basically comments from the board and superintendent. i want to also note that not only did we have a very long, long, long, long meeting at the committee of the whole about this topic, but we've had also two committees at the rules committee, long, long, long, long meetings so if we could get through this real quickly, i would appreciate it. commissioner norton. vice president norton: i just have a few lines -- i'm just kidding. president yee: commissioner wynns? commissioner wynns: i have one question which i found so interesting. on page 116 that are handwritten, the numbers, it says, the board may by -- next to the last paragraph, i'm looking at miss wilson, the

board may by 2/3 vote limit or close its vote provided the maker of the motion and opponent of the motion are granted equal time for closing comments. i've never heard that before and as per your training, i have always operated by and told people that motions to end debate are not debatable. so i'm presuming that roberts rules makes a distinction between closing comments and debate? i don't really know, but -- and while she's finding that, i just want to say this in the interest of time, i think for the public, the most important thing is that this is going to be online now. you will not -- in order to be able to do that and to -- and to use the online policy services that allows to be kept up to date with changes in the law and regulations, we have to go through this process so i'm happy we're doing it. i personally am happy from both

sides since we're using the services of the association that i'm the president of but also it's really going to be much more accessible to us and everybody else, that's the important thing. president yee: ms. wilson? commissioner wynns: on page 116, says it, the board, may, by a 2/3 vote, limit or close its debate provided that the maker of the motion and opponent of the motion are granted equal time for closing comments. have you not taught me that motions to end debate are not debatable? >> put on your mic. >> you're correct. but if this is their rule, it supersedes roberts, which says that there's no debate. commissioner wynns: so the question is do we want to adopt something other school school ss use that allow closing comments

or just follow roberts rules as we have in the past and not allow debate on ending debate. i don't care. president yee: commissioner wynns, you can make an amendment or recommendation? >> if i may, this is from p120, not from csba. commissioner wynns: so this is ours? we've never followed our rules. this is the only area where that's rules. in that case, since we've not followed this and always operated the other way, i just say we should say the board by 2/3 vote should limit or end debate, period. >> i second that. >> i triple it. president yee: general consensus and commissioner murase? commissioner murase: i want to move the recommendation. >> second. commissioner wynns: it's been moved and seconded a million times. >> this is a gigantic step for transparency and accountability so i want to acknowledge folks

in this endeavor. deputy counsel kathie coleman put countless hours into this work. susan wong, who is now retired, also put countless hours into this work. mike davis of csba and i want to recognize ms. casco who was a great adviser throughout the process. president yee: commissioner maufas? commissioner maufas: i'm so glad we're to the end of this process. i feel like i've vivid -- visited the rules committee meetings just to participate and was able to skip the committee as a whole because i knew so much. i want to thank commissioner murase because, really, as a new board member, being asked to do this task, which we had been avoiding for so many years, thank you very much and it was

your naivete that helped us to get through this because you kept plugging along and telling us that we could get through this and it will be a much better day for folks within sfusd and also the public. thank you for leading the way. president yee: that was her initiation present. roll call, please. >> thank you. [roll call vote was taken] [the measure passed unanimously] president yee: motion passes. ok, item i, board members, proposals, speaker cards or actions, no one tonight. item j, request to speak regarding general matters. we have lots of speakers. i will call the first set of speakers that's called in and this is in regards to

transitional kindergarten so as i call you, come up to the podium and state your name and let's see, you have one minute each. there's 15 of you. maria mondnado, forrest gray, ca sandra sweet, julia gray, james taylor, chris binger, christina, azugga, sarah gadi -- i'm sorry. this is different. ok. and -- ok, i'm sorry.

the people i just called, you got two minutes each. go ahead. >> thank you. hi, good evening, my name is maria maldnado. i'm here to ask the disund work work -- school board to help with waivers for children. i've spoken to many parents about this issue and we're all looking to do what's best for our children. some of these parents have already decided to keep their kids in preschool another year but others know their kid is ready for kindergarten. my daughter's birthday is november 2. you can't tell me that someone born 12 hours ahead of her is ready for kindergarten and she's not. it's obvious that the date of birth doesn't translate into readiness. my daughter would be eligible for kindergarten this year if she were a year older.

she's currently in play-based preschool. she's excited to learn but she's outgrown her current program and because the district is not offering t-k as was originally promised, i'm searching for a new preschool for her last minute. i've been an advocate of public schools for 17 years. my oldest daughter is 16, she's a junior at soda. she entered kindergarten as one of the youngest in her class and has done extremely well socially and academically so i know firsthand what's at stake in making this decision. the best solution for this somebody to offer waivers as it allows the children to enter the kindergarten programs they were supposed to and solves the issue of funding for the districts. the governor has stated that the young 5's will be funded with a.d.a. moneys and that children shouldn't be excluded from attending school as a result of

t-k legislation but it looks like 180 kids in san francisco are being excluded so i'm asking you to solve this issue now before it affects more kids next year. it's also important that you act quickly as our kids are going to be left out of the first round of the assignment lottery. thank you. >> hello, my name is christina azokar, i have a child born november 19. i'm going to ask you to press the school district to keep its promise and allow november 5-year-olds to attend kindergarten this fall. it will cost me more than $15,000 to send my child to another year of preschool. he is ready for kindergarten. i would be fine with a t-k program but i understand there are not finances to make this happen. other school districts allow waivers. district needs to work with parents on what's best for the kids, not easiest for the district. unified has not notified those of us who applied for t-k.

i found out through parents for public schools, it's only on the website. what about parents who do not know how to navigate the system? i'm a college professor and i'm having a hard time navigating the system. what are we speeds to do when parents find out in march they have nowhere for their kids to go? if only 140 parents applied for tk, even fewer will request the waivers we are requesting. that represents such a small number of kindergartens. it's unfair the school district didn't tell us, we found out two days before the end of the enrollment period. it ended on friday and we found out on the wednesday before that -- we didn't find out. parents from public schools notified some of us. i respectfully ask you to allow parents to have the option of a waiver for our children that we know are ready for kindergarten. thank you. >> excuse the bottle, sorry.

where do i push the button to start the clock? hi, my name is forrest gray. i have a daughter born on december 1, 2007. if she was exactly a year older, she would be in regular kindergarten this school year but she'll be considered a transitional kindergartener next year. a week after her application was accepted by the sfusd, which was the result of months of touring tens of schools in the district, we discovered on the district's website via memo, she would not be admitted into the school because the t-k was terminated by the district. automobile the -- i believe the sfusd and board of education want to do the right things for our kids. first, this is not about cost. according to senator smitty who with authored the tk funding act, it is funded through continuous approbation and would require new legislation to change that and governor brown

has stated that any of the young five's will generate a.d.a. funding. therefore, if the district executes the plan they represented clearly and consistently to every parent touring our schools, it would not cost the district a dime. in fact, the district would lose funding, as well as further decrease enrollment if it excludes our young 5's they previously committed to accept. second, the original plan that was represented to us complied with sp1381 whereas the new plan mentioned in the district memo that would be implemented in the case of mandate does not comply with the legislation. the memo states the district will not offer any opportunity for our kids caught in the middle of the age cutoff transition to be enrolled into the classrooms that were represented to us for months. if the district carries out the plan now discussed, it will have the opposite effect of the legislation's intent as it in no way would prepare young 5's for kindergarten. clearly some old 5's will enter kindergarten without pre-k so we

will have kids older and unprepared. the explanation that the district will not accept age waivers makes no sense because they've never had an age roll-back, either. i ask that the district accept waivers for kids, they allow the parents that were not allowed to turn in their applications on the final two days be allowed to turn them in before the lottery and that all of the applications be treated the way they were expected to be treated in the lottery before the decision was made. thank you. >> good evening, my name is casandra sweet, i'm a parent of a child whose fifth birthday is in november and i'm hear to ask you to keep the district's promise and offer transitional kindergarten or at the very least, to allow november 5-year-olds and december 1 5-year-olds to enroll in regular kindergarten this fall. i want to send my child to the

san francisco public school where my son attends first grade and where the principal assured me several months ago that there would be a place in kindergarten for my younger child this fall. i have a weekly newsletter from our school from january 25 promoting the transitional kindergarten program. san francisco unified school district and the city schools have been promoting this transitional kindergarten program for months until january 28 when the district posted its astonishing decision that it would not offer the program. other school districts are sticking with their plans to offer transitional kindergarten -- san jose, los angeles, san diego, long beach and others. what do these school districts have that san francisco doesn't have? i understand that san francisco and other districts became concerned about funding after governor jerry brown released his budget proposal in january and suggested that the state should remove the mandate that requires districts to offer

transitional kindergarten. but since then, the governor's representatives have made it clear they don't want to stand in the way of districts' plans to offer transitional kindergarten and the state will fund these plans, with the caveat that the districts approve waivers for children who turn 5 in november. governor's representatives i talked with yesterday said the governor is proposing to make transitional kindergarten optional, not required, and that his proposal is in response to some small school districts that complained to the administration about the mandate because they said it would be overly burdensome for them. these people said that san francisco unified was not one of the school districts that complained to the governor about the cost of transitional kindergarten. if this proposal were approved and it's very unclear whether it will survive, given strong opposition we've seen in sacramento, it would require that san francisco issue waivers

to students in order to enroll them in transitional kindergarten. thank you for listening to us today. and i just ask you again to please stick with your original plan to offer transitional kindergarten or at least allow children with november and december 1 birthdays to enter regular kindergarten. thank you. >> good evening. james taylor, i'm a parent of a child born in november, as well. and i just want to express my disappointment in the way this was handled, that the board went through a lot of pain to put a program in place that made sense. they did research. they had public hearings about it. people gave input and then two days before, they cancel the program. i have another child who just

started kindergarten. my parents were lifetime public school educators. i'm very pro public education and to be put in this situation where you follow something along and you're happy with the outcome and then, boom, it's just unilaterally decided that it's canceled, it's just very disheartening and frustrating. i support granting waivers for those who want them. that would be a solution for some. it would not be a solution for me and for my child. i would urge you to keep with the tk program that was advertised and outlined because i think it's the right thing to do and i think it's a step forward. thank you. >> hi, my name is julia gray and i'm hear regarding transitional

kindergarten. i closely followed the state legislature's passage of the kindergarten readiness act, in support of the changes introduced to ensure more children enter kindergarten prepared to learn and succeed. the preparedness was to come from both holding back younger kids and giving those younger kids an opportunity to get prepared. taking only the birthday change part of this legislation and ignoring the other part, transitional kindergarten, does not achieve what this law was intended to accomplish. in fact, itforcing almost 6-yeax go to kindergarten. my daughter attended a full-time pre-kindergarten program for over a year while her father and i work full time. according to her teachers, she already demonstrates the mental, physical, and emotional capacity to perform well in kindergarten. if she had been born a few days earlier she would be admitted

into kindergarten, but with the elimination of this, and she would be repeating a curriculum she is already -- she has already mastered. i asked you to allow my daughter and other children to have the right to enter kindergarten this fall. governor brown said the state would pay for these children. i have already submitted a letter, but i have not received a response. it is also imperative these early admittance request be verified in time for us to participate in the school lottery. this district needs to do the right thing for san francisco costs young students. good -- said francisco's young students. goo>> the next speakers will ber a different topic. [list of names]

you have two minutes each. >> good evening, everyone. i am here on behalf of parents and students to oust the board to rescind the non-reelect notice it was given to our beloved librarian year ago --

librarian. she has been dismissed without cause, but i believe there is a great cause to rescind the dismissal. ms. capt. has received good valuations. a letter presented includes the signature of about every single staff member. we excluded probationary teachers, and this is almost 100%. the list of accomplishments goes on and on. you have got a tip of the iceberg in front of you. it includes reorganizing our library after years of neglect. she is the founder and leader of our first spanish-english book club. she has poured hundreds of spanish titles into our library, making our spanish- speaking students feel welcome. she supports teachers and students in using technology and

online curriculum to differentiate learning for diverse kids. we teach children to do the right thing, and as the last speaker said, we are asking you to do the right thing. we would like you to do what is best for the children and what is best for the school. please let us keep our librar andia the -- librarian at hoover. [applause] >> good evening, everyone. i would like to offer my daughter's comments. my name is ricky, and i am an eighth grade student. i urge you to retain our school librarian. she has done only good things for our school. she has a special connection

with each student, and she caters to the individual's needs. not only is she an outstanding librarian, but she is fluent in spanish and has a strong understanding of the mexican culture. she has opened up the world of literature and readings for limited spanish-english speaking students. you see a variety of ethnic background and smiles on everyone's faces. i applaud her hard work and dedication. please keep ms. pashtun at hoover middle school. thank you. my words, aloha. i am the municipal records library and at san francisco public library curator -- public library. we are partners in building a literacy and information-seeking skills of the city's youth.

this pattern -- miss paton has provided support. this fall we will be doubling the size of our spanish immersion program, and we need her help. she is part of the task force on middle school literacy. she has said i love the students. i am so happy to work with the diversity at hoover. and we talked about our extended family. please let us keep her in our family. low ha 0 yards -- aloha. but i am a science teacher. i am also asking.

it has been am honored to have such a fundamental, integrated library. it has required the insights and its dedication and leadership to have that. she has participated in the communities taskforce. she plays a key role, as we just mentioned.

the loss of her specifically affects the teachers who have gone through the training, and who are working together to integrate all of those areas. thank you. [applause] >> i am here to talk about your principles nominations. gooare prepared a small binder. you will find a timeline in

support of my thoughts and actions. you will find whether i am blessed or cursed and, and i was rated as highly satisfactory. the administration is consistently asking to disregard student services. i advocate on behalf of my students, and robinson stepped in on my behalf to help provide the services we promised. i also filed a grievance against my principles for not filing the

contract he was supposed to, so i asked you to take into consideration. thank you for a much. -- thank you very much. >> good evening, everyone. i am one of the district's nurses. i am here on behalf of the nurses in the district to encourage and to ask for your support. two hours for school nurses to get clear credentials through national certification instead of going through a credential program, which i think does not support professional growth

amongst us nurses. i was hired in february 2009. in august, 2011, i received a letter saying i was 10 years. in order for my employment to continue working, i had to have clear credentials. that includes 27 to 24 units that as a nurse, i know already. most abbas -- most of us have master's degrees. personally i am board-satisfied. -- b