we can use that money for buying something else. me and my mom, we go to -- my mom needs to pay me and my sisters, needs to pay more money. >> anonymous, followed by gaby rodriguez. >> i am anonymous. chairperson nolan: that will be before the litigation session. >> also known as steve williams. a couple points. first of all, i know the board has heard this issue for a while. several months ago, i remember distinctly board members saying this is a good idea, but we do

not know where the money is. now the money is here, but the process is not being made here. there are some important points about respect that i think need to be made. first of all, it is not appropriate for this board to go into closed session when people are still waiting to speak. time and time again, people have asked for clarity about what the time when for the decision is going to be. i understand this plan is a discussion to make a decision regarding fares, but this board is in a position to make a conditional endorsement of this program. what we can promise you is that whether you go into closed session or have other hearings, more and more people are going to continue to come speak. the reality is whether you have the hearing at 1:00, 2:00, 3:00 -- young people all across the city are paying attention to what this board is doing. it is critical that free fast

passes be provided to all young people. we have said before, and this board, i think understands the importance of this, but it is critical to understand that inevitably young people will wind up falling through the cracks, if you wind up setting up any sort of discriminatory practice. we have heard about the bureaucratic red tape. but the reality is that in san francisco public schools, more than 80% of the kids to qualify for free and reduced lunch do not wind up receiving it because of some bureaucratic mess up. it is critical that newly not follow that type of president of setting up obstacles -- precedent of setting up obstacles. create the possibility of a new generation of transit riders to step up to be able to prove the city can provide transportation not just to and from school, but all over the city, so people can

take a vintage of the incredible wealth and resources this city has. it is incumbent upon this board to make clear to the community when it is you plan on making a decision, and making clear that you support the program now that the community and public officials have done the hard work of finding and raising the money from other sources. >> debbie rodriguez, followed by kevin. -- gaby rodriguez, followed by kevin. >> i am here to support free muni for all youth. it is a need, a necessity. we need it for all youth. not only will it get us to school, but it will open up other opportunities for us. students can join other clubs outside of school and depend on muni to get there.

lastly, muni is environmentally friendly. the more people write it, the more it will be friendly. i think we need free muni for youth. thank you. >> next speaker, kevin, coleman advocates. chairperson nolan: is kevin here? >> carlos rios. ymca. chairperson nolan: that will be it before our litigation session. >> good afternoon, everyone. my name is carlos rios. i am here to support free muni for youth. i understand all this hard work from community leaders. the solution is just pass. i know it is not easy. there has been a lot of apart

from each party. but i understand this is for the community, and the community will appreciate the work you do for them. i understand the politics and stuff like this is in play right now. and of course it is obvious that all the people behind me want this to pass. i understand also for you that you want to. it is all about you wanting to pass this resolution. thank you. chairperson nolan: let me say once again the process here -- a process question was raised. the board does not have the authority to vote on something that is not on the agenda. this board decided some time ago that we would have this issue as part of the overall budget proceeding, which we are moving on as expeditiously as possible. over the next couple of meetings, we will be able to

make that decision. we have explained that to a number of leaders of the organization. thank you. with that, we will have a closed session for litigation. is there such a motion? is there a second? any further discussion? the ayes have it. we will be in closed session for litigation. >> sylvia ramos. >> are any of those folks in the room? >> anonymous, why do you not come forward? i know that you are here. >> please come forward if name has been called.

why do you not read the list again? >> we have an anonymous, josh, cortines, ramirez, stephanie, marcel. >> i think we have one. good afternoon. >> i understand that the board has more important issues to discuss. i am here as a follow-up from the last meeting. i left a letter for the board members. i understand that they did not pass it on to you. they refused. one of the issues that we discussed was a letter that i received from the mta. a hearing was issued in response

to the protest. the date and time it was installed was january 13, 2012. the letter was written january 13, 2012. the letter was written before the boot was installed. all of the other details of was talking about in that letter. the secretary said that she passed on the letter to the director and included the documents. she said that she was not able to reply because by email was not working. the attachment was one of the documents that are included with my resume. my email works. i sen messagesd and get them

back. i had no reply. my only venue to address the problem was this meeting. consider the issues are raised in the letter. if i cannot appeal, i tried to appeal with the hearing office. he did not return my call. >> thank you, next speaker. >> isabel martinez. >> good afternoon. good evening. we work on sustainable community strategies. on behalf of disadvantaged communities to advance equity and opportunity. we are proud to stand in solidarity with members of the use coalition members. young people who have come out

today. this is a sustained community strategy. muni can use this across the board. the reason we have spent about four hours in solidarity and as long as it takes, the really important thing to recognize is that this is not funded. this is something that has been gone through all the right steps. identify all of the concerns. this is something that has to happen. one of the speakers that they talked about, there is a certain stigma that occurs. it happens in this country, too. i grew up in the sacramento valley. i took public transportation. a very stigmatizing.

i was very struck that that wasn't the case. it needs to be across the board free to all youth. let's move forward with this. i would love to be here and bask in this energy. we worked in coalition with power. we are going to do the same. this has to happen. let's get it on the agenda. this will make this agency among the most forward thinking in the country. >> are any of those people here? please come forward. it isabel martinez. estella? silvia ramos?

stephaie? claudia? >> while some of these folks are coming forward, this will be at the april 3 meeting. it will be a part of the entire budget process. >> howard. >> are any of these folks here? anybody? >> [speaking spanish] >> good afternoon. my name is claudia. i am here on behalf of my children. it is difficult for them to come

forward before you and ask for free fast passes. >> [speaking spanish] >> i just wanted to show you right now all of the transfers that i had to get an all the transfers i had to pay for. my children travel a very long distance to get to school. we really need the free fast passes. >> [speaking spanish] >> i am a low income parent and

a single mother. we want to ask you to please approve the program. you have a higher position than many in this room. we ask you to support it. >> [speaking spanish] >> we ask that you pay attention to what we are asking, not just the adults, but the youth here. >> thank you. next speaker, please. >> the next speaker is howard. elisabeth. jose luis. >> [speaking spanish]

>> good afternoon, my name is elizabeth. i have been trying to understand the process. who has decisionmaking power in the campaign we have been fighting. it is you and other officials here. i asked you and whoever is necessary to make this happen. just so you know, my own children often have to get on three buses a day. we want them to go to university and continue studying. this is a need that youth have. once they leave the house, they are out all day. they are dependent on muni. >> thank you. next speaker. >> the next speaker, jose luis. kevin cho.

>> good afternoon. >> i am jose luis. i am from power. i want muni free because my mom pays a lot. i pay $2. i hate it when i have to pay. they always ask me and i do not like when i ask. i ned the muni free pass. i have to pay 75 cents each day and i do not like it. every time i pay that, we lose

money from our family. every time when i pay 75 cents, it goes to the atm. that money, the atm has over 5 billion dollars in the money that we pay kids, families and adults. >> thank you. good job. next speaker, please. >> ernest stokes. >> good afternoon. i am a volunteer. i will try to keep this brief. early on, we started talking

about free muni for youth. people said that there was no money. if you find the money, we can do it. we found the money. we ask that you can the agreement. integrity matters. >> thank you. next speaker. >> next speaker, kevin cho, theresa. >> good afternoon. my name is kevin. part of the campaign is to get free muni for youth. i am a second year in college and it would not affect me personally. it is important to speak up for the next generation. this has brought together a broad coalition of youth and

young people that are thinking about how to make muni better for future generations. it is exciting to see you talk about environmental benefits. this is a pro transit campaign that will not only encourage all used to be lifelong riders, but stakeholders. some youth are at risk for being fined on the bus to have access to their education. thank you. >> next speaker. >> the next speaker followed by theresa. >> good afternoon. i am from the campaign academy. i am a freshman at college. even though free muni will not

affect me, it is important. i went to school in sunset. my dad went to work in the mornings. that was the only way to go to school. muni is more affordable. school buses have been caught. -- cut. >> do you all want to come up together? ok. >> good afternoon. >> good afternoon. thank you very much for hearing us today. i am the family neighborhood organizer with mission began. i tom -- i am here on behalf of

our youth and families. we hear stories about why kids do not have enough money to get to and from their programs and schools. i am here to advocate for all of the youth. it is heartbreaking. we hear the same things about the balanced scorecard. they are waiting for the right bus driver to come around that they know will let them go on the bus without any fare. they are paying the price through their education. i am here to honor their request. i urge you that you put this into motion to push this process further. we need to send a positive message to the youth and

families. our kids have been very active and passionate about this from the start. they created their own facebook campaign to teach kids to be better muni riders. i pledge to give up my seat to the elderly and to not curse on the bus. do you all want to say something? >> good work. do you want to say something? ok. thank you. >> nick, sarah. >> good afternoon. hello, members of the board of mta. i m-16 and i and ted -- attend

the arts and technology charter school. i am advocating for all of the youth behind me in san francisco. every age, race, ethnicity or school or district that they come from. they need to get what they deserve which is free muni. >> nick, sarah. >> my name is nicklaus. i am a sophomore in high school. i am a member of the san francisco youth commission. i am here in support of free muni. this does not go with what we see as values. it is san francisco's

transportation system. this encourages one of muni's main goals, which is service. allowing youth to get on the first bus that they see and instead of the know, this is se. while we would appreciate a certain outcome, we can only give our opinion. it is our right to have the vote on this soon. please give us the gift of a vote. these sources have been identified further away and the school project will go further away and might not come back again. let's take the opportunity we

have right now. let's make a decision. >> sarah armstrong, eric. >> my name is sarah armstrong. i serve on the youth commission of san francisco. i want to speak on why i think muni should be free for all youth. those kids need reduced passes or they need to stay on the back of the bus. we need to think of them as our kids that we need to take care of. it would unite the young people in san francisco. behind me, there are so many young people from so many different backgrounds that want the same goal.

i would encourage you to make muni free for all young people. >> vivian. >> good afternoon. i am a junior, so i am a little bit outside of the target range. i am a prep -- at a private school. this is on ocean and victoria. they have a very diverse economic background with the background and the students and racially and all of that. there are a lot of things that could have divided us. we all take the bus. we all got on at the beginning and the end of the day and when we were trying to sneak out of school and go off lunch for campus. we all took the train.

hey, i still see you on the bus. having free muni would create a generation of transit rider. s. by former classmates are all there. that is an investment we can make into our future. there is a testimony standing right in front of you. there are young kids that maybe you can see standing here in front of you. i hope you can make the decision soon to prioritize future generations. >> next speaker, please. >> hello. i am a member of the adopt an alley way youth project.

my birthday was last week. i had to purchase an adult fast pass. i was swept away by the increase in price from $21 to $61. i am advocating for a reduction for everyone, not just low- income youth. students aged 18 and above ride muni just as much as below those 17 in age. we should not discriminate on their economic burden as well as age. we want to encourage all of the youth to use muni as a form of transportation. it will collectively benefit all