Voice of San Francisco
SFUSD confronts hard decisions as elections approach with John Rothmann
This is John Rothman, and you are listening to the Voice of San Francisco. The great question of the San Francisco Unified School District on the table at this moment has been answered. 11 San Francisco schools face the possibility of being closed. I could enumerate them, but you can read about them in the newspaper and online, but there is no doubt that there is upset about the idea of closing schools. The announcement, according to the Chronicle, a Joel Tucker's article, offers the first specifics after a months-long process to close city schools to address the 14,000 empty seats spread across the district's 102 campuses. The empty seats are due to two decades of declining enrollment, including the loss of 4,000 students in the past five years. That's how the Chronicle summarizes the situation, and they're absolutely right. So, let me reflect on this from several different perspectives. First, if your school was about to be closed, what would you do? You'd be up in arms. I know you'd be fighting to save your school. Now, I have to tell you, I went through this myself, and I want to explain to you what I mean by that. I graduated from Madison School in San Francisco, and the most competitive school we had, not too far away, was Grant School. These two schools were exemplary schools, top of the line, best teachers, best administration. They were dream schools in San Francisco, and yet, both of them were closed. They were closed because of the issue of busing, the issue of whether or not they were earthquake safe. They were closed for a variety of myriad of reasons, but the real reason was that they were great schools. And of course, Grant School went out of business completely. In fact, the area where Grant School once stood is now condominiums. And Madison School was transformed into Claire Lillian Fall. The younger kids go to that campus, K through two. And that campus still thrives, but it's a different school, new buildings and so forth. The only building, by the way, that survives is the one that housed my kindergarten class. But let me point out to you that when those schools closed, those of us who were graduates sort of accepted it, we were deeply saddened by it. There was a real feeling of loss, and we went on. What is happening now is that nearly 2,000 students would have to shift to other sites as the district tries to figure out what to do about its financial crisis. It's very simple. The San Francisco Unified School District faces many, many issues, not only school closure, but the budget, which is completely out of whack. The question of whether the state might come in and take over the San Francisco Unified School District. The question of whether or not the superintendent is up to the job. The question of whether or not the Board of Education is able to handle what is a complex problem. And of course, all of the additional issues which have been raised over the years, remember the school board wanted to erase the Washington High School murals, remember the move to change the names of 44 schools in San Francisco. Remember, well, you can go down the list of all of the issues involving the schools and then the rifts on the school board and indeed a recall of school board members. Do you remember the chaos that was inflicted over the last several years at the San Francisco Unified School District? Now, the question is this. By closing 11 schools, which is the recommendation, it hasn't been voted on yet. That doesn't come until December. But by closing 11 schools, will things improve? And more than that, there is a bond issue on the ballot on November 5th. Will the people of San Francisco pass a school bond, which is necessary? Everyone admits, will they pass it? I'm going to suggest to you, there is considerable opposition to the school bond. The reason is because, well, the bond doesn't address the real issue, it just gives the school district more money. This is something that needs to be considered carefully. If the bond loses, what are the implications for the school district? I mean, I ask the question very sincerely, because it won't be a reflection on what might happen with the schools as much as it will, a reflection on whether or not we trust the members of the school board, and yes, indeed, the superintendent of schools and his staff. I am a great advocate for public education. I believe that the San Francisco Unified School District, along with all public schools, represent the backbone of American democracy, if the schools work, our society works. So the question becomes, will the closing of 11 San Francisco schools? Will it change the view that we have of the San Francisco Unified School District? So let me make my position clear. I am an advocate for the San Francisco Unified School District. For 50 years, I served as president of the George Washington High School Alumni Association, 50 years, raising money, being active. When my kids went to clear Louisville, and both of our sons went to clear Louisville, I served on the site council, I was active in the PTA, I was active as a classroom volunteer. Make no mistake, my commitment is to public education. The question now is, can the San Francisco Unified School District, if it closes these schools, which it appears they are going to have to do, can the Unified School District create confidence in the way they run? Will the superintendent, who is under a lot of criticism, be able to survive the slings and arrows of that criticism? Will there be confidence by the teachers and administrators of the SFUSD, will they then feel better about the school district, and most important of all, how will parents feel? Will parents get behind the San Francisco Unified School District? We have interviewed several candidates for the Board of Education. They are critical, because while the superintendent is the captain of the ship, policy very often is set by the school board. So I'm going to be paying very close attention to the school board elections which take place. We'll be electing four new commissioners, total of seven. And we better stop and think about the schools and what happens if they don't have the votes to close them? And by the way, will the parents of those schools that are being closed agree to vote for the bond issue? I mean, do you understand? We are really at a turning point in San Francisco Unified School District, relating to our own public schools. In saying all this, I want to be crystal clear. I support public education. I believe that SFUSD did a great job in my education. I think they did a great job with our children's education. And I want to make sure that in the years ahead, the San Francisco Unified School District runs effectively, efficiently guaranteeing all of our students in San Francisco who choose to go to public schools the best quality education. I'm John Rothman, and of course, this is the voice of San Francisco. And maybe the only reason I'm as articulate as I am is because I went through the San Francisco Unified School District. Who knows? See you tomorrow!