that is the message you sent. every parent across the district heard it. parents work every day to make every student receive a quality education. many parents who receive a layoff notice have given 20 or more years to this district. all parents deserve your respect, not this. i want to thank commissioner maufas for having the courage to vote against the layoffs, like she always does. [applause] the people in the schools, doing the work, we appreciate you. stalled layoffs. all for one and one for all. [applause] >> commissioners, superintendent, my name is elizabeth connelly, vice president for substitutes at uesf.

tonight i speak for dennis kelly, who is in washington d.c. doing business with the afg, working on matters such as these tonight. layoffs should not be employed as the district administrator uses it to lure more money into the district from city hall. it should not be part of the budgeting each year in. it means real pain for real people. laos disrupt the pain -- disrupt the lives of teachers and paraprofessionals. that disrupts the lives of our students. a smiling superintendent an easy lead service about social justice are not serviced by layoffs. [applause] putting one set of school against another. the celebration carried out by deputy superintendent and the principles he called down to testify in favor of skipping seniority is despicable.

their celebration, when others are being laid off, is evidence of a callous heartlessness that we have not seen in san francisco before. in the demand by the president of the administrators union that the principals who testified be rewarded with contract extensions shows where their real interest lies. it is self interest and not concerned about the children and the wholeness of the school district. there is no such thing as justice for some. who chooses to the some art? what happens when they are out of favor? rescind the laos, restored seniority, stay united, stand together. commit yourself to justice for all. thank you. [applause] >> my name is connie ford and i and the vice president of the san francisco labor council. [applause]

we represent about 120 unions in, over 100,000 working men and women in san francisco. we stand firmly on the side of the teachers and the teachers' union. i also come out of a personal note. both of my children were raised in san francisco public schools. i have two grandchildren selected the public school that they are going to. i have a daughter-in-law who teaches in one of these own schools. we are all committed to public education. we are all committed to the children. we must do it fairly, justly, and we must do it by the union's recommendations because it is the union that looks out for our children above and beyond all else. 500 layoff notices is unconscionable when there are $55 million in that return fund. if this is not the time -- if

this is an emergency, it is time to use the reserve fund for this emergency. thank you. [applause] >> good evening. my name is kevin. i'm here to speak on behalf of my local. we are here in support for the teachers. you are very popular tonight. i am glad that you are making this movie. tonight, you started by talking about what happened to sacramento. at the same time, what are you doing? the lack of respect for seniority and the is zones is nothing short of a scumbag moved. we all know who is to blame. i can tell you this. i do not know why you smile so much while we are here trying to tell you how difficult this is. i can move forward to seeing how

this goes with my members. if your initiatives something on seniority, we will fight you. take a look at this. it is monticellite child's play compared to where we are coming from. we are here to tell you -- thank you. [applause] >> hi. i go to sunset elementary. i am in third grade and i am 3. my mom has been laid off and rehired three times. last year, i was in ms william'' class and she was a new teacher.

and the old teacher had been there a long time. i just want to say that i do not like that teachers keep being laid off. thank you. [applause] >> my name is sunny dawn, that was my daughter. i worked at cleveland elementary in the excelsior or mission of persia. we are experiencing layoffs because of the imaginary line they have drawn. what i'm here to express, not just as a teacher but as a parent, my daughter went to cleveland elementary. when i got laid off a couple of times, it was not good enough for me as a parent so i transfer to sunset elementary. this is my honest story as a parent and teacher. now she has a wonderful principal that is telling her

teachers, do not worry about the layoffs because we have enough money to provide for them. why does my daughter feel safe enough at a west side school and my students at cleveland elementary do not feel safe and they're used to their teachers being laid off every year? that is my question. as a parent. you do not even want to know my questions as a teacher. i am tired of being laid off. my mom was a teacher that was laid off. it is the same thing. [applause] >> my name is katie. i worked as an instructional reform facilitator for nine years and have been working at eldorado for the past six years. i'm hired directly for the district. the mission is helping improve instruction at a specific school for training and coaching of teachers as they plan and implement instructions to best

meet their students' needs. although i am hired by the district to do this job, every year, the district directly undermines my ability to do this job. i think we can all agree that one of the most important tenets of reforming is continuity of staff from year to year to build and develop consistent practice across time. every year, in march, the district makes a decision to lay off at least half of the teachers at eldorado, making this continuity impossible. each year, i should be deepening and further developing teacher capacity to do the very difficult task of implementing literacy but instead, i start back at square one with at least four or five grand new teachers to. do not get me wrong, i love all the new teachers to come through our doors each year. they're eager, dedicated, intelligent, and have strong skills.

like any first-year employee, they need a chance to develop. we need to build upon what we have begun to improve. we are designated school, meaning we have a hard enough time on our own with our teachers. we do not need you to contribute to this problem year after year. by laying off half a dozen teachers each year, you are perpetuating the cycle of underperforming schools. please rethink your decision. stop laying off teachers who need the continuity the most. [applause] >> my name is lisa and i work directly with katie in improving instruction at eldorado. i also worked ihillcrest, another hard to staff school which has been confronted with layoffs. what i am going to say is not

want to be popular with a lot of people in this room. i am actually not opposed to the board's decision to hold back layoffs in superintendent zoned schools. schools that are hard to staff, schools that have populations that need continuity, as katie stated, schools where they put a lot of hours and money into professional development, those teachers need to stay put. what i am asking is that hillcrest and eldorado be added to that list. we are t.c. reading and writing schools. we have put in tens of thousands of dollars into professional development. we come out and train our teachers and now they are getting laid off. all that training goes down the drain.

>> my name is jennifer. i am a teacher at el dorado, where, for my first three years, i was laid off. i am in year five and i have not been a. i am enjoying the process of watching half of the staff, not only the school that i teach at but when my students will go, being laid off. you could lay off the old district and the earth would not be tilted, but i invite you to come to el dorado and tell our community that laying off seven of 15 classroom teachers does not make a big toe and. -- a big tilit -- a big tilt. [applause] >> it is nice to see you all again. i brought friends this time.

i want to suggest -- i am asking you to follow through with all of your promises. not just the schools represented but all the schools you represent. i know that there has been a lot of phrases going around in the district. one of them i really want to call you out on. if you want to erase the predictive power of demographics, you need to start by providing a little -- equitable access to experienced teachers in this district triet 11 zip code has twice the opportunity as others, there is something wrong. we would not have to skip certain sickos if the district and school board committed to providing equitable access to experienced teachers for all schools. this fall, with in our district, we must truly get beyond the taw and make this a reality. i am asking you not just for eldorado but for all this was out there that need experienced

teachers. every school deserves it. if you want to break the cycle of these low-performing schools year after year getting into serious teachers getting laid off and starting over, you have to break the cycle. you need to stop the system, rework the system, and work with the teachers to do it. [applause] >> my name is danielle. i teach first grade at eldorado elementary school. before i start, i am much to ask you all to practice some attentive listening. i notice a lot of people putting their heads down. i think we deserve some attention and respect i was part of the san francisco residency program, a program that you are partners in. i was in a room with mr. garcia and you told me your sincere support in the work and training that our program is doing. so much support that you

promised all of us jobs for three years. today i got a pink slips and the male and you told me that my services were no longer needed. what happened to the promises that you made and the sincere support that he supposedly had for the students? i teach my students every day the importance of honesty and. i am now asking you to be honest. if you do not truly believe in quality education for all students in, your actions say you do not, do not say you do, do not bother applying to us and getting our hopes up. [applause] >> my name is christie. i have taught for seven years at galileo high school in san francisco. we come in here collectively and we were chanting something interesting. it was, "get some guts. stop the cuts."

it occurred to me what needs to happen if you cannot stop the cuts causing layoffs, unnecessary furlough days, and cuts to vital resources. the students and parents of this community understand what schools need to thrive. one is its teachers who are respected and supported rather than demoralized. why do you not see it? i think you do see it and choose to make people at the top happy rather than support your students and teachers in the community. you get away with this because the very teachers that you lay off are so committed to their students and their classrooms that there are isolated, overworked, and cannot afford to come here for a real fight back. in this room, i am asking you to challenge the budget cuts coming from the state and to stand up to people like governor brown and say, no more cuts. if you cannot, we will occupy

your positions. thank you in. [applause] >> i teach at thurgood marshall. i have been teaching for about five years. i taught at gloria davis before that. my 10 years in the school district, i have been seeing this stuff every year. in middle school, they put us on the closure list three times. the reconstituted the school, all in the bayview. so much bickering and fighting. it really played havoc on teachers nerves. when you came into the district, superintendent garcia, you promised change. you talk about technology and moving forward. you have moved forward towards

some of your promises. what you have done this year is a shame on you. i work with a lot of young teachers and they are excited about working there. there are turning their backs on teachers who have been in the school district for years. it is a shame to see that. i ask myself, is this a world- class school district or city? do i teach my students to be good citizens by pitting their friends against each other? by pitting their employees against each other? it breaks my heart to see that. we know that you have $55 million in reserve funds. make the tough decision and spend it on the teachers. i tell my people, invest in yourself and you will do well. the school district will not invest in you. that is really a shame.

you are putting an attack on that, an attack on each one of those. how can i tell the parents that i am teaching that the school board has their backs when actually, they are paying teachers against one another? how can i tell my parents to go check the beautiful website of yours to see you smiling with the kids a. when you turn around, we are stabbing each other in the back. that is a shame. world-class city, world class district. it is sad -- president yee: thank you.

>> my brothers and sisters are concerned about their jobs. [applause] >> i am a teacher at sheridan elementary school. another first grade teacher who is asking -- sheridan calls it listening with our eyes, ears, and hearts. i came from brian elementary school, which is a zoned school. it is clear to me that part of the creation of the issues that are happening was done by this administration. we decided to accept district grants. you neglected the devil in the details. the detail was, to get the money, half of the teachers, who are devoted and dedicated to stay at the school and work with the families, had to leave

those school -- had to leave those schools. they did not want to but they had to leave. i was one of those teachers. we have been through the reform programs, reconstitution, turnaround, transformation. none of which has been proven to be effective. here we are again. teachers really know what the students need to learn. they should not be laid off. they need continuity but so do all the schools in this district. >> good evening. my name is betty robinson. i am the uesf chair of the child develop a program. i am a proud agitator who works

at the early education school. i am here to reiterate what my brothers and sisters said. layoffs are unacceptable. the early education staff, the teachers and parents, the layoff notices that are going to be issued, can be a severe compliance issue. we know that the states have regulations of student-teacher ratios. i also want to comment on what was made regarding t.k. it does not denote quality. i invite all who are interested to come and witnessed real education in progress at our school and other gave you schools in. -- other bayview schools.

[applause] >> i might go over the two minutes but it is not out of disrespect. sandra, rachel, heidi, kim, norman, you have been at my school. i had to take a moment.

we have to keep our promises to students and families. some of you are my colleagues, some of you are my friends. some of you i just passed by or see on the website or on tv. these three goals, theory versus practice, with service versus implementation, and high was one of the students -- i was one of the students that those kids in mlk and the zonews ignored. i was one of the students who fought in school and got kicked out. my mom told me that education can never be taken away. i loved what you said. i am not a politician and eight -- but a parent and a grandmother.

that is what you said. one teacher, i remember him. he touched my heart. in middle school, i slept in his class. he took a ruler and slammed it on the desk. "with yourself up because education is too important." i was a failing student. i raised my grade to a d from an f. to this day, i love history because of him. one book, now i apply it. you know what? i was very skeptical. my education was organizing.

>> hold on a second. so, i'm, trying to do some flexibility, but i really need us to keep to the timel