thank you. i want to thank you very much for indicating your support for this item. as you, i'm sure, well know, the youth commission initially sided advocating for and looking at numbers based on your -- figures from your revenue department in january, 2010, some 12, 13 months ago. the need in the school district, as i'm sure you guys know, is very high. we have a very high free and reduced lunch population in the school district. part of the room was about the really high concern, so when we start talking about this program, perhaps for fiscal year 2011-2012, for which you guys have already budgeted for money, given that you guys are doing budgeting in april 2010, i think of fully that is something that the school district and/or whatever city partners be at,

along with your staff, can include private and parochial schools perhaps somehow in the conversation, but please accept the tenor of my comments as being seemingly thankful. we appreciate your generosity. i also wanted to acknowledge the really good work of your staff and the school district staff. we are really appreciative and hope to collaborate with you in the future, and we hope that when something youth-realted comes across your desk, you, look for us. we have been talking with you guys about distributing clipper cards, and i hope that is something that continues. >> good afternoon. first of all, i would like to thank you for your support of

this. as everybody has indicated, this is something that the youth really need. as mario said just before me, the students in private parochial schools -- this is also something we should look at. were over 40% of the students receive some sort of financial aid, and a good portion of that number of students are on some sort of full ride, and their families are relatively low income. it be great to look at that in the future and see if we could look at some sort of program for them as well. thank you. good afternoon. that hello. i represent district 7 on the san francisco youth commission. although i attend private school, i attend st. ignatius, like my fellow colleagues mentioned, there are students in the private and parochial

school system that would also benefit from this program. i myself am one of those students. i am a first-generation immigrant. i live in the excelsior district and i had taken two buses two -- to and from school for the past three years, and i'm also on financial aid. although this will not benefit students like myself for this fiscal year, i would like to say thank you and express my gratitude for your support, in that i am in awe of the precedent we are setting. i would like to thank you. >> [reading names] >> good afternoon. i am with the commission of san francisco youth commission, and today, speaking to express my gratitude and sincere thanks to

your esteemed board. i did go through the public school system here, and i was going up to the system, i did see a lot of the changes that were going on, especially with the budget cuts. i did want to express my sincere gratitude, especially in this case. i know that everybody is going through hard times, and i think it is a commendable act you guys are doing, trying to support your fellow youth, which are undoubtedly the future of the city. this is something that is definitely going to be, in terms of long-term education, a great step in terms of education as well, so i wanted to thank you for that. director nolan: thank you. next speaker. a group presentation, huh?

ok. good afternoon. >> hello. >> these are parents from chinese progressive association. >> [speaking chinese] >> i have three kids. there 10, 8, and four -- they are 10, 8, and four. my children and i take the bus every day to go to school. every month, we have to buy a couple of fast passes, and it comes to about $100 for our transportation costs. for a low-income family like ours, this is a very big

expense. but there are more important things in our life. there is a chinese saying that describes the basic needs of our lives -- clothes, food, shelter, transportation, which is the basic needs of people's lives. but now, transportation is more expensive than a closed and food -- more expensive than clothes and food. i hope sfmta can understand the citizens' demands. and can offer as free or reduced youth passes. director nolan: thank you very

much for being here. i see we are joined by supervisor camps. -- campos. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. thank you for extending this invitation for me to appear before you. my apologies for stepping into this a little late. we are still in the middle of our board of supervisors meeting, but i wanted to come here and thank the commission for considering this item. it is something that we believe is an important item. i is the reason why the board previously approved this matter, and this is simply a modification to actually implement, to make something happen, and we believe that what is before you, giving 12,000 free line passes to service for

the last three months of the academic year is something that, as you have heard and will continue to hear from families in san francisco, is badly needed. i also want to take this time to thank and director ford and his staff for working so diligently on this matter and cooperating not only with our office, but also with the the school district, to mayor lee for his help on this issue, to the department of children, youth, and their families that have also been working on this, and to thank you, the board, for considering this matter and hopefully, passing this item as this hearing proceeds. director nolan: thank you, supervisor. there is an excellent chance this will pass. i hope your colleagues and everyone in the city know what a thoughtful and articulate group of young people are here talking on their own behalf today. it is very impressive to us.

>> thank you, mr. president. i also want to thank youth, the members of the public, and their families who have come out to speak on this item. we look forward to continuing to work with you. again, thank you for your consideration of this matter. director nolan: thank you, supervisor. >> [reading names] director nolan: good afternoon. >> good afternoon, board members. i am a resident of bayview hunter's point for 40 years. i, on behalf of my children and community to speak on behalf of what a difference it will make for this board to pass free fast passes for the youth for three months. but it does not stop there. three months will take a burden off of my family because i purchased two adult passes and three youth passes every month,

and my income, as i said before, is $900. by this passing the three months, i will have a chance to save up something for three months, but i would like to see this be continued on in the future, but as we know, and we are right now in budget crisis, and we all know that the city departments need to make some cuts, but i would like to wouldmuni -- to see muni relook at san francisco residents fast as is. i would like to see the look at how they can go around just having resident fast passes for the people that live in san francisco. i think if you look at that issue and you look at the people that come out of san francisco, you look at the people who travel back and forth to come and use our transportation, said francisco residents are getting hit the hardest by buying a fast pass every month.

and they are steadily trying to go up, and we cannot afford to see it go up again. we really cannot. if you need to know how to cut some debts, i'm happy to show you, tell you how to do it. sometimes, you need to think about how the people feel and the residents feel. i think for a long and i think we need to turn around and look at what we need to do to make a better system, sit at the table with the residents and the people, not with city hall in the neighborhood. chairman nolan: saint you. next speaker, please. -- thank you. secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> i am with power. it is not really a choice for them.

they are not likely to have cars, so their children are more likely to use public transportation. my mother has a car. i do not. i use public transportation to go places, and i cannot get a fast pass because i do not have a job. that is something that i worry about every month. the fare increases affect day- to-day activities, which can affect the community in the long run. there are activities and programs which would mean there are more people without things to do, and they will miss out on parks, public libraries, and even the employment opportunities. i am not the only person affected. i have two letters from members who could not attend today due to the time scheduling of the hearing. although they could not attend

today, they have expressed their stories in brief letters to let you know that it is just not what they want. i am here to express the youth point of view in the crisis. this is only part of those who have been impacted by the fare increases. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] >> i work with low-income high school students in the mission and a few districts, and power sees itself as responsible for developing the leadership skills, to advocate for social justice, not just in our neighborhood but in the city. it is our role to connect them with opportunities and experiences that contribute to their leadership development as

community leaders, whether it be action with community events and other free support services throughout the city. with the increase in fares, it becomes more and more difficult for young people to have access to these things. for the people in bayview, it is really disconnected from other basic services like schools, grocery store, and health facilities. i know many struggle on a daily basis to have the money to travel, he and the majority of the families do not have cars and are very vulnerable right now an unemployed due to the impacts of the recession. we hear stories about them about getting in the back of the bus because they do not have us there, and they understand the risks that come along, -- they do not have bus fare. there is a daily choice of whether having enough money to eat or having enough money to get on the bus, so we are here today to deliver these letters and to also think you guys for your support for the

implementation of this program. we really appreciate it. chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker, please. secretary boomer: [reading namees] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> i am a sophomore, and i am part. >> hi, i live in the chinatown area, and i am also a part. >> the bus will be $60 this year. like many of the students who are testifying, my sister and i depend on me to go to school, similar to many of these youth -- depend on muni.

i also use it to get to my after school internship. the same for many in the chinatown community, where a volunteer on the weekends. we are not just students. we work jobs, and we commute. >> having a lifeline youth pass will remove barriers to access for low-income youths and their families. the mta would be facilitating and helping them to take advantage of in play opportunities, to use recreation facilities, and after-school programs -- to take advantage of employment opportunities. we urge you to do this today. thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: are any of those

folks here? secretary boomer: is ms. garza here? [reading names] chairman nolan: ok. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. [speaking foreign language] thank you. >> hi, my name is mae. i am glad to be here to share my story today. i live in a residence, and my children need to take the bus to go to school, so thank you very much for considering giving the free bus passes for my children.

thank you. chairman nolan: thank you. next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: good afternoon. >> i am a member of the san francisco tenants union. i just wanted to thank all of you for working together with us and the unified school district. it has been a really good collaboration. i also want to thank our heroes, who were way ahead of us, who linked transportation with social justice 50 years ago. i want to say that a lot of families have been reduced to sharing fast passes. the grace period of the first three days of the month, the fast passes are like gold. people are jockeying, trying to

borrow them from friends and co- workers, and people have been reduced to this. and i want to thank you again and just say that the recession is not going away anytime soon, unfortunately, so i hope, as was said, we can continue working together, because the need is going to continue. thank you very much. chairman nolan: thank you very much. next speaker. secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: are they here? i do not see anybody else. secretary boomer: rosa chan? ok, the last person is -- chairman nolan: i do not see anyone else. is someone else coming in? you might mention the names again, ms. boomer.

secretary boomer: [reading names] chairman nolan: ok, good afternoon. secretary boomer: could you state your name? >> i am -- part of the chinatown development. what i want to talk about is i just turned 18 like two months ago, so when i go to school, i used to take about -- i used a bus pass, and now, when i am 18, i have to pay more money for the bus pass, so i do not really take the bus anymore, and my friends also do not do this, so my friends and i, we walk to school, and we come late. i think you guys could save a lot of money if you allow seniors in high school that are 18 to have free bus passes.

chairman nolan: ok, thank you. >> hi, my name is rosa. i go to george washington high school, and i am with the youth from chinatown community development center, and what i am trying -- the three main points for today is basically economic hardship, how not everyone has for the fast passes, because they are getting more expensive, and transit dependent, how everyone uses the bus to get everywhere, from jobs to school to volunteering, and qualifications should not be based -- should be based on grade, not age, because some high school students are born early and are 18, but they still have to pay $60 for an adult bus

pass, when they are still a full-time student. chairman nolan: thank you. >> hi, scott. i am from lincoln high school. i also ride the chi-town bus. -- chinatown bus. i would like you to consider this very carefully and seriously, because we need a fast pass to go to school and job and for extracurricular. so i am here to thank you tonight. chairman nolan: 84 being here. anyone else, -- thank you for being here. anyone else, ms. boomer? oh, i am sorry. i did not see anyone. >> i really like to see this day

today, because this is a good example of this community, and government agencies, what they can do together. i think if we can do things like that more closely in our community and trying to look into a really well into the needs and all of the effort, everybody in the city can work together. i think this is something that i really want to see more and more often. some do not have the money to pay for the bus.

we would like to be a happy ending, like today. so thank you. and i hope we can work together. chairman nolan: anyone else care to address the board? all right, what more. >> my name is emily. i work for the chinese progressive association, and we represent low-income chinese families around to san francisco, and we are very happy with the steps that mta is hopefully going to take today,

and this is one step. while we appreciate that there is efforts going on to disperse these 12,000 passes, it is not enough. when families are forced to choose between paying for bus fare and paying for clothing and food, that is a kind of situation where we should be ashamed that our city is putting our residences -- this is not the type of community that we want to see our people living in, and i am sure, mta, we are looking for your leadership for more creative solutions, and as a community organization and with many residents, we can say the we are not going to take any more cuts, that this is the end of cutting as a solution, and we will look to you guys for some creative solutions for some progress of revenues, how you can reduce your bottom line without putting the burden on families, and we think this is a great first step and one of many more that needs to happen. thank you.

[applause] chairman nolan: anymore? ok, public, will be closed at this point. one more. i did not see you. >> you did not see me in the paper today? i do not want to be redundant. i will be very brief. the sheer quantity of numbers, the people who came out today, it should reflect that this is truly a city-wide issue, that this is something people really want, and i express my gratitude, and i guess we will be talking in three months. chairman nolan: very good. always good to have the last word from a commissioner. all right, this is the last speaker. we have heard about 40 speakers, ok. >> thanks a lot. hi, everybody. secretary boomer: could you tell

us your name, please? >> yes, my name is -- and i am guys are putting this on your agenda. actually, i am a junior at a high school. at the assembly, i told my whole school about this. they are excited about it. we just want affordable public transportation, and we need your support, and we thank you very much. chairman nolan: thank you, commissioner. thank you. members of the board? is anybody for this thing? [laughter] would you like to make a motion? director: i would like to make a motion to move this forward, but i have to say that i am very impressed with the support, the number of students who came out to support it, and i want to

thank executive director ford and his staff, but i also want to give a shout out to abraham lincoln. i am very impressed with that. chairman nolan: that is a very eloquent motion to approve. is there a second? director oka: second. chairman nolan: director oka. all in favor, say aye. congratulations, you won. [applause] secretary boomer: there is a motion to discuss whether we

secretary boomer: we are back in closed session. we are just waiting for sfgtv to go back to the live broadcast. there we go. they took no action, and the board discussed but took no action. item 17 is to either have a motion to disclose or not disclose the information. chairman nolan: a motion? director: i move to not disclose. chairman nolan: we are adjourned.