Written by William Hekman
A victory for parents from an unlikely place came yesterday as three members of the San Francisco School Board were recalled by voters in a massive landslide. The three now-former board members Alison Collins, Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga were recalled. Collins was voted out by 79% of the voters, Lopez by 75%, and Moliga by 72%.
This was the first recall election in San Francisco since 1983. That recall was against Dianne Feinstein who was serving as mayor at the time, but the recall failed. Parents in San Francisco were growing frustrated with the board, mainly over the slow reopening of schools, the renaming of schools, and the elimination of competitive admissions at Lowell High School. Siva Raj, a father who helped organize the recall said, “The city of San Francisco has risen up and said this is not acceptable to put our kids last”. The recall was even endorsed by many liberal politicians, including Mayor London Breed. Breed put out a statement saying that the board has a lot of work to do to get schools back on track. Democrat State Senator Scott Wiener who represents San Francisco also endorsed the recall. In his statement, Wiener cited the “grassroots network of parents and other San Franciscans who worked day and night to create accountability.”
Much of the recall was centered around board member Alison Collins. Collins tweeted out that Asian Americans use “white supremacist” thinking to get ahead back in 2106 before she was a board member. She also said that Asians were racists to Black students. Collins did not apologize for the tweets and instead sued the district for $87 million. Collins was also one of the leading voices in trying to rename schools that were named after Abraham Lincoln, Dianne Feinstein, and 44 other schools saying the people those schools are named after were linked to racism and injustices. Collins has blamed right-wing groups and Silicon Valley interest groups for the recall. Asian parents in San Francisco were also outraged over the end of merit-based admissions at Lowell High School, an elite school where Asian students are the majority.
Even in the most liberal places in the United States, common sense can prevail. With the three board members recalled Mayor Breed will appoint new members to the board. Hopefully, those picks will have their priorities straight and do what is best for the school children of San Francisco.
Photo Cred: Beth LaBerge/KQED
