Written by Bobbie Wylie
Three members of the San Francisco Unified School District Board are facing recall today in a rare special election. The recall election focuses on three board members who have served long enough to be eligible for recall. Those members are: Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez and Faauuga Moliga.
San Francisco is one of the wealthiest cities in the nation, but currently holds one of the lowest average reading levels in the state, falling in the bottom 10%. According to Rob Kutner, parent and recall petition organizer, San Francisco’s poor education statistics are the result of mismanaged priorities, not sparse resources or limited funds.
The recall effort started over a year ago when public schools remained closed even after San Francisco city officials deemed it safe for children to return to in-person classes. Frustration among parents increased after the school board focused on renaming 44 school sites deemed to be offensive – including high schools named after Abraham Lincoln and George Washington – while private schools reopened safely for in-person classes.
Upset from residents of San Francisco were furthered by a series of what they called racist tweets by board member Alison Collins. Before Collins was on the school board and became its vice president, she had tweeted among other things, that Asian Americans had used “white supremacist thinking to assimilate and get ahead.”
Regarding the recall, organizer Rob Kutner said, “This is a small town. There’s only about 800,000 people in San Francisco, so everybody knows somebody with kids in public school.”
The results of the recall are expected to be tallied next week.
Photo Cred: AP Photo/Haven Daley
