By Nicole Achs Freeling
Greatschools.net Correspondent
- Mayor Proposes City/District Partnership
- Tech Union Demands Wage Increase
- Timeline for Finding New Superintendent
- Problems, Hopes at Horace Mann
- Former Board Member's Travel Expenses Questioned
Mayor Proposes City/District Partnership
It is a rare occurrence for a sitting mayor to publicly address the Board of Education, and even rarer for it to happen under collegial circumstances. But Tuesday, Mayor Gavin Newsom appeared before the board to pitch a "Partnership for Achievement" that would lay a framework for collaboration between the city and school district in working to improve the schools.
At a time when mayoral takeovers of school districts are grabbing headlines, Newsom's initiative would allow the city and district to work more closely together and pool resources, while respecting the line of governance between the two.
"This is not about governing or creating policy, but setting up a framework where we all respect our roles," Newsom told the board. "If we have a plan, we can support you in making tough decisions in a proactive way, not in a reactive way like we did last year," he said, referring to his objection to the board's decision to close schools, specifically merging John Swett Elementary into John Muir Elementary.
The city, Newsom said, has more than 60 departments and almost everyone provides services that has some connection to youth and education. From shared facility maintenance to greening the schoolyards, "we haven't scratched the surface of what we can do in collaboration.
Board members and acting Superintendent Gwen Chan were full of praise for the plan, which will come to the board for a vote at its next regular meeting, February 27.
Newsom's office has long been working to build a closer relationship with the district. He hired Hydra Mendoza to serve as a liaison between the city and BOE, a post she continues to hold while serving on the board.
The partnership was created with input from the board members and Chan. It identifies six strategic areas:
- A marketing campaign to showcase school programs and professionals
- Initiatives to recruit and retain educators, including a plan by the mayor to help teacher's retire student loans and get low-cost home loans
- Use of local funds to expand services that will help students come to school healthy and ready to learn
- Increased investment in early education, after-school programming, collaborative services that support both district and city programs and violence-prevention programs
- Strategies to prepare students for the modern workforce, such as the development of career pathways in competitive workforce areas
- Alignment of facilities planning efforts to develop “hubs” to share in creating safe neighborhoods and community centers
Tech Union Demands Wage Increase
Members of the union representing information technology professionals at the district said that after five years without pay increases it was time for the district to negotiate with members and increase their wages. Information technology employees have not had an across-the-board pay increase since 2001, and now make almost 30 percent less than employees in comparable posts working for the city, representatives said. The union met with District Labor Relations Manager Tom Ruiz in January. The district would not negotiate with the group under former Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, but it changed its position under Chan and agreed to meet with members, according to the union's newsletter. So far, however, district officials have said they don't have the money to fund the increase the union is asking for, which would bring its salaries in line with those of city employees.
"It goes deeper than equal pay for equal work," Frank Morales, an IT professional who has been with the city since 1980, told the board. In the central office alone, he said, eight people have left for better pay elsewhere. Those employees have not been replaced, he said. "Their responsibilities and duties didn't leave with them but got heaped on the remaining employees." Burdensome workloads have made it difficult to meet federal and state reporting requirements, he said, and "morale is devastated."
Timeline for Finding New Superintendent
The board has set May 17 as its target date for finding and making an offer to a new superintendent, Commissioner Mendoza told the public, recapping discussions that have been held in committee. The district will spend the next month and a half soliciting public input that will be used to create a profile of the qualities the community values in a leader. The board hopes to interview finalists May 10 to 12, and make a final choice the following week. "It's a very aggressive timeline, but one I feel we can meet," Commissioner Mendoza said.
Commissioner Eric Mar announced that the district is establishing an interactive Web site, also available in Spanish and Chinese, that will allow people to respond to a questionnaire about what they want from their schools and from a superintendent.
Problems, Hopes at Horace Mann
A report by the state intervention team charged with monitoring the progress of Horace Mann, an under-performing middle school that has been under state sanctions since 2004, said the school is working hard to put rigorous teaching programs in place but is still struggling with several intractable problems. District representative DeeDee Desmond reported that 84 percent of incoming sixth-graders are below grade level in math and language arts, a problem she attributed to the current student assignment process. Staff turnover has also been a problem, Desmond said. The school has had three principals in three years, and 14 of the school's 32 instructors are new to teaching.
"Horace Mann was a high-achieving school when we were using a race-based assignment process and (that) should be considered when we have that discussion," Commissioner Jill Wynns observed.
School officials are hopeful that Horace Mann may qualify for funding under a recent legal settlement between the California Teachers Association and the state that will bring $2.9 million to under-performing schools. Some 23 schools in SFUSD are eligible. There is enough money to fund about a third of the schools in the state that qualify. The state has committed to funding one school in each county, then allotting the rest through an application process.
Former Board Member's Travel Expenses Questioned
A consent calendar item pulled from the last general meeting questioned a request to reimburse former Commissioner Dan Kelly for $12,474 of expenses incurred traveling on district business. At issue were not the expenses themselves, which were all deemed legitimate, but that they dated back to 1992.
"Making reimbursements that date back that far seems unreasonable," said Commissioner Jane Kim, who proposed reimbursing expenses up to three years ago, the legal statute of limitations.
"I'm concerned about where this money is coming from," Mendoza said. "It's a significant amount of money that could impinge on what's going to school sites."
Other members, however, said that since the board currently has no rules specifically articulating reimbursement of expenses, it was not fair to make those rules and apply them retroactively.
"There are some extraordinary circumstances with this person, and I don't think it's fair to expect us to apply rules that don't exist," Commissioner Kim-Shree Maufus said, adding that it was important to establish some rules as soon as possible.
Board members ultimately approved the expenses, with Jane Kim casting the sole dissenting vote, but agreed to look into setting rules regarding reimbursement of expenses. Typically, board members have paid their own way on trips or had the trips funded by charitable groups unless they were traveling as representatives of the district, as Dr. Kelly had been on all the occasions in question. Commissioner Wynns pointed out he had paid his own expenses on numerous occasions.
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