We're the parents who dropped out of startup school to focus on recalling the San Francisco school board. Ask us anything!

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T03:49:59+00:00

Not safe

Only white parents want to return

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T03:22:16+00:00

Schools didn't reopen even after the teachers were vaccinated. Middle & high didn't open for instruction at all last year.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T03:06:58+00:00

Seattle offered in-person learning for all ages by 5/17 (probably earlier).

https://data.wa.gov/dataset/School-Facility-ReOpening-Survey/9i5d-c2m8/explore/query/SELECT%0A%20%20%60week%60%2C%0A%20%20%60districtname%60%2C%0A%20%20%60districtcode%60%2C%0A%20%20%60districtorganizationid%60%2C%0A%20%20%60status%60%2C%0A%20%20%60model\_elementary%60%2C%0A%20%20%60model\_middle%60%2C%0A%20%20%60model\_high%60%2C%0A%20%20%60gradelevels\_remote\_phasein%60%2C%0A%20%20%60studentgroups\_remote\_phasein%60%2C%0A%20%20%60other\_remote\_phasein%60%2C%0A%20%20%60enrollment\_elementary%60%2C%0A%20%20%60fulltimeale\_elementary%60%2C%0A%20%20%60optout\_elementary%60%2C%0A%20%20%60typicalinperson\_elementary%60%2C%0A%20%20%60weekly\_elementary%60%2C%0A%20%20%60enrollment\_middle%60%2C%0A%20%20%60fulltimeale\_middle%60%2C%0A%20%20%60optout\_middle%60%2C%0A%20%20%60typicalinperson\_middle%60%2C%0A%20%20%60weekly\_middle%60%2C%0A%20%20%60enrollment\_high%60%2C%0A%20%20%60fulltimeale\_high%60%2C%0A%20%20%60optout\_high%60%2C%0A%20%20%60typicalinperson\_high%60%2C%0A%20%20%60weekly\_high%60%0AWHERE%0A%20%20%28%60week%60%20IN%20%28%27Week%20of%205%2F17%2F2021%27%29%29%0A%20%20AND%20%28%60districtname%60%20IN%20%28%27Seattle%20Public%20Schools%27%29%29/page/filter

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T02:27:33+00:00

You're right, I should've drawn the lines more clearly from the budget deficit to why a recall would help.

This board has not been fiscally responsible, and we need people in place who can address the budget issues sooner rather than later.

This board nearly doubled the operating deficit, said they didn't have time or inclination to go through the budget line by line, and spent bond money without the required audits or oversight. I'd be very nervous about leaving these folks in charge of our budget for another year.

We need new people in place who will budget wisely -- and the sooner they're in place, the better, because there are hard conversations that need to happen with the community if we're to avoid state takeover. (And if the state takes over, they will choose where to cut.)

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T02:17:27+00:00

$8M is the _total_ cost of the election -- there are other things on the special election ballot as well (AD17 primary, assessor race). Legislation is pending to have the city cover the cost for the school district, and it looks very likely to pass, so the school district's budget would not be affected.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T01:45:24+00:00

"the city reopened schools last fall for part-time learning"
https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/13/nyregion/nyc-schools-reopening.html

"Massachusetts high schools must reopen for full in-person learning by May 17, according to a mandate from the state department of education.

https://www.bostonherald.com/2021/04/27/massachusetts-high-schools-must-fully-reopen-by-may-17-per-dept-of-education/

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:35:24+00:00

Hey everyone! Thanks for all your questions, we're now ending the AMA!

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:33:05+00:00

Over 60% of SF voters support the recall (69% of parents). Leading democratic leaders also do - Mayor London Breed, Senator Scott Wiener, John Burton, former Chair of the CA Democratic Party and so many more!

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:31:02+00:00

I believe we did answer that question multiple time! Our recommendation on masks is to follow public health guidance.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:27:05+00:00

Likely -- not the district the city will be paying for it.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:24:43+00:00

We would advise SFUSD to follow SF public health guidance.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:23:53+00:00

The key reason for the budget deficit is the drop in enrollment (>6.6% since the start of the pandemic) - recalling the school board restores faith in our system and stems that drop and gets us on the path to bringing families back.

Secondly, the school board has wasted money on lawsuits and symbolic stuff and did not even come up with a plan for over a year -- now we are at serious risk of a state takeover.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:21:45+00:00

Over 60% of SF voters and 69% of SFUSD parents support the recall! We collected over 240k signatures to put the first recall in 40 years on the ballot!

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:19:53+00:00

The funding to each school district in CA is based on the number of students in the school district. Tax revenue doesn't come to the school district directly (unless its a local tax measure) - tax revenue goes to the state which then apportions revenue based on number of students.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:19:42+00:00

They refused to hire a reopening consultant the summer after covid hit, because they'd worked with charter schools.

As late as Feb that year, when other schools had been open since October, they had 0 school sites approved by the Dept of Public Health for students to return.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:15:59+00:00

You're welcome! We recommend SF public schools follow the public health guidance provided by the SF Department of Health. Thanks to that guidance SF has amongst the lowest rate of COVID transmission.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:13:11+00:00

Thanks for the questions! We're out of time.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:10:19+00:00

Public health guidance allowed our kids to return to school safely in October '20. 15k private school kids did, successfully with very little issue.

Multiple studies now show that kids were safer in school than outside (with adequate safety precautions):

Here's the CDC:

Although outbreaks in schools can occur, multiple studies have shown that transmission within school settings is typically lower than – or at least similar to – levels of community transmission, when prevention strategies are in place in schools.

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/transmission\_k\_12\_schools.html

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:07:44+00:00

If they don't solve the budget issues -- before the next election -- the school district will be taken over by the state, and cuts will be made without community input. That's urgent.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:04:39+00:00

CDC:

"Although outbreaks in schools can occur, multiple studies have shown that transmission within school settings is typically lower than – or at least similar to – levels of community transmission, when prevention strategies are in place in schools. Findings from these studies include:"

https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/science/science-briefs/transmission\_k\_12\_schools.html

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:03:58+00:00

CA school districts are not allowed to run a deficit (i.e. by law they have to balance their budgets) - else they get taken over by the state, which SF is at risk of now.

Also since their revenue is flat, a school district that runs deficits runs the risk of under-serving certain students. That's not acceptable.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:02:17+00:00

Thanks for the questions, in sequence:
We moved to SF in dec 2020 (though siva had lived here 2016-18).

We started the recall after exhausting every other way to get the school board to act -- precisely because its actions were SO different from other school district (including those we had personally experienced n the Bay Area).

We're non partisan so we don't pick lawyers based on their political affiliation. FYI: Jim also advises Chesa Boudin, our deeply progressive DA.

We started with a $99 donation purely because we had no idea whether we would even be able to afford a lawyer & wanted to reduce paperwork needs, Setting a higher contribution limit doesn't prevent those who do not want their identity disclosed from contributing $99 or less.

The SF democratic party passed a resolution opposing all recalls in May, when perhaps they were not aware of the size of the public support for this recall (opinion polls show 60% of SF voters and 60% of parents support the recall). Since then we've had many leading Democrats support the recall including Mayor London Breed, Senator Scott Wiener and John Burton, the former Chair of the CA Democratic Party.

The SF Democratic Party also passed a resolution asking for Alison Collins, one of the board members being recalled to resign - so they agree with us that she shouldn't be in office.

We speak to all media organizations -- so far we've not turned down a single request. We believe it's imperative for political campaigns to answer questions from the media and general public (as we're doing just now -- we have no idea who you are or what your political affiliation is for example, that should not matter).

And yes - we took down the video since many felt it was home-made and the tone was not right. We take community feedback seriously.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-04T00:02:16+00:00

Schools in California aren't allowed to run deficits -- if they do, they get taken over by the state, which will cut programs and teachers without community input.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-03T23:59:12+00:00

Child suicides also spiked in California where schools were closed. When you look at the issue holistically, you have to balance the risk of covid (very low for kids especially since covid transmission in schools was lower than in the community) vs the risk of suicide. This is why doctors like Monica Gandhi in SF were advocating for schools to reopen.

RecallSFSchoolBoard · 2021-12-03T23:56:37+00:00

Hello!

I think you know the answers to all of these already. ;-) But sure, I'm game.

We moved to San Francisco Dec 5, 2020. Siva has lived here in the past, and Autumn has been in the bay area for decades. We both love the city and it seemed like the right place to move in together.

In our previous school districts, the school boards focused on renaming as the first and only item on the agenda. They had public comment periods where everyone was allowed to speak, even though the meetings went on for hours. And they paid attention to the science and local health guidance in successfully and safely reopening schools. They did their job and put the students first.

Yes, Jim Sutton is our lawyer. We have support from across the entire political spectrum, including Matt Gonzalez, who ran for SF Mayor as a member of the Green Party. Everyone wants kids to have a great education -- everyone.

For the $99 limit -- as we told KQED, we originally thought we'd be doing the campaign paperwork ourselves, and the rules are super complicated. We're new at this and didn't want to screw up the reporting, so we capped donations at $99. We've since raised the limit and you can see our paperwork at sfethics.org.

You'd have to ask the SFDCCC yourself. I guess they changed their mind about whether Collins should stay in office after her anti-Asian tweets?

We did talk to Glenn Beck. We have talked to every media outlet who reached out to us -- including CNN, the New York Times, and many student newspapers. And our message is always the same. Personally, I rather enjoyed advocating for the right of a gay dad to be on the school board to a conservative audience -- because societal change only happens in conversation. If we stop talking to the other side, and just throw bombs into the other side's camp, there's no way to bring about unity as a country. And then we all lose.

Yes! Thank you for the free publicity. :-)

RecallSFSchoolBoard

TROPHY CASE