in those classes. those are high priorities. i would say one other thing depending on the priority. we do have a seriouswe have a sh the prospect of these passes not passing in november. if neither of these does not come through, it is going to be extremely disruptive, to say the least, and chaotic. it will be very, very difficult for us to withstand that. if there are prospects for additional funds other than what we have planned for, that is another consideration, whether anything can be put on reserve to prepare for that possibility. it is multiple tracks. i think those three concepts together are what i would put

out there for consideration. >> i would agree, but on top of that, when you say if things happen to work out better -- if either of those initiatives passes, particularly the governor's initiative, we still have to make cuts. that is not going to be enough to be the magic thing that would fall from the sky to allow us to have additional resources to put back programs. realistically, the putting back programs, in the best case scenario, is probably a couple of years away. that is why we make these projections, three years out. even if the initiatives pass, i do not want anybody in the public to be under the assumption. of course, the board officers will support the initiatives. it is later in our agenda. of course we will support them.

we have already cut all we can. having some money is better than not having any. but even with the initiatives, we are still going to make big cuts. this budget is predicated, best case, the we will have to make quite a few cuts. the governor's initiative does not, contrary to popular belief, restore all the things we have. this is not like country music being played backwards, and you get back everything. it does not work that way. what he is going to give us back is what they have already taken away from us. i will remind everybody they took over $20 million. it was $2 billion this year, $2.20 billion. that is about $20 million for us. they took away that last summer. we are not even getting any of

this faq. when people say we are going to pass this and it is going to help us, it will help us better than none, but we have been basically in deficit, all the school districts. they are not making up the money they have already taken away from us. i wish i would share the optimism for the good things. having said that, we are still going to negotiate with our collective bargaining partners. we always have. we did in the last two years. obviously, the integration of having back those school days is paramount for all of us, because it is unfair to students and our employees. each day is about a half percent decrease in a much they earn. that is not fair. why should they be carrying the burden of this crisis alone? those are things that are critical to us.

if moneys come available, of course that is something we are going to try to get going as quickly as possible. but i would not get our hopes up that high right now, because what lies ahead, even if things pass, are really difficult times. commissioner maufas: we have been talking about this for some time, so i will be brief again. there are some things i think are pretty imperative. i think this conversation, even though we are voting -- voting on tonight's budget, is something the public should have an opportunity to participate in. i guess i am asking the budget share. will we have an opportunity, deputy superintendent lee and chair mendoza, to have further discussion on our budget situation? as we even move through the year.

i get that we really concentrate a lot of our effort on discussing the budget in these last few months, where we all come together and sit here. even in budget committee meetings, we are having augmented discussion, focusing on our budget. but at that meeting, it was not so packed with a full plethora of our constituents, who i think really need to be -- all of our interested parties need to be part of that conversation. i am so appreciative that coleman was able to participate. there are priorities. it is not like their priorities are not our priorities. they have worked closely with us. i guess my brief question is, will we be able to really craft a way to keep this discussion on going? i know that is staff time. i just think the public needs to

stay engage with us. i mean, if i go for the last month of my activities, senators called, plural. supervisors wanted to know numbers. furlough days, and all kinds of questions. i was asked for a couple of extra copies of our budget, so i could go through it with people. what are the things people here care about? i told them to bring five different color highlighters. not everybody has interests in the same areas, but let us start there.

do not come to this meeting without several highlighters, so you will be able to get to this large document and better understand our budget. there is a huge learning curve for myself, but also for others in the community. i am willing to have those discussions. but i think a lot of the rich confirmation happens right here, when we are all together. i am explaining stuff second- hand and third hand. the could get it here first him. that is number one. i want a way for us to continue this discussion about our budget, and not have its so concentrated toward the spring, but maybe matriculate it through the year. it is important that people stay engage. this is not going to change for a few years. we might as well get folks in a mode of understanding. i think they will do that or participate more if they are with us to read the year, having

an ongoing discussion about our budget. i am hoping that can happen. i know that this work, but i am looking for a way to start to craft that possibility and probability. that is what i discovered, over just these last two months, when the budget comes up. i have wondered every year, but i have never had an answer to alleviate that concern. now, i think i have it, which is an ongoing discussion. i think it is important that people stay with us. they drop off the radar, and go to other issues. but this is going to be with us, so i think it is ok to keep folks engage with us. i would rather have them engage throughout the year, understanding the need to -- instead of a surprise, it is an ongoing understanding, and there

is a partnership with us. i wrote down notes, but i want to better understand what you were saying about the 180 to 160. it is for 2012/2013. it is supposed to get reduced another 15 days in 2014. is that it? or do we do it any way we want? they have just given us 15 days. do we justify fat reduction? -- do we just make that reduction? >> it has changed significantly. if i can summarize that particular issue, just in chronology of what it used to be, what was considered normal, and the developments that have taken place?

for many years, i am not sure how many, but for a long time, california had a minimum school calendar of 180 days. that was the standard for a long time. i believe it was starting in 2010/2011, or thereabouts, that the state, through legislative action, as a means to get one more tool for school districts to survive this fiscal crisis, reduced that minimum of 180 days by five, to 175. it allows school districts -- it did not mandate, but allowed school districts to have a school calendar that was five days shorter period in our district, as you know, for the last two years, including the

air we just finished, we reduced our calendar by four days, down to 176. the state-required minimum was 170 high. the proposals for the next two years, in the january budget of the governor, and continued in the may budget proposal, was to -- i am sorry. i think the concept was in the january budget, but the actual specifics were introduced with the may revision. school districts would be allowed to reduce another 15 days over the two years, for a total of the next two years. whether it is seven days and eight days -- it was not

prescribed. that was a little bit different. it was between the following two years. school districts could reduce by a total of another 15 days. that was in the governor's may revision. that was basically endorsed through most of the legislature's deliver to of processes. what changed -- deliberative processes. in the last 20 or hours, the legislature, in their budget trailer bill, they specified that instead of another 15 days over the next two years, it could be 15 days each year, to go from a minimum school calendar of 175 days all the way to 160 in each year. there would be a minimum school calendar of 160 days, each.

that is 20 days shorter than what it had been for many years. in our district, we are at 176. where we will end up is still being discussed. but that is the proposal by the legislature. on the issue of the communications, community engagement, commissioner, i personally think that is a good idea, in terms of trying to engage members of the community who are interested in learning about our budget situation, or our budget generally. it is not the kind of topic people can typically absorber in a one or two meeting discussion. the challenge is not just about the staff time. i think we can find the time to do some meetings, using the budget committee, in the fall. i think an additional challenge

's is how to find people who have an interest, or even a latent interest, and make them aware of these meetings, and really get the turnout. we did have some budget community meetings as part of this cycle. they were not overwhelmingly popular, but they were attended. we had a decent turnout in those meetings. i was happy to see some new faces, not that i mind seeing not new faces, but it was good to see people i have not personally encountered before. they were asking good questions and everything. i think there is potential. it certainly would help make it worthwhile if we had the demand out there of interested participants. we would do a lot of work to put those on, but if the folks do not come, it would be less satisfying for everybody, i

think. we have had some partnerships with community organizations, where we have produced these types of events. if we had something like that again, it would be promising. i am not opposed to it. president yee: thank you. at this point, i want to call -- i have been told, or it was suggested, that we should have a vote on this item. i will not tell you who. hear me out on this, committee. it was so long ago, we forgot, you know? ms. haskell, roll call, please. commissioner fewer: yes. commissioner maufas: yes. commissioner mendoza: yes. commissioner murase: aye. commissioner wynns: yes.

president yee: we were going to go jumping into the special order of business that is related to this, but i see it is already pretty late, and we have not gotten to -- excuse me. we have not gotten to the public comments yet. i would like to do that right now. this would be the item under public comment. i will call these names, who have signed up for this particular agenda item. yes, it is rough when we have lots of stuff to talk about. ok. michelle parker, macarthur -- martha aaron felt, patrick charles smith, maurice edwards,

there is a shirley without a last name, oscar james, diana daniels, and that is it. how much time should i give them? one minute each. let's go. >> we have been here since 5:00. >> you can't give us one minute? >> we have been here since 5:00. >> i am a parent of elementary schoolchildren and a middle school child. when i want to clear my head, or think clearly and solve a problem, i go on a run, or i go

on a long walk on our great hills of san francisco. i have friends who are much faster than me, who consider running a religion. they do it to keep their mind sharp and healthy. there are many families that are fortunate to have the time and means to provide physical activity outside of the school, but many of our families do not have that opportunity. the only way to make sure our students have the opportunity to get a healthy mind and body is to our public education system. it is even -- my goodness. quickly, i will wrap up. it is mandated through the state that there is 200 minutes of p e in elementary school for every

10 days of school. i am working with advocates in shape of san francisco, to the department of public health. we are encouraging, even through the funding crisis, that we think creatively to make sure our kids are getting physical activity every day so they can think better and perform better in school. president yee: is martha here? she left? next. >> i asked the young lady standing behind me to hold a banner in front of her face. the reason is she is here because she was molested in school. reports are made, but nobody does anything. we tried to talk to the principle, but nothing happens. we talk to you folks, but nothing happens. it is almost foolish for us to keep coming here, talking to you. i think the senator for sending

his people to hear this meeting. it is wrong for you to do this. you count dollars. i look at children. if you kill a child, your money can never replace them. you get them one time. i spoke to you last meeting, and you all sent me a response to what i asked about. i asked about the principle sitting on a child. my understanding, the principal ways over 300 pounds. the letter i received in response is that it never happened. they looked at a video. i would love to be able to see the video myself. in response to the video, and this is my question to you -- i have teachers who say they witnessed what happened, and the principal did it. i have security that worked at the school at the time of the incident that were right there. they say the incident happened.

my question to you is where the teachers and the security -- were they not telling the truth? were they being dishonest? if you are telling me the teachers that you have hired in our school district are dishonest, but in your videos are true, so everything the teachers have done in suspending over 200 ethnic children from this particular school was a lie. but if you say that are telling the truth, this letter you sent me is a lie. which is the truth, and which is false? i want to get to the bottom of it. some other people say this whole committee ought to be indicted for fraud, child abuse, sexual harassment. these children should not have to go to school and the subject of this. you sit here, counting dollars and cents, while children are losing their way. they are discouraged. they go for guns because they

are not getting educated. but you take those who are doing so well and parade them up here, as though you are doing a good job. you are not. every child that fails, you have failed them. stop playing games with their lives. they did not do anything to you. you people need to wake up. >> amen. amen. [applause] >> nobody is doing nothing about it. and nobody doing nothing. complaining about this young man who has been putting -- president yee: excuse me, ma'am. >> whatever. >> mr. superintendent, earlier, he spoke about fighting for our children, and teacher's stepping

up and doing their jobs. what about our children's rights? that is what we have been doing, coming down here. we are stepping up. but our complaints are ignored. everything is being swept under the table. you know there is a big problem at an l. k., a big problem. -- at mlk, a big problem. being a former chairperson and pta president, i know this is a one-year obligation, to have to be looked at after the year is over. how come this is not happening at mlk? why isn't this happening? why is this administration being allowed to retaliate against parents and teachers who speak against them? i was informed by one of the teachers that mlk administration had me under their sights for speaking against them. my kid has been there for two

years. a 3.0 or better grade student. i would hate to be tied up with your 17 law firms for the one year i have to go to get my kid to cross the stage. i want to thank you for passing the kipp academy charter. it is something we can look forward to and hold a heads up high. our kids can say, i want to go to college. give us our chance. that is all we ask you to do. give us our chance. thank you. [applause] >> i stand here. i am from denver, colorado. i have been here 28 years. i understand how a school should be ran. you sit here, you talk about

money. the school is constantly going on, day-by-day. the teachers are there. the students are there. they are not getting a fair shake. these kids are feeling miserable. all you are talking about is money. giving honor to god, who is the head of my life, superintendent garcia, you are laying your burden down. but i am sure you have a conscience. under your supervision, there are children that will never be able to lay their burden down. can and do you sleep at night? there are houses of people, children, that do not never get sleep at night. sleep in heavenly peace, all of you on the board. [applause] >> my name is oscar james. i am a concerned parent in the

bayview hunters point community, a property owner, a business owner. my problem is, when i went home from the last meeting, that the principal at martin luther king did the same thing at new school she is doing at martin luther king. we want her removed. we demand her to be removed. i am retired. i can be down here until 3:00 in the morning, waiting for you to put us on the agenda for one minute, and you have a discussion for 20. i support this board every time you go up for moneys for the voters. to me, you go up for too little money. our teachers are not being paid enough. to go to college for as long as they go to college, to get paid $50,000 is embarrassing. it is embarrassing to us.

it is embarrassing than those students are not being properly educated in my community. we demand them to get the right education. we demand top quality teachers and principals in our school, just like every other school. the same teacher out of lincoln, we want in bayview hunters point. we pay for that. when you ask for dollars in my community, we always put up those dollars. we want them to count. we do not want our young people quitting school and come into programs to get a ged to get a job. a lot of them cannot get a job because they do not have a dg, nor a diploma. our children are killing each other, because they have not been educated to care about their future. they do not see a future. we demand our kids to have a future, just like every other student. i will be down here again. people who grew up in the

bayview hunters point community, we will go back to being 18, 19 years old, and will turn over desks to make sure our children are educated. >> we want to be able to get a response to what we have talked about tonight. some have a meeting? we come here to talk to you, but we do not get a meeting. we only get to say a few words, but nobody from this committee response. what are we doing here? can we get a response? president yee: we have given you a response from the district, and i am more than willing to sit down with your group. you ask me a question. i am answering. i made the commitment that i

will meet with your group. i will meet with your group. all you have to do is call the office, and we will set up an appointment. president kelly? >> thank you very much, president yee. we are here to talk about a proposal around the child development program, and the concern we have. there are between 809 hundred signatures of parents who are concerned about what is going on. -- between 809 hundred signatures 800 and 900 signatures of parents who are concerned about what