What a Long Strange Trip It's Been.
I never started my work on the San Francisco Board of Education (SFBoE) as a “recall” person. I started in January 2021 with the goal of returning the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to something I recognized and benefitted from.
It started pretty quietly, working on the Prop A Bond and something called the Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee. Nerdy, I grant you.
But I started listening to others and quickly figured out I was not alone. Lots of folks cared about the kids. And lots of folks wanted to change the dynamic.
On February 15th that happened. For me (and so many others), it was an exhausting journey. The SFBoE Recall effort has garnered national attention. But I come back to the roots. And as I watched Mayor Breed today on Meet the Press, she nailed it.
This was never about Republican vs Democrat or even “white supremacy.” This was about competence around the “fundamental job.”
Here’s the truth: our work isn’t done. It would be easy to take a break now. I won’t. And neither should you.
SFUSD is broken. It starts with the SFBoE, but it’s systemic. We need to choose a new Superintendent. We need to take a hard look at 555 Franklin Street. We need to get our financial house in order.
The issues continue. We’ll see if the SFBoE on Tuesday strips away AP classes to pay some teachers a little more money. We’ll see if an apparently loved math teacher loses her job because of a supposed personal issue.
I‘ve read very good and very bad takes on this recall election. Now that we’ve had a few days to think about it, we must get back to work. I’ll be on this again tomorrow and hope you will too.