after a lot of work, figuring out which school would be the best fit for our daughter. she missed the cut off by a month. after turning in the application, two days before the end of the registration process, the entire program was canceled. we were told we were out of luck and would have to shop around. almost the end of may, we were told there are three additional locations to consider. i am not sure what kind of family planning the board of education does. i have a lot of responsibilities. i cannot figure out where my daughter is going to be going to school five months from now, and we want to look at decisions a month in advance. to what cassandra was speaking to, why are we here? why are we in san francisco? why are we sending our child to the public education system, if this is the way we are going to be treated? at this point, we have to look at other districts and private.

i am a public school kid, but this is highly frustrating. it is disrespectful to the parents. i have written a lot of letters about this. i have done everything i can. there has been no communication whatsoever. we have not received a single e- mail, a single phone call. we have turned in waiver requests. we have had no reaction, no notice from the district. the idea that we are being communicated with is absolutely false. please give us a reason to stay here. supervisor campos: thank you. next speaker, please. >> week as parents understand this, but it has been complicated for us. moving the cutoff date sounds good in theory, but if we are going to write a bill, let us figure out how we are guinta implement it.

sb 1381 said it was up to the district. our district apparently decided our kids were going to be in kindergarten. that is what we planned on. if your kid is ready, they will go ahead. if they are not, they will stay back. why did this all changed? we do not know. that is fine. it changed. but give us an option for what to do. my daughter was born november 2. you are telling me some of the 24 hours alder is ready and she is not? we have to see who is ready and who is not. if we do not have a system in place, we better get one. the test english learners. why can't we test for kindergarten readiness? same concept. the relationship with the school board and the parents is extremely important. i think there needs to be transparency, accountability,

and trust. the blame game of the focus on the road blocks. we as parents would like to see a commitment toward the education of our kids, and an eagerness to solve the question at hand, especially for kids b orn in november of 2007. thank you. >> anybody who would like to speak, please come up. >> my name is jennifer welch. i will start by saying i was in your meeting. supervisor campos: please speak into the microphone. >> i was in the meeting at the school district two days after the announcement that transitional kindergarten is going to be implemented. it still is chaotic as it was at that moment.

i know everybody is trying to work this out. my major concerns are the number of children. where is this number coming from, the 300 students and the five classrooms that are going to be available? i know that rodriguez does not have room to go. noriega has one classroom. their hours are 7:50 through 1:50. there is no after-school. i am really concerned about availability. how are we going to decide which of these 300 students get into these five classrooms? i am fired up. every time i have tried to get in touch with the school district, they have referred me to 20 cook street. every time. thank goodness they have been very accessible to me. i go in there and get information.

what is the number game? how are we going to figure this out? how are we going to know that our kids are eligible? are there going to be enough classrooms? supervisor campos: thank you. is there a member of the public who has not spoken? seeing none, public comment is closed. colleagues? supervisor olague: i guess i would like to understand a little bit better how the district can better in gauge the parents that are going to be affected. it does not sound like the number is going to be that large. i keep hearing 300 families. we want to keep families here. the city keeps pledging that it is a priority. we want families to send their children to public schools. this is one of the few cities in the state where we have seen a decrease in numbers of students in public schools. i am wondering -- is there a way

we can encourage a better conversation between the parents to develop a policy around this, and make certain the parents are involved in every aspect? since it is a state issue, it will be coming up again and again as a way of bouncing the budget. how can we make sure that the parents that are impacted the most are an integral part of creating policy around this? how many waiver requests are there that they cannot open this up as an option? i can understand some of the -- i understand the other side of the conversation around the reluctance to open up the waiver process. but what i am hearing today from parents is that the waivers are something they really would like to see. i do not blame them.

my inclination is not to go the route of the waiver. i think this is such a nightmare situation. tk, as you mentioned earlier -- for 100 years, we had preschool, kindergarten, and first grade. now they expect to throw this into the mix. i can understand how some parents might opt out, given that there are only five locations. i am not even sure how the locations were chosen. i am wondering how many students would be in each of these rooms. usually, as i mentioned, although i can understand the waiver option reluctance, at the same time, given the stressful nature of this issue, i can see how this might be something we would consider in this

situation. supervisor campos: that is a number of questions for our associate superintendent. supervisor olague: i saw you riding all of it. if you do not mind responding to some. i can repeat them, if you need me to. >> i was writing them all down. supervisor campos: you have thoughts on the issues that were raised? >> yes. supervisor olague: i am sorry. i know you have to leave at 5:00. >> i have to be over there at 5:00. first, let me acknowledge the parents. they are so correct. this has been the most chaotic, fascinating experience. a humbling experience. i would never even try to conceive what they are going through. on assistance level, it has been

crazy just trying to maneuver all of the movements. that is an number one. the other part is communication. two things. first, we would absolutely -- we have done it. we have said to parents -- again, i do not know why not these two parents or three parents. i will say consistently, there were some over here we did meet with on a neighborhood basis. we would be willing to do so now. supervisor olague: i would not want to do a task force. i and just wondering. is there a way, rather than having all these separate conversations, to have one conversation where policy can sort of be -- i see what you are saying. >> remember. 25% of the students are already with us. those conversations happen just

because they are there. the other ones, we had to use other methodologies. we are talking about 1 or 2 below kids per site. our students are already in preschool. there are over 100 classrooms out there, and different agencies providing these services. for us, it was easier to use the systems that were in place. there are another 15% we do not have this leeway with. we can set up the communication process, continuing with the 85%. we have a list now. next year it is going to be a brand new list, a brand new set of parents. this is going to be doubled in number. 85 percent of them are still going to be in those other places.

>> it seems the issue here is the waiver. that is the elephant. >> it is a big thing. that is the part about the communications. we will continue to reach out. we will have to start all over again. thought gives me nightmares. we definitely are learners. we will use what we learn this year to continue to do it better. we realized we can do a better job of working with our other partners out there. we will have to think through how to reach the other 15%. the 15% who are not in these preschools. >> 1 not open the option of the waiver -- supervisor olague: why not open the option of the waiver? >> it is not that simple. we have been working hand in hand with legal and their

recommendations about the intent. which brings me to the issue of why having it in the elementary and sites and moving it to the early education sites. when we first started, we thought this was a done deal. it is the law of the land. everyone knows it. there is nothing secretive about it. overnight, that changed. here we were, implementing something that is still the law of the land, but there is still an active force to pull it out. i am convinced it could go either way. do we disrupt 74 elementary sites, or do we put it into early education sites? which brings me to the question of the number of classrooms. all sites will not have the same number of classrooms, like an elementary side.

some will have one classroom. some will have two. some will have five, because of the sites. we have received a lot of feedback. probably the highest demand has been one everyone has requested. we have listened to what parents have been asking for. there are more than just five classrooms. we will go through a typical process to do that. we are going to figure out the right fit. there is one classroom, because of the size of the school. we are working on adding after school, figuring out how to do that. i think i am going to the questions. i think the real elephant is the waiver. it really is. it is not one of those things -- we just have to work through what is best. supervisor campos: i know you have to run, so i want to give

commissioner mendoza an opportunity to ask a question. i have a lot of questions that were raised. i am glad you are working with your lawyers, having been a lawyer before. if other jurisdictions are doing it, it seems like legally there are good arguments to do it. i would propose that we bring this item back to the select committee, so that we hear where things are, in terms of progress around these issues. hopefully, at that time, we will have more of an opportunity to hear from you on what progress has been made. commissioner mendoza? commissioner mendoza: thank you. i do not think you need to stay for this. i wanted to make some comments from where i sit on the board of education. first of all, i want to apologize for these challenges. supervisor campos: if it is ok with you, we can let the

associate superintendent run to her meeting. commissioner mendoza: she hears me all the time. first of all, i want to apologize on a challenging this has been. we have been getting updates. part of our own challenge is we work on a school district budget which is projected. we do not know how much money we have annually. it is given to us very late. we have to hire teachers. we have no idea how much money we have. that is always an anxious that we have. -- an angst we have. it seemed logical to have it go over to kindergarten. when the funding went away, it became a question of how we can do that and not be as challenged. we do not even know how many classrooms we are going to have. this is my own interpretation on how the process has been.

it has been frustrating and difficult for us as well. as this started to come out, we started to have conversations around -- his candor appropriate, or should we do an extension of prepay -- is kinder appropriate, or should we do an extension of pre-k? and we have the problem with kindergarten families that do not get into kindergarten seats. will all of the families in our program feel as if tk kids are taking upper k -- up kinder seats that should only be for kinder because of the mandate? it has been really difficult. we have sites where people were

not happy where they are. we are feeling like we get criticized when we have openings. we are criticized when we do not open in places where the families want to be, because there is high demand in those places. let us try to open some seeds of locations. but when you think about something else, the other locations, these are great locations. and it is not the right timing. the bell schedule is off. the elementary school kid is further away. this is another layer of challenges we want to try to accommodate that make it really difficult for us to be able to satisfy everyone. i just want to apologize for how challenging this has been. it has really been challenging for us as well, when we are on such a horrible state budget, wanting to implement mandates

that are new to us, and wanting to look at ways we can satisfy all of our families. we appreciate your patience. i have two kids in the public schools. one of them went through the pre k program. planning is important. we get it. it is summer. they have to go somewhere. frankly, i find the whole idea that we have our kids apply to school in january for the fall is something so many of our families still do not get. we have families that not -- that do not even apply to school, and show up having not even filled out an application. it runs the gamut, in terms of how our families get to our system. i am hoping that you will appreciate our challenges as well. we will work as hard as we can

to accommodate as many folks as possible. but please understand the constraints which are under as well. commissioner maufas: i want to echo what the commissioner has said. she has her perspective. my perspective comes from the grandmother perspective. my granddaughter was born december 11, 2010. as i watched the moving target and try to explain every iteration to my daughter, it is a moving target. it is frustrating to me, somebody who is supposed to be in the know, to not know. there is so much information. the budget is a huge factor making this moving target not

accessible. not as an excuse, but that is the reality, an unfortunate reality. if folks who were making these was understood that families were balancing on these iterations, changes, and winds, which is what it feels like for me, trying to tell my daughter to get ready -- that is no longer in existence. hold on a second. if your little one is growing and you are trying to prepare for your own life, and do things in the appropriate way, it is no way to exist. i want to let you know that, as one amongst you. i am watching and trying to be as articulate as possible about something that is changing and evolving, and not in a healthy way.

we are trying to plan for the and as members of our family. i appreciate your continuing to come, that you do not give up on this process. it is vitally important for us to hear every component and every opinion, whether it is something that agrees with us or does not. we need to hear it all. thank you very much. supervisor campos: thank you, commissioner. supervisor olague: i would like to move to continue this to the call of the chair. supervisor campos: we have a motion, seconded by president chiu. before we vote on that, let me simply say that i want to think the parents who are here. we will bring this item back to the next meeting, so we can get an update from the school district. i think all of us here the frustration. i have to make sure we recognize the challenges for the school district.

i do not know how i would advise a client, given the nature of the target at the state level. i think the district is doing a fine job, given the challenges we are facing. president chiu: a quick question to the school district. i was wondering. another is a question of legal advice from the district council. i wonder if we could understand that a little bit better. could we get some information? supervisor campos: we saw the deputy superintendent, who said yes. supervisor olague: since will be calling this item back, and wondered if we could have some discussion of geographic consideration our preference for students with siblings at a

nearby school, that sort of thing, if that could be addressed next time. supervisor campos: ok. if we can take that without objection. thank you very much. we will revisit this item at the next meeting. madam secretary, if you can call item number two. >> thank you, supervisors. this is a hearing on the fiscal year 12-13 budget. supervisor campos: thank you. i know we are short on time and may lose a quorum. i would like to think the deputy superintendent, who is here to present on this item. i want to thank mr. li for being here. i also want to note that at the last board of supervisors' meeting there was a hearing request by supervisor eric mar on the issue of what happens if

the city receives additional and expected revenue. is there any possibility that more money could be designated for the san francisco unified school district? i think it is important to have an understanding of what the budget looks like, if we are going to have that discussion, to schedule for the next select committee meeting. welcome to our deputy superintendent, mr. lee. >> good afternoon, supervisors and commissioners. it is always a pleasure to come and speak to the committee. it has been a while since i have been here. i was in your main chamber two days ago. that was a nice vacation, for recognition to the redistricting task force. that was everybody saying nice things. it took 10 minutes. if you want to do that again today, that would be great. supervisor campos: it proves you

do not sleep. that was a lot of work. and having to deal with this issue is a lot of work as well. we appreciate the work. >> thank you. i know there is a time limitation. i will try to go quickly, if it would be your pleasure to bring this back to the next meeting. i would be happy to come back. this is our budget director at the school district. she really does all this work. we tag team on making these types of presentations. supervisor campos: thank you for being here. >> this presentation is about a dozen slides. i can go through it fairly quickly, and maybe give all the committee members a chance to mull it over before the next hearing. the first slide is about the budget proposal. i know many of you are probably familiar, in a general way, about the state of the

california budget situation. to go through this quickly, there is an estimated $16 billion shortfall. the state is wrestling with this. that has grown since january by about $5 billion. that reflects lower revenue collection than had been forecast initially. a couple of decisions by the federal government, the administration, or courts blocked some cuts that were imposed or inactive by the state. that mostly has to do with social services. those factors together have cost the state budget gap to grow to $16 billion. but the governor has proposed is billions of dollars in spending cuts, mostly outside of k-12 education.

however, i want to note that that reflects that k-12 has taken a disproportionate share of cuts over the past five to six years. that was an acknowledgement on the part of the governor. in context, it is important to know that is trying to recognize the deeper cuts that have been borne by public schools. there is an important tax measure on the november ballot, going through the process of validating signatures which have been collected and submitted. that would increase taxes -- the income tax and the sales tax together. the estimate is an $8.50 billion increase in revenues. we have put in a few specifics about the forms of those increases it would affect individuals with more than

$250,000 worth of income. there is a graduated scale for those increases. the maximum increase would be up to a 3% increase in the maximum marginal tax rate for the state at the highest marginal level. that kicks in over a million dollars. sales tax would be increased by 0.25%. that is a quarter of a penny on sales tax. those taxes together would be in place temporarily. the income tax would be, in effect, for seven years. the sales tax would be another four years, through 2016. in terms of the education budget, the proposed budget would hold general purpose funding, which we refer to as the revenue limit, for schools flat, but only if approved by

voters. a couple of notes about that. although the proposal maintains flat funding from a 11-12, it also includes no funding for statutory cost-of-living adjustment. that is established in state law. there is a statutory basis. it is meant to be funded on the revenue. but it has not been funded. it has become the norm to not fund in this regard. it is becoming less and less meaningful. over time, the effect is the deficit factor, which represents the amount of each dollar of revenue limit that school districts should receive, how much the school districts are not receiving. that is up to 22%, many schools only receive 78 cents of each