More on the future Facilities Bond
My San Francisco Examiner Opinion piece on the planned November 2022 2023 SFUSD Facilities Bond has been posted online and published in print. For my new and longtime substack subscribers, a bit more of a deep dive.
Many I have spoken with recently have something like this view: “With a budget of $1.2 billion for a student population of 50,000, SFUSD completely fails the reputation test to the casual observer. It can’t do the big things right.”
Are we seeing a failure of leadership? I am speaking about both Board of Education Commissioners and SFUSD administration. Are leaders recently showing senioritis? Have these concerns finally bubbled to the surface after years?
SFUSD friends in the City’s arts communities have been hoping for the promised beautiful transformation of 135 Van Ness. They supported such efforts strongly in the past. Now they are ignored and lied to.
The District budget is still far from balanced. The rainy day fund is completely insufficient. The three year plan is a barely sketched dream, based on unknown enrollment data.
The time for gaslighting and warm promises is done. Nobody will care about the Titanic’s deck chair arrangement. Some just don’t realize the fog is lifted and the iceberg is here today. Others continue to work against students to keep their jobs.
Money flows in and outcomes continue their slide.
How do we clean up a big mess? How do we encourage a V-shaped turnaround? I will continue to work with others to shine the light.