l.e.d. lights, providing better height for the community and it saves 60% of the electricity it would take to light normal streetlights. this sidewalk and -- there's only a few blocks here. you're talking about. but the perm i can't believe pavement, that means five -- 500,000 gallons of water per year that used to go in the waste water treatment plant won't, it will go back in the ground water and recharge and can be used for other things. you do that across the city and you could change the way we treat storm water. the amount of money we spent on pumping the water, all that changes. in the waste water improvement this swail, the basin, you could see the storm water runs down the street, it moves over >> there are other government departments we work with. i want to acknowledge doug johnson, the transportation authority under the direction of jose luis. and caltrans, jimmy pan may and hinge cunge. and then the better streets plans guru. and al hearst and lauren worked on it. we worked closely with the h.t.a. on these projects. i see amy here from the office of economic development. a lot of different folks worked together to -- to make these projects happen i want to make

sure to acknowledge them. one that i haven't yet mentioned, though it has been referenced, has to do with public art. public works is -- is you know, typically a profession of civil engineers and hard tough stuff, pipes and asphalt and concrete. we realize that in order to -- to really make the -- these projects attractive and inviting, that public art can really be an important element to do that, to compliment the great work our architects do. i want to ask joe maddon from the arts commission to come up and say a few words about the beautiful public art that you may have noticed. >> thank you. thank you very much. >> good morning. good afternoon. it is a pleasure to be here. congratulations to the residents of -- of visitation valley on your beautiful new streetscape. i want to say that it has been a measure to collaborate with our colleagues from d.p.w. and

p.u.c. on the project. and i also want to say the rope you have public art is that 40 years ago, san francisco was -- was on the edge of cutting -- cutting public policy, even then by having the vision to enact a percent for art legislation which insures that public art is part of the -- of every new building and transportation project. and we -- we -- we set an example, other cities across the nation have followed. they're now hundreds and hundreds of programs like this. that's why we have public art included in this project. i would like to -- to specifically talk about the project that was done for -- by rebar, the artist team of rebar, through their temporary work that they have done in the past, they have made an indelible mark on the city's cultural landscape by beautyifying and improving the liveability of our city through their inventive and

unique and humorous art installations. i mentioned those were temporary. this however, is the first ever permanent art install hation. we're proud to have it here on leland avenue. from the victory garden in the civic center which took place a couple of years ago, to parking day, which has now become an international event, originating in san francisco, again, we are a leader, other cities across the world are following us, rebar's art work challenges us to contemplate a more sustainable future. where street furnishes and -- of today may be art materials of tomorrow. what strikes me about them is they take the ordinary and mundane, such as the uniformly abhored parking meters and turn -- turn it into an extraordinary -- extraordinary work of art. who would have ever thought that a cluster of used parking meters could end up being so whimsical

and beautiful and welcoming. unfortunately we don't have rebar's founder, matthew pass more here today, he happens to be in paris inaugurating their first parking day, which is -- i said was started here in san francisco. again, we're leading the way. he sends his regrets and wanted me to convey how much he enjoyed working with the residents of visitation valley. rebar sculpture. you can't miss it. it is down the street on the corner of leland and bay shore. it looks like stalks of organically grown street furniture. using the vernacular of the street, sur mass parking meter heads which are painted dark orange which are attached to tall arching poles. the form was intended to reference the neighborhood's pastoral and agricultural past. according to the artist, the

scultchur is meant to mark this particular moment in -- in a time when it undergoes a positive transition in the future. if you look at the sculpture, he incorporated eight text elements in the stalkings. you'll see the words visitation valley and a -- accompanied by words such as grow, thrive, nurture, prosper, cultivate and flourish. they're all written in the diverse languages that reflect the demographics of our complunity's residents. i wanted to commend our art commission staff, marry chu and eleanor -- mary chu and eleanor who oversaw the project. i want to thank community members, marlene and ann who donated their valuable time to help us in the selection process. of course the municipal

transportation agency who donated the used parking meters so we could turn refuse into art work. and lastly, someone -- someone who hasn't been acknowledged who deserves to be acknowledged or who has been acknowledged in passing but hasn't been acknowledged for her vea valuable contribution to the artwork of the community is fran martin and her husband jim grouden. -- who have -- have -- who have volunteered their time without compensation from the city. volunteered their time and effort and materials to beautyify the neighborhood in various ways through -- through beautiful tile work you see and gate ways and railings and through butterfly and dragonflies. so thank you for your beautiful work, what a gift to the city and a gift to the neighborhood, and glad i have this opportunity to thank you publicly. so in concluding, i'll say i hope visitors and residents do to downtown visitation valley

with enjoy our exubebrapt bright bouquet for generations to come. thank you so much. >> thank you. for this whole project is obviously a great benefit for all of san francisco. the primary beneficiaries are the folks here in viz valley, along this corridor. as primary beneficiaries, they were the ones that suffered the most as we were getting the work done. as you could see, it was a significant construction project. just like a major renovation would be in your home, a little disruptive. this was a little bit disruptive and we understand that and appreciate the support and patience of the merchants and residents of leland and the surrounding streets as we understood took this process. we worked very hard on all of these projects to minimize adverse impact, but we all -- we all recognize there's going to be some, but it is limited in time and from here forward, it

is nothing but good times and hopefully not -- not significant rent raises for the folks. but i want to ask one of the leaders from the community who has been working with us all along, who has been a booster of the community for a long time and will continue to be, that helped us working with the merchants representing the merchants in their community to come up. nick wolf from b.b. boom. >> thank you, ed. this is a new day in -- in downtown visitation avenue. it is usually sunnier here. this is one of the sunniest neighborhoods in the city of san francisco. i like to thank may newsom and supervisor maxwell for their leadership and commitment in securing the four-plus million dollar bond that led to the creation of this beautiful state-of-the-art streetscape that we're here celebrating. the department of public works staff and project managers on the ground have worked we ve

hard to keep the project moving and it actually finished a little ahead of schedule. i think they should be acknowledged for their hard work. chris, alex, john, deppness, thank you guys. the fact that they made themselves available too attend our merchant meetings and were attentive and patient fielding an endless barrage of questions from a lot of small business owners was great. they were real partners in this and -- i really thank them for that. the merchants themselves along leland avenue, i think -- i like to thank them. i think we owe them a big debt of gratitude, there's 50 merchants that are the heart of the neighborhood. every day they wake up early and -- leave late and make sure we have fresh fruit, we have affordable medicine. in my case, we're able to get a cup of coffee and some dim sung

for lunch every day. i see a lot of them are here too. j.b. from the shop is here. ken from the dragon city aquarium is here. this is good. this is a good day. i feel good about it. they weathered a real storm like the mayor mentioned before. the factory across bay shore. the economic slump didn't help things, we're thrilled to stand here today in a new and improved leland avenue. this -- this is where we serve to bring the economic vitality back to the street. it is quite a year down here. the future has never looked brighter for do you want visitation valley. b.b. boom, the -- it is a program that works hard to bring in resources and programming to the community. i like to thank people that are on my steering committee that i see here. russell and edie and smalley hassler, and betty particle -- betty and even. you guys make my job a lot

easier. you know, we're a part of the -- of the mayor's neighborhood market place initiative program. we partner with the support corporation and office of economic and work force development. we work with 1345u8 business owners. -- we work with small business owners. the street fair, there's flyers everywhere. please take one and tell your friends. we were pretty thrilled to land latin jazz legend, pete who is going to perform. we're pretty happy to have him. so, there's going to be a lot of homegrown artists, musicians, chefs, children's area. we're going to have the writers and the partners, the jump start in the bank of america parking lot. thanks everyone that played this -- the streetscape a reality.

i hope to see you back on sunday, but not just sunday, i hope people kind of make this gateway to san francisco a part of their routine and come back and support the business owners and thanks, you guys. thanks again. s >> thanks. i was going to say exactly the same thing. not only before you leave today, should you stop and patronize a business, and not only should you come back sunday, think of leland and viz valley as one of the up and coming commercial district. it is a special and unique place and worthy of all of our patronage as we go forward. before we cut the ribbon, i do want to just take a moment to acknowledge just a few -- a few of the many of department of public works employees who worked hard on this projects, in -- in some cases for years. if you indulge me to go quickly.

nick mentioned dennis, along with martha ketterer and nick and steve o'sullivan and danny wong and thomas wong the nernling crew that put this together on the -- engineering crew that put this together. joe is here and wally wong, and alex marie who i saw limping, i hope that wasn't from the community meeting. these are the folks that worked with the contractor, mcgwire and hester to get this work done. i want to thank them for that. last but most -- the woman who manages the great streets program that has taken the mayor's vision and the board's policy directive for great streets and actually put it into practice so that we see these projects here, mr.ings all of these prodge -- manages all of the projects, chris opreck.

let's give her a hand. if there's anyone i missed, accept my apologies know my gratitude is there. with that we will cut the ribbon. >> all right. we'll do, five, four, three. >> no. no. no. that was really bad. >> everybody. ready? five, four, three, two, one, [cheering]

thank you, everyone. ♪

>> good afternoon and welcome to this special meeting of the city and school district select

committee. we are joined by alioto-pier, daly, fewer, mendoza. i ask if we can excuse alioto-pier and kim, and thank our liason from the school district and the committee clerk. i want to thank the staff of sfgtv, who make it possible to see the city government at work today. >> in number one, to consider the sentences go unified school district. >> the item before eyesore -- is for the new student assignment system that was approved by the

board of education in march of this year. the board has been developing a new transportation policy, and we will consider how changes in transportation are necessary to achieve the goals and objectives with the different factors that are being taken into account. this is for the city in terms of our work. and i'd like to welcome the special assistant -- and congratulate her on an excellent project in working on the new school assignment at a very exciting time for the school district. especially for those of us who are in the hunt for great schools for the children. >> joining me here today is the executive director -- and hopefully you have a copy of

what i am going to go through as well as some of the at rich material and the enrollment guide. i have prepared a brief presentation which will give an interview -- which would give an overview of the assignment system, and the development of the new transportation policy. and then i'll be happy to answer any questions. we have approved the new policy in march of 2010, and there are different processes for the different high schools. one of the features of this is a series of tiebreakers in terms of how the students will be assigned to school. this is the first tie-breaker and then the children in the attendance area. and then, children who live in

the areas of the city with the lowest average test scores, and then the attendance areas, and all the others. this is a system of choice. this is the most important thing to note about this. and families can list as many choices as they want in whatever order that is appropriate for their child. a number of several different elementary schools. this is going to be the younger siblings and the test scores. we will consider element to move with your patterns and they will be folded into the process for the 2012-2013 school year. the boundaries were approved of in 2010. and there is an address, under

the enrollment resources tab. this is what the map looks like. there are maps available for the supervisors and the commissioners. you can actually put in the address and get information about the attendance area of the school and if they live in the area with the lowest average test scores. supporting the families of the multiple options available, in the school district was kicked off last saturday. there are three distinct stages to unrolling a child in school. submitting the application form and then going through the enrollment process. the application deadline is february 18.

between november 13 and february 13, they will complete an application form and then all of the requests will be processed at the same time. and this will go out on march 18. at that time, the families will go to school to enroll, and this is the final stage in this process. this was a very high level overview. and i can go into more detail if the commissioners have questions. but i also wanted to direct you to the application placement and roman handbook, and just to let you know that there is a lot more detail with the student assignment system. with these documents that are required. >> if people see this, where will they be able to get copies of this document? >> copies of this document are available at the education

center, 555 franklin street and the child development center is at the school. and much of this information is already on the internet for the families to refer to, to use this as a medium for getting information. and there are a series of workshops for enrollment in the district is going to do a lot with the education centers. this is for the outreach activities and working with parent organizations, public schools and there is a lot of focus on the child development program. and there is a mobile + that is something that is new this year, and they have not had high participation. we are going with this so that families can actually just bring the documents to that, and there is also going to be a walk in the different neighborhoods to raise awareness. there are many different out --

strategies that will be used to make certain that everyone is aware of the deadline. the next major thing associated with this is rethinking transportation. the big thing we want to get out as to raise awareness that this is not going to be the same next year. in terms of what is changing, we are looking at changing the yellow bus service to general education, and this means that students with special education services, with individual education plans, that require transformation -- this is not the purpose of the new policy. the policy is focusing on children who are using this service for general education. and we have about 3300 children

at the elementary level who are using this service, and this is about 13% of all of the children from kindergarten to fifth grade. this is a significant number for these services. and we are imagining that not only will we -- we have many of these buses that are used for the yellow bus service. we believe this will go below 4025. we will see a reduction in services and a change in what we do. the reason that we are changing as because what is in place right now was designed in the early 1980's. under the consent to create, when the district had a very different method for a signing this. we rolled out a different student assignment system in early 2000 and 2001, and at that

time, the district had not changed the transportation policy. what has happened over the last 20 years, is that these original routes have changed in response to the lack of demand, in some cases and that the line of -- decline of children using the yellow bus services. and we have also seen in some cases, schools or families requesting a stop and it did not take any more and at that moment in time it got added. this happened organically, rather than strategically. and we want to make certain that these routes have changed so that they reflect the strategic plans commitment. the other thing is that we want to reduce, in these difficult budget times, the amount of

general funds and budget contributions, that we are changing with transportation. we expect that things will change in 2011, and august of 2011, that they be phased in over several years. this is not going to happen overnight. we will have the gradual process of phasing out the services. in terms of how this is going to change, what will be guiding the change. on december 14, the board is going to take action on a new transportation -- to outline several different goals, and the objectives as well. and once this is approved we will have enough of a framework to be redesigning this and have something to share with the board and the community in january. the framework that would guide the development will have

limited the strategic transportation, to support the choice in school assignments as a tactic for creating a learning environment. this is still a choice and the goal is to create a moratorium of learning. and more choice may be a possibility for all communities. we have to make certain that transportation is available. and these resources for muni or any other modes of transportation. we want to make certain that we are supporting the low income families and giving them voices to participate in these programs. and we also want to make certain that the english learner's have access -- access to the programs to serve the newcomers. we will be looking into whether

those programs are located in areas where children who were learning english are living. also wanting to make certain that there is reasonable access to attendance area schools. we were trying to avoid the major highways, but there is one area in particular that is very large. this is western. we were wanting to make certain that there was transportation available. and we're also looking at limited transportation to after- school programs as feasible and necessary to support these decisions after school. transportation will not dictate with this will look like. and we will facilitate the changes in the after-school programs. many of these are not operating