2.2 million this year. The agreement, which encompasses  "a retroactive component longer than almost any other contract we've seen," according to Chief of Policy and Planning Myong Leigh. It includes retroactive salary increases of 3 percent for 2000-01; 2.5 percent for 2001-02; 2 percent for 2006; and 9.5 percent for 2007. In exchange, members will pay the full share of their retirement costs starting this May.

This year's chunk will come from district reserves, with future increases coming out of the district's operating budget.

School Board Notes 5.3.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

District Graduates Get Mixed Reviews From City College

At a meeting with the BOE Thursday night, officials from City College of San Francisco reported on how well incoming SFUSD students are doing compared to other students at the college. The meeting had good news and bad news for the district.

SFUSD students have been entering the college at lower levels of English proficiency than other new high school graduates, and their ability has been trending lower over the last several years. In math, SFUSD grads placed higher than graduates of SF private schools, but lower than from schools outside the city. Math abilities of incoming students have been improving over the last few years.

SFUSD students have been steadily improving the percentage of units passed, reaching 63 percent this year. They have a higher rate than other students of continuing at the college from semester to semester, with a re-enrollment rate of 85 percent. "There is something about SFUSD students that they stick with it here," said CCSF representative Steven Spurling. "Persistence has a lot to do with success."

The complete report can be viewed here.

It was presented May 3 at a joint meeting of the Curriculum and Program Committee of the Board of Education and the Education Committee of the San Francisco Community College District Board of Trustees.

The report found that 59 percent of SFUSD grads were placing into English at the most basic level, compared to 36 percent of those from private SF high schools and 45 percent of those from outside the city. Only 7 percent were placing in at college level, compared to 17 percent of kids from private schools in the city and 12 percent of kids from out-of-area schools.

Kids who come in at the most basic level have to take five courses just to get up to the level of freshman English, Spurling said. "The questions is, 'Why the dickens would someone be able to place in that low?' Without finger-pointing, that's been an issue we've had for years."

Board members said one cause was lack of communication between SFUSD faculty and CCSF faculty about curriculum. Commissioner Jill Wynns asked whether CCSF's test was in line with standards, NCLB requirements and other material upon which the district itself is assessed. "Are you testing kids on what we're teaching them?" she asked.

"That's a good question," Spurling responded. There is no standard placement test being used by the colleges," he said. In fact, there are more than 100 different placement tests used by various institutions. "It's absurd and bizarre, but that's how it is."

The committee discussed trying to formalize communication between SFUSD teachers and CCSF faculty so teachers could be sure they were equipping their seniors to place into higher courses. Commissioner Kim Shree-Maufus cautioned, however, against another form of teaching to the test. "We don't want more kids are placing into these (higher) courses and then failing the course."

In a related address, commissioners heard from an organization called CalPASS (California Partnership for Achieving Student Success), a state-funded program designed to improve student success as they move from high school to college. CalPASS helps gather data about how students from each school and district fare after graduation. It also facilitates conversations between school districts and higher learning institutions, and works to help them align curricula so incoming freshman will be equipped for success.

"There's a misalignment across the state and across the nation," said Michele Kalina, senior director of operations for CalPASS. "Students come out of high school who have done well, and then they enter higher education and — whether it's CSU, UC or City College, find themselves ill-prepared to do the work that's expected of them."

Board members discussed moving immediately to join CalPASS. Assistant Superintendent Margaret Chu said the district had considered paying a private firm to help gather just the information CalPASS was offering to provide.

School Board Notes 4.26.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• Interviews to Begin for New Superintendent
• Committee Considers New Administrative Positions
• Board Votes on Cuts to Paraprofessionals

Interviews to Begin for New Superintendent

The board is on schedule with its "aggressive timeline" to hire a new superintendent, Commissioner Norman Yee said on Thursday evening at a meeting of the Ad Hoc Committee on Personnel. So far, the search firm has about 15 to 20 applications, but search leaders said they expected some of the best candidates to apply toward the end of the search to protect against leaks and rumors. The board expects to have all the applications in and begin conducting interviews by the second week of May.

The board will meet as a Committee of the Whole on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. to discuss how its role should intersect with that of the superintendent. "We'll be hearing for the first time then about what we have" in terms of applications, Yee said. "But we won't know about a lot of these folks until the last minute."

Committee Considers New Administrative Positions

The committee discussed three new administrative positions it is seeking to fill, one to manage funding and programs associated with Proposition H, the Public Education Enrichment Fund; one to coordinate the district's newly adopted Small Schools by Design Initiative; and one to conduct internal financial audits.

Yee said he expected all the positions to funded through either outside or dedicated funds within the district, rather than unrestricted funds, where the district is facing the most budgetary pressure.

Board members considered the value of hiring an internal auditor. Discussion has come up regularly over the years that the district might save money by having someone investigate spending. At the same time, district financial advisor Joe Graziola said, it should be someone who could create real operating efficiencies. "Just looking to see where we can save money, we do every day," he said.

Board members directed staff to write a job description for the internal auditor position so they would know more specifically what it encompassed. Staff has begun recruiting for the Prop. H coordinator position, although the Prop. H budget has yet to be approved by the Board of Supervisors. One of the district's senior staff members will assume the post of small schools coordinator, according to staff member Orla O'Keefe.

Board Votes on Cuts to Paraprofessionals

Later, the board reconvened to vote on whether to lay off 16 paraprofessionals. The cuts were narrowly approved, after members wrestling with issues of how much the move would save the district and whether there were other options. Commissioners Yee, Jill Wynns, Hydra Mendoza and Jane Kim voted for the cuts; Commissioners Mark Sanchez, Kim-Shree Maufus and Eric Mar voted against them.

"The elephant in the room is that were in negotiation with the union and we want to do everything possible to show we're negotiating in good faith," Sanchez said.

One of the biggest issue was concern over the seniority of the individuals involved. One has 25 years' experience with the district, and many others have long histories of service as well. District staff said that, because many of these positions have not been filled in a long time, there are no less senior staff members to lay off. But Yee observed, "When you've been in the district 25 years, it doesn't make any sense you can't do anything else within the district."

There was also concern about the accuracy of the $680,000 estimate that staff said the layoffs would save the district. "That seems like a large overestimation given the salary numbers we're seeing," Mar said. Staff, for its part, defended the numbers, saying the district has worked from every angle to reduce the layoffs to the lowest number possible. "I can't stress the enough: we do not like taking this before the board, and we take this very seriously," O'Keefe said. "Nobody is putting their thumb on the scale."

The affected employees will be encouraged to apply for open positions within the district, mainly in special education and child development. Last year, the district was able to re-employ 19 of the 38 employees it laid off.

School Boad Notes 4.24.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• Teachers Rally for New Contract
• Board Considers Paraprofessional Layoffs
• Update on Proposition H Debate
• New Programs Open to Serve Hearing-Impaired
• Bus Drivers Honored

Teachers Rally for New Contract

Some 300 teachers and school employees gathered before Tuesday night's meeting to turn up the heat on contract negotiations with the district. The teachers hope to have the contract decided by the end of the school year. So far, however, union representatives say there has been little discussion on key issues, namely across-the-board pay increases and increased benefits for paraprofessionals.

United Educators of San Francisco, the teachers union, is calling for 6 percent raises for its members. The figure, according to union President Dennis Kelly, represents a 4 percent cost of living increase — the same amount given from the state to the district — and the growing costs employees are paying for health insurance. The union is also calling for contract changes that would give paraprofessionals, the assistants who support teachers in the classroom, the same rights as teachers, including bereavement leave, paid time off for jury duty, full binding arbitration for disputes and enhanced retirement benefits.

In spite of the spirited rally, Kelly said the feeling about the negotiations was "much different" this time than two years ago, when a tense relationship with district leadership helped push the teachers to the brink of a strike. This board has generally been more supportive of the unions, including setting up a special committee to deal with personnel and labor issues at the behest of board President Mark Sanchez.

Board Considers Paraprofessional Layoffs

Later in the meeting, the board took up the issue of whether to lay off 16 paraprofessionals. The school site councils have turned in their budgets, and several have identified paraprofessional jobs as an area that could be cut. Employee groups, however, took umbrage at the proposed job cuts. Public school activist Kim Knox pointed out that the board is also deciding on whether to hire three new administrators, at salary and benefit costs of about $100,000 each. One of the paraprofessionals up for a layoff has been working for the district since 1982.

Chief of Policy and Planning Myong Leigh also observed that as the number of students in the district continues to drop, the number of adults serving those children will also decline. Union leaders asked if temporary paraprofessionals, of which their are 450 in the district, could be laid off instead.

The schools at which the paraprofessional position would be eliminated are: Bessie Carmichael (3), Filipino Education Center (1), Daniel Webster Child Development Center (1), Cobb Child Development Center (1), Gloria R. Davis Academy, now at Thurgood Marshall (1).

The board decided to reconvene after Thursday's Personnel Committee meeting for a vote on the issue. If the paraprofessionals are to be laid off, notices must be sent out by Friday to go into effect at the end of the school year, according to a state law requiring 45 days' notice.

Update on Proposition H Debate

Briefing the public on discussions with the Board of Supervisors, Commissioner Jane Kim said the two bodies had reached an agreement on how to define so called in-kind services, those that the city will give the district instead of cash under Proposition H. They agreed on several things, according to Kim:

• In-kind services will cover only new services to the district, not thing the city already provides.
• A committee will be developed comprising members of the Proposition H Citizens Advisory Committee; the city's Department of Children, Youth and Families; district staff; and the city controller's office. That committee will develop a list of potential in-kind services.
• There is no need for the district to put a minimum dollar amount on the use of in-kind services in the next year.

Board members asked what to do about a pending resolution that called for including at least $2.5 million in in-kind services in the next year's Prop. H plan. The resolution was controversial as it represented a large increase over this year's use in-kind services, valued at $250,000. Sanchez, the author of the resolution, has the authority to hold off on the measure. "I don't plan on bringing it before the board any time soon," he said.

Opponents have said using in-kind services limits the district's ability to employ Prop. H funds and robs it of cash to start new programs.

New Programs Open to Serve Hearing-Impaired

Staff working on a program started in 2005 to serve deaf and hearing-impaired students gave the district an update on it progress. In the past two years, the program has hired an administrator and developed a structure. Now it is involved in actually establishing programs in the schools.

This year, the program has opened a learning center for 18- to 36-month-olds at Tule Elk Child Development Center, which uses both sign language and spoken communication. It has opened a K-2 speech-based program at Cesar Chavez Elementary. Magnet programs with special services for deaf and hearing-impaired students have been established at Claire Lilienthal Elementary, Lilienthal and Aptos middle schools and John O'Connell High School. A pre-K program including both speech and sign language is scheduled for completion in October.

Bus Drivers Honored

The district presented an award of commendation to the San Francisco bus drivers, who not only have an excellent safety record but have also pitched in countless hours to support children and the district in their off-duty time, according to board members. The San Francisco bus drivers have never had a fatality, either on board or with students crossing the street to get on and off. Bus driver Brock Estes applauded the efforts of drivers like Jose Perez, who has saved the lives of at least two people in his duties by calling 911 and administering first aid.