San Francisco School Board Notes

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.

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 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.

School Board Notes 3.13.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• Board Approves Partnership with Mayor
• Community Speaks Out About Student Enrollment
• Violence Prevention Programs Gear Up

Board Approves Partnership with Mayor

Embarking on what the BOE and Mayor Gavin Newsom say will be a historic partnership, board members unanimously approved a plan Tuesday night that creates a formal alliance between the district and the city while respecting the line of governance between the two. Dubbed the Partnership for Achievement, the agreement lays the groundwork for the district and city to partner in several key areas. Among them:

• Developing incentives, such as low-cost home loans and programs to retire student loans, to recruit and retain teachers
• Building a marketing campaign to promote the schools
• Increasing investment in early education, after-school programming and violence-prevention programs
• Developing strategies to ensure students are technologically proficient and prepared for the modern workforce
• Expanding schools into community that provide services and make neighborhood's safer

BOE members again praised the plan, which they herald as a model for cooperation at a time when mayors are taking over school districts in many cities, including New York, Boston and Chicago. Board members expressed hope that the partnership, among other things, will secure greater funding for school programs.

Community Speaks Out About Student Enrollment

A four-month effort to gain community input about how to address student assignment and declining enrollment has garnered input from close to 1,000 parents and will be presented to the board and public next week.

Since October, the Parent Advisory Council, working with the San Francisco Education Fund and Parents for Public Schools, has been holding small group meetings at neighborhoods throughout the city, interviewing parents of children at public, private and charter schools, as well as youth and community members. Participants were asked such questions as "What do you want for your kids?"and "Why did you chose the schools you did?"

The PAC will present a report of its findings, along with recommendations, to the Committee of the Whole next Tuesday, March 20, at 7:00 p.m.

"One thing we found is that for African-American families, there really wasn't a choice, said PAC secretary Emily Murase. "For them, it was all about location. It didn't matter if there's a great technology school across town. The issue was, could their kids get safely to school?" On the other hand, she said, parents who had switched from private to public schools praised the application and enrollment process, preferring it over spending months lobbying to get a spot in a private school.

Violence Prevention Programs Gear Up

A report on violence prevention programs by School Health Programs Supervisor Trish Bascom district delivered both good news and bad news. The good news is that the district — largely through voter approved funds through Proposition H — are at last reaching the necessary level of violence-prevention support staff and services. The bad news is that reported incidence of problems over the last five years has risen sharply; assaults, for example, rose from 400 to more than 800; "disruptions" rose from 300 to 700.

Bascom could not say why incidents has risen but was upbeat about the district's progress in its violence-prevention efforts. Through Prop. H allocations, elementary schools all now have part-time counselors or nurses on staff. Middle schools will have them starting next year. High schools will get an infusion of counseling staff as part of a statewide initiative. The high schools were also granted significant funds for violence prevention and peer resources through Prop. H allocations. Bascom said the Safe Schools Task Force is currently drawing up criteria for how those funds can be allocated and awarded.

The district has also established a comprehensive database for tracking violence and prevention programs, Bascom said. "We have data like we never have before in these measures and quantities." One such measure is a truancy module that tracks chronically absent kids; another is a database of incident reports that tracks where problems are occurring, what those problems are and takes note of increases.

School Board Notes 2.27.06

By Nicole Achs Freeling
Greatschools.net Correspondent

• Small Schools Policy Adopted
• Proposed Bayview Charter Denied
• New Round of Union Negotiations Begins
• Public Input Sought in Superintendent Search

Small Schools Policy Adopted

After several years of controversy over how much to support small schools, the board adopted a comprehensive policy Tuesday night that lays out a framework for creating and supporting small schools by design. These are schools characterized by limited enrollment, personalized instruction and unique educational approaches. Through the policy, existing schools or groups hoping to start new schools can apply to develop a small school by design (SSD). SSDs will have greater autonomy in budgeting, staffing and developing curriculum than traditional schools.

The policy passed Tuesday night was a broad yet detailed document that laid out specifics of how the schools would be defined, established, supported by the district, assessed and governed, and what level of autonomy they would have in relation to the district. A last-minute change that would have given the superintendent greater control over small school policy caused a dust-up with many of the community members involved in developing the proposed policy.

"Don't, at the 11th hour, remove the teeth, the details, that make this policy effective," said Shane Safir, chair of a task force of community members commissioned to draw up the policy. She urged the board not to cede authority over development of small schools.

However, the level of specificity in the policy led some to question whether it exceeded the board's reach. Commissioner Jill Wynns, in particular, was concerned about the policy. She has often questioned whether the cash-strapped district can afford small schools.

A push by Wynns to adopt the superintendent's version was rebuffed, and the board ultimately unanimously approved the original version. They did agree, though, to have further discussions as to the authority of the superintendent in regulating SSDs. Many board members hailed the policy as a breakthrough that will serve as a model for districts across the country. "This is a big culture shift for us," Commissioner Hydra Mendoza said.

The push for small schools began five years ago when board members, including current commissioners Mark Sanchez and Eric Mar, began championing them as a way to close the achievement gap and recruit more students. Others, however, including Wynns and former superintendent Arlene Ackerman were less enthusiastic. In 2005, the district's lukewarm support led the Gates Foundation to pull funding it had offered to develop small schools.

Last June, however, the board passed a resolution stating its support for small schools and establishing a task force to develop a small schools policy. That task force used best practices culled from urban districts like Boston and Philadelphia to develop the policy the board adopted.

Proposed Bayview Charter Denied

The board voted to deny a charter for the proposed Bayview Essential school of Music, Art and Social Justice, asking the community members who had supported the school to try to develop it as a small school within the district instead. In just the first two months of this year, the district has considered three new charters. It has denied them all so far.

District staff, which recommended denial, said the school, with signatures of 23 proposed students, didn't demonstrate it had the support to build the class sizes it wanted. There was also concern about how adequately the school could meet the needs of English language learners, envisioned as making up about half the student body, and whether there would be enough local leadership of a school operated by CES, a company that develops charter schools nationwide.

Supporters of the charter says CES has a history of running successful small schools that help under-performing students. A CES representative said the school came with $400,000 in grant funding, considerably more startup cash than most charters. "We're offering an opportunity to create a model of small school practices."

Board members instead urged the community to create the school within the framework of the district under the new small schools policy.

New Round of Union Negotiations Begins

With memories of tense negotiations that almost led to a teachers' strike less than a year ago, the district opened a new round of negotiations with the union for a contract to cover 2007 to 2010. The initial proposal laid out few specifics other than to begin the negotiations; however, several members of the teachers union appeared to ask for one specific change: that paraprofessionals be given the same rights as teachers with regard to paid time off for jury duty, bereavement leave and binding arbitration to protect jobs. The board has established a Committee on Labor Relations to help smooth negotiations. It will meet Thursday, March 1, at 4 p.m.

Public Input Sought in Superintendent Search

District leaders are working to gather public input that will help them select a new superintendent. Search leaders are holding public meetings, convening focus groups and collecting questionnaires that will be used to draw up a "leadership profile" of the qualities the community would like to see in the new superintendent. The board hopes to interview candidates in April and make an offer by the end of May.

The district has posted a questionnaire on its Web site that people can fill out to express their opinions. The form asks what people value in the schools, what needs to be changed, and what qualities they feel are most important in a district leader. The questionnaire is also being sent to every household with students in the district. The district will be gathering input at community meetings:

• March 3, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thurgood Marshall High School in Bayview
• March 17, 10 a.m. to 12 p.m., Martin Luther King Middle School in Bayview
• March 17, 2 p.m. to 4 p.m., School of the Arts in Twin Peaks

School Board Notes 2.13.07

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.

School Board Notes 2.5.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

Superintendent Search Begins

The board, meeting as a Committee of the Whole, took its first steps toward finding a new superintendent, working with search firm Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates to make several important decisions about the process.

The biggest issue was whether to conduct a confidential or open search. The latter would allow community input in the final decision, but, search executives say, would discourage many qualified candidates from seeking the post who wouldn't want it known that they might leave their current positions.

In the last search for a superintendent, the names of some of the candidates were leaked by members of the Community Advisory Council, according to Commissioner Jill Wynns. "Your district does have some history where confidentiality was not maintained and, quite candidly that's going to hurt you," said Bill Attea, partner in Hazard, Young, Attea and Associates.

Attea told the board that the most qualified candidates usually request confidentiality. Those least concerned with it, he said, tend to be currently unemployed, from another field, or are serving in a lower-level capacity.

"We've never had any sitting superintendents who have gone public with their candidacy" before a job offer was made, Attea said. "We have had several situations where there was a leak and the candidates withdrew their applications."

The committee decided to hold a confidential search with the possibility of making the process open to public input in the final stages, subject to the candidates being willing to have their names revealed. The committee also decided to solicit a large amount of input on the front end. Over the next two months, the search firm will hold stakeholder focus groups and a number of public meetings to gather public opinion on what San Francisco residents want from their schools and their new superintendent. One proposed forum was an upcoming parents conference, sponsored by local community-based organizations, to be held on March 5.

The board will convene a Citizens Advisory Council of at least 20 members including youth, parents, advocacy group representatives, union leaders and other stakeholders. The CAC will be charged with taking the report generated from the public engagement process and using it to develop a list of criteria the search firm will use in finding candidates. "These will be our marching orders, the criteria we're going to measure every candidate against," Attea said.

The firm will then publicize the search and begin recruiting. It will ultimately come up with a short list of 12 to 15 candidates, and then narrow that down to about five for the board to interview. The board is looking to search for, decide on, and make an offer to a candidate by the end of May. Interim Superintendent Gwen Chan's contract expires in June.

Wynns, the only board member to have already presided over a superintendent search, shared a problem encountered during the last search, when the board did not review the applicants' resumes until the finalist candidates were presented. Several of the people recommended as finalists, she said, "were unacceptable to us because they would have been unacceptable to the community." The board asked to review all the applications of serious candidates, not just those on the search firm's short list.

School Board Notes 1.23.07

By Nicole Achs Freeling
GreatSchools.net Correspondent

• Board Adopts Prop. H Spending Plan
• Norman Yee Back at his Seat
• Board Denies Charter School Petition
• Wallenberg HS Wants Beloved Counselor Back
• Gloria R. Davis to Move to Marshall

Board Adopts Prop. H Spending Plan

At its regular meeting Tuesday night, the board approved a Proposition H spending plan that allocates significant funds for violence prevention and translation services, while slightly increasing the amount of money for academic support, a cause that had been championed by district staff.

The board spent more than two hours taking public testimony, discussing line items and tinkering with amounts before deciding on a figure its members could support. The biggest debate arose over how to spend the discretionary portion of the funds, which represent half the $20 million SFUSD will get in Prop. H funds this year. The Community Advisory Committee, along with members of the public and the Youth Council, had supported funding that was heavy in violence-prevention programs, peer resources and translation services. The superintendent's office had requested more of the funds go to academic support, specifically computer upgrades for students and teachers, a system for tracking individual student progress, and reading and math coaches to help teachers improve their instructional practice.

In the end, the board united behind a proposal by President Mark Sanchez. It called for adopting almost all of the CAC's recommendations but shaving $350,000 off various allocations and giving that money back to the superintendent's office for greater academic support. In its original recommendation to the board, the superintendent had asked for $3.1 million for academic support. She recently came back to the board with a compromise recommendation asking for $1.5 million.

Members of the community appealed to the board about the critical need for violence prevention, peer resources and translation services. Two students said they had been suicidal before they became involved with the peer resources program. They described the program as transformational in its ability to help them gain confidence and self-respect. Other students spoke about witnessing friends being killed or assaulted over minor disagreements, and urged the board to adopt the CAC's recommendations for violence prevention.

The board ultimately adopted the CAC's recommendations, with the following modifications:

• Allocating $550,000, rather than $600,00, for peer resources (-$50,000)
• Allocating $550,000, rather than $600,00, for translation services (-$50,000)
• Allocating $1.55 million, rather than $1.65 million, to middle and high schools for developing violence-prevention programs (-$100,000)
• Eliminating an allocation for a full-time security aide, to be shared between school sites (-$100,000)
• Eliminating an allocation for noon-time monitors (-$20,000)
• Reducing from $250,000 to $236,072 the allocation to establish an evaluating system and hire a coordinator to track and assess use of Prop. H funds (-$14,000)

A copy of the CAC and the superintendent's respective recommendations can be found at the district Web site.

Norman Yee Back at His Seat

Commissioner Norman Yee, who has been hospitalized since being hit by a car while crossing the street December 26, attended the meeting for a short while Tuesday. Yee wore a neck brace and walked with a cane, and could only stay for about an hour. But the commissioner appeared to be in good spirits, and participated actively in the Prop. H discussion. Although he did not say for the vote, he expressed his support for some form of compromise that would retain much of the CAC's recommendations while supporting teachers and administrators need for greater funds for academic support.

Board Denies Charter School Petitions

The board denied two charter school applications before it Tuesday evening, for Bay Area Technology School (Baytech – San Francisco) and Sputnik Math, Science and Language Academy.

BayTech had been proposed as a high school in Bayview/Hunters Point. The owner, Willow Corp., operates a similar school in Oakland. After reviewing the application, staff recommended it be denied for several reasons. Staff members did not feel the charter had adequate community support, and many of those who signed its petition for a charter were not San Francisco residents. The school would not have a local board, but rather be run by Willow's San Mateo-based office. Also, the district was concerned about the charter's plan to draw at least 50 percent of its students from SFUSD schools. Willow had stated a plan of going into local schools and attempting to recruit students, a move Commissioner Jill Wynns said would be "unprecedented and possibly illegal."

Supporters of the school said that it had a successful track record in Oakland of helping under-served students perform and excel. They also pointed to the fact that, with the closing of Gloria R. Davis, Bayview/Hunters Point residents have asked the district to consider locating a charter school in their neighborhood.

Sputnik Academy had been proposed as a K-3 school with a Russian-language focus, targeting English-language learners. After reviewing its application, staff recommended denying the charter because the owners had no track record and staff members were concerned about the ability of the school to meet the needs of English language learners. Its plan did not call for a way of assessing English proficiency, nor did it indicate the instructional support (such as an additional half-hour of classroom instruction per day) and special textbook materials needed for ELL students.

Supporters of the school said it offered them a valuable way to preserve their native language and Russian heritage. District officials noted that SFUSD is working begin a Russian two-way immersion program in the near future.

Wallenberg HS Wants Beloved Counselor Back

About three dozen parents and students at Raoul Wallenberg High School in the Western Addition asked for the return of a beloved counselor, Ernest Stanton, who had been moved to an administrative job at the district. Audience members, who waited long into the night to make their case to the board, held signs saying Mr. Stanton "enhances educational development," "strengthens efforts of staff," "practices individual assessment" and "monitors student achievement."

Gloria R. Davis to Move to Marshall

After waiting late into the night to hear the fate of their school, Gloria R. Davis students and teachers got good news. The district will most likely be able to keep the school as a separate academy within Thurgood Marshall, Superintendent Gwen Chan said. As long as 30 students from the school agree to transfer to Marshall, and "the numbers look good," Chan said, the district should be able to keep the students together, keep some of the teachers, and offer core curriculum as a separate Gloria R. Davis academy co-housed within Marshall. Students would also be able to take advantage of extracurricular activities, honor courses and enrichment activities available at Marshall. The fate of Gloria R. Davis has been uncertain since the board voted at its last meeting to close the school due to its inability to build enough enrollment to support a 9-12th grade program.