it's about home to school connection, about communication -- best way to communicate with parents. so, we've been collecting that information. and we're hoping to do our outreach there. we've also been looking at redesigning our own website to promote the work we do, increase our visibility as well as our outreach across the district to other families that we haven't been able to reach. and finally, we're preparing for our first meeting of the year which is scheduled for wednesday, august 28th, and we look forward to welcoming superintendent carranza who will be attending that first meeting and welcoming our newest pac members as well as our experienced leaders who will be returning. so, thank you. any questions? >> yes, [speaker not understood]. >> thank you very much for that very thorough report. i'd just like to know for the september 28th family engagement institute whether you have a time and location yet. >> we're looking at that right now. it's possibly -- that is being negotiated right now. i don't want to say what it is.

ruth [speaker not understood] is the one kind of spearheading that, office of family and community engagement. and she's been coordinating the collaborative working group through the family engagement network to help make sure that the planning has community based organizations calendars' in mind, school staff calendars in mind. that was the date that came up there was any particular conflicts. ~ there wasn't any particular conflicts. >> thank you very much for your report. we will now move on to item f, which is public comment on consent items. i have four cards all concerning 2q c-2 which is on page 39 and 40 of your agenda. as i read your name, please come and line up at the podium. ~ you will each have two minutes to speak. jeantel washington. keith ward, and carl walter [speaker not understood].

hi, good evening. i have a letter addressed to the board that -- >> i'm sorry, your name? sure, my name is carl walter. i'm an organizer for service employees international, united service workers west, and we represent 40,000 security officers, janitors, airport service workers, and an allied entertainment division across the state of california. i'd like to thank you for allowing me the time to speak to you this evening. and begin by acknowledging the enormous responsibility that all of you share to ensuring the quality of education for the children of san francisco and to have a brighter future for tomorrow. i'm here tonight this evening to talk to you about the

contract for security services that went out to bid recently in the district. the district has utilized security services for over 12 years. securitaz is a union company. the union has worked for over a decade in san francisco and across the bay area to improve standards for security officers. ~ abc security is a signatory to our agreement and they bid on the contract for security services. they were the lowest responsive bidder. we're concerned based on the bid submitted by abc security that the officers' wage rates currently in place will not be honored and we'd like to call your attention to the fact that our collective bargaining agreement, which again abc is signatory to, guarantees that the wage rates of the security

officers will remain in place at the time a union company takes over a contract at an already unionized facility. which again, this district has utilized the union company for 12 years. so, we'd ask that the board take these matters into consideration and thank you for your time. good evening, everyone. my name is jontel washington also seiu service workers west. i want to reemphasize and spell out a bit more some of the points that my colleague carl just made. so, the issue here is that we've been having a back and forth with abc security and we have not gotten any clear response from them in the way of abiding by the terms of the collective bargaining

agreement. that is to say, maintaining the officers from the incumbent contractor securitas, maintaining wage rates, benefits, and seniority. and i want to emphasize here that you've been through this process with abc in the past. this just happened three years ago, almost the exact same situation where abc security came in as the lowest bidder over securitas, over other union bidders, an extraordinarily low bid. we were at that time worried likewise that they might not work the contract at union rates. we have the same concern now and i think a handful of you were on the board at that time. for those who weren't, to give a little bit of background there, abc had this back and forth with your chief

facilities officer and at the end of the day abc ended up withdrawing their bid because they could not both keep their responsibilities, their contractual agreements with us, union and simultaneously with you guys agreeing to work at the bid rates they claim they'd be able to come in on. so, we're having the same back and forth with them today. in this situation, we want to make certain that it's clear that first and foremost that you all are aware of what's going on. i regret we didn't have a chance to meet up with you guys -- 30 more seconds. we didn't have a chance to meet up with you guys earlier. this kind of came at us all of a sudden. we thought abc like i said, would abide by the agreement. and that did not happen. so, we're just asking you if you want to go ahead with the purchasing department's intent to award this contract to abc security, that you please hold

them to their promises. we have officers in attendance here today that will speak on some of the issues with abc security in the past. as i've already mentioned the problem that you all have had with them. we just want to make certain they abide by their contractual agreements. thank you. thank you. i apologize for him. i was writing stuff down. my name is keith ward. i'm the security officer. i'm also vice president of ufww. as jontel and carl said, my concern with abc is their history. we had to do a petition against them. we've had to do rallies against them, both in san francisco and in oakland. they have a tendency to not give their raises to their security officers. we get a raise every year.

in january, 65 cents, whatever it is now, but they get it. they would not give it to them. we'd have to fight them for it. it's my main concern, security officer. your security officer spends 12 years. you have another security officer paloma, i apologize for that. but when she started, they were $11 an hour. now they're making $15 an hour. i worry if abc comes in they're going to start worrying their wages. if you under bid some other competitives by $100,000, light bulb should go off in your head. the ones that are going to suffer are the security officers. it always seems that way. i have a concern that i'm going to be getting calls in the middle of the night saying that abc has dropped my wages, or my vacation pay hasn't come in. and these are the things that i

received when abc was at the ferry building, was at the ferry building and over at oakland city center before they lost that account. i understand the economics of it, but i'm asking the board, as my colleagues on the [speaker not understood], keep a close eye on abc. i guess what i'm saying to you is i'm not in favor of abc. i also work for securitas. they are no angels, i can tell you. they're a lot better than abc. thank you. good evening, members of the board. my name is bob neil. i come before you not as a union official but as a member of the rank and file. the security contract is switching here with the unified school district. i work in an industry which is

frequently run by duplicitous people. therefore, people who work in this industry must always be alert, aware. sometimes, yes, we even have to expect the absolute worst. abc security is a company which is known for its duplicity. what we're asking is that we understand you're going to go with abc security, but we're asking for your oversight on this matter to make sure that these people that work for you currently for securitas and soon to be abc do not lose their wages, no cut in their wages, no cuts in their benefits. thank you very much. >> thank you. all right. item g, consent calendar.

may i hear a motion and a second, please? >> consent calendar. >> second. >> thank you. did you want to make a comment? [laughter] >> well, you can always -- i'm getting to the next part and you can always make your comment there. any items withdrawn or corrected by the superintendent, mr. steel? >> yes, we have -- there is one correction to 4b. 138-13 k5 on page 105. there is a change of amount to sac code to 01-41 244-2 014-111 0-21 00-51 00-153. [multiple voices] >> the amount is changed from

29,400 to 24,400. everything else to k-5 is correct including the total cost. there is one item to withdraw from the agenda. this item 4b is 138-13 k 28 on pages 152 -- excuse me, 151 and 152. >> k-28 is [speaker not understood]. okay, thank you. any items removed for first reading by the board? seeing none, any items severed by the board or superintendent for discussion and vote tonight? commissioner maufas. >> yes, 2q, 138 13-c-2, the security contract. >> all right. 2q.

any other items severed for discussion and vote this evening? seeing none, that would only be 2q. roll call vote will take place under section o. all right. item 8, superintendent's proposals, there are none tonight. item i, board members proposals. there are none this evening. and we are going to move on to request to speak regarding general matters. i have several cards. all right. actually, i have two cards. i am going to call your name. andrew russo, you have two minutes. and then reverend amos brown is going to give a slightly longer present aches. when [speaker not understood] is finished, reverend brown, you may approach the microphone. okay, great. okay, good evening to the board

so and the superintendent and appreciate the time to talk tonight. my name is andrew russo, co-founder of the san francisco family support network. i'm here to promote an event we are promoting with the district september . it's called attend today, succeed tomorrow. it's a forum on partnering to improve student attendance from the early years. ~ september 9. the questions we'll be looking at together are what impact does absence in the early years of education have on a child's ongoing success in school? how serious a problem is early chronic absence in san francisco? and most importantly, how can we as community-based organizations public departments, the school district, and funders collectively support families and our city to overcome the barriers that make it hard for children to attend. the event is co-sponsored as well by attendance works, first 5 in san francisco, [speaker not understood], and parents for public schools.

we're fortunate that our superintendent will be speaking that day. and as well heddy chang, [speaker not understood], nationally known expert in the area of early chronic absenteeism. so, i believe you all have the fliers and appreciate your help on promoting this event internally and externally. welcome you to participate. please go to the website there to register, and for those in the audience, i will also leave fliers out on the desk there. so, thank you very much. >> thank you, mr. russo. all right. reverend brown, you may speak at the podium or if you'd be more comfortable, you can sit at the table. i think the podium is [inaudible]. madam president, mr.

superintendent, members of the board, ladies and gentlemen, i am amos brown, president of the san francisco branch of the national association for the advancement of colored people. for us colored comes in all colors. naacp is an all-inclusive civil rights advocacy organization. madam chair, i wish to thank you from the bottom of my heart for permitting me to come and address the board this evening. i stand within the portals of the observance of the 50th anniversary of the march on washington which took place august 28th, 1963. i was there in the crowd, leading a delegation of over 50

students from my alma mater, morehouse college when i was a student there. martin luther king, jr., was my mentor and jail mate. he taught only one class in his lifetime, and that was at morehouse the semesters of 1961, '62, a seminar in social philosophy. when i sat at his feet, one thing that impressed me most about his lectures was one concept that was advanced by dr. black man at boston university, of personalism. that idea that all persons in this crusted earth are important, are endued with worth and dignity. and in a government of civil

society, we should accord all peoples, those services and amenities that will enable them to develop as fully matured persons. unfortunately, friends, because of the dark past of this nation, not too often african americans have experienced receiving those services that should have been ours which are [speaker not understood] and afforded for all american citizens. i wish to say that it's good for us to go back in history sometime and get a perspective. i have here a copy of some copious notes from a meeting that was held in savannah, georgia, january 12th, 1865. a meeting called by general sherman and secretary of war stanton. after they had marched to

atlanta, burned down atlanta because the confederacy would not give up, they decided that upon burning down atlanta, that they would march to the sea. and as they marched to the sea, these ex slaves followed them. sherman asked secretary of war stanton, what should we do with these ex slaves? well, secretary of war stanton responded, wait, general, until we get to savannah. when we get there, we will call a meeting with the black preachers of savannah and get some advice from them as to what course we should take. the long short of it, friends, is this. that in that meeting general sherman asked reverend gary son frazier, what do you feel the

union owes these ex slaves? reverend frazier said, general, i can't speak for everybody. but at least for me and my house, i feel that we should be able to have some of this land that we have tilled on for too long as slaves. why can't we have 40 acres and a mule? so that we will be able to subsist, educate our children, [speaker not understood] and celebrate our culture? friends, from that conversation, general sherman issued what became fill order number 15 that set aside 40 acres and a mule from the coast of florida up to south carolina for these ex slaves. however, unfortunately, president lincoln was assassinated in april of 1865. and andrew johnson of tennessee became president. mr. johnson, in an effort to

placate the south, revoked fill order 15 and was almost impeached as president. they lost by one vote for not impeaching him. but what happened from that stance of mr. johnson? it caused blacks to live in a system call the peenage system, share cropping. consequently, my friends, when we didn't get our 40 acres and our mule, we were left in a state that i contend, if it had been corrected then, we would not have the miseducation, the under education or the miseducation of our peoples. the people had money, they would be able to take care of their families. if they're able to take care of their families, they would be able to feed their children. if they're able to feed their children, they're able to live in a house that they can buy. if they can live in that house,

they can create a community in which they can live at peace in a beloved community. i cite all of this history to say the march on washington that will be observed in this nation in washington, d.c. on the 24th and 28th of this month is not about a dream. that was the [speaker not understood], there was a celebration, there was a poetic utterance of dr. king. 65 to 70% of that speech was about economic empowerment. and dr. king said this nation has given us a bounced check that has come back insufficient funds. so, the march in 1963 was about jobs, freedom, and justice. i get to my next point of saying we are privileged in

this town to have a school named for dr. martin luther king, jr., and i want to thank this board for last year approving a program students of promise that will enable us to provide wrap around services for those young men brown and black young men who could build their way to achieving if they had some support for their parents, they might have jobs. if they might have support of tutorial services, if they might have some support of mentoring, and i want to thank you that you stood with us and we are able to report tonight that we had a pretty good year for the suspension rate went down over 50%. that's something that we ought to applaud this evening for too orphan african americans -- (applause) brown children have been suspended from school.

you will get a detailed report of what happened academically and what happened in terms of the spirit of collaboration and cooperation that was celebrated this past year. and we're looking forward to again this year being involved at martin luther king school, and expanding students of promise throughout the school district. for too many young people from our community are behind. and if they are behind, they're going to stay behind unless somebody helps them to run faster in order to catch up. that is our commitment. we're going to be at martin luther king school on the 19th at 9:00 a.m. sharp when preachers, parents, community leaders will be there to support the principal, administration, and the students, and then on the 28th, all of you are welcome to come to martin luther king school at which time ms. ever heart and

her entire staff will put on a program commemorating, celebrating, and saying we're going to be a part of the continuation of the struggle that martin luther king put forth so that everybody would have equality of opportunity and we will all be able to say, i'm black and i'm proud. i'm brown and i'm sound. i'm yellow and i'm mellow. i'm red but i ain't dead. i'm white and i'm all right. i'm gay but i'm godly. i'm straight, but i'm sensible. that's what this nation ought to be about. that's what san francisco ought to be about. and through the grace of god and support of all of you, we're going to make sure martin luther king is about that end and every school in this city children will go to school and saying the words of chaucer, quietly will i learn and gladly will i teach others how to find a way to the good life.

and now in spirit behind students of promise will give you a brief presentation of two of the young men, handsome young men, 17 of them total went to morehouse at the graduation this past may at which time they had the auguste opportunity and privileged moment of hearing president barack obama deliver the commencement address. thank you very much. (applause) good evening. you will notice that i sat down my portfolio with my prepared remarks because what is there left to be said after dr. amos e brown? [laughter] for the sake of time i will pay homage to who i believe it is all about, which is our young people. to the commission and president, mr. carranza,

distinguished commissioners, board and administrators, parents and community of san francisco, i greet you in spirit of education and i also greet you in the spirit of our young men. we had an opportunity this past spring to engage in an historic event, not just because this was 50 years after the march on washington or 150 years hence the emancipation of proclamation, but we were able to take 14 middle school students and also three high school students, two from this district and one from oakland whose dad literally contacted me and said, please, can you include my young man on this opportunity. i said, absolutely. and what we did was we ventured from here to atlanta, georgia where we were not only able to attend the baccalaureate service at morehouse. very visited the campus. we also toured atlanta. but i think a moment i don't think any one of our young men

or chaperones will forget is that we were able to witness our second term president barack obama give the commencement address at morehouse college. and, so, i want to say what not only that meant to these young men, but also what it meant to their parents and their family. we're talking about in some situations where there are some households where this might be the first generation college students. so, college for them now is not just someone they went to see and flew some 3,000 miles away. it can be somewhere in the near future they're going to be walking on a campus like morehouse or something similar. so, without further ado, i first want to personally thank this district not only for receiving the program, but for receiving me, coming from a distance. my home is state of ohio where we had the opportunity to share this opportunity of closing achievement gap with our students across the state. and it gave me great honor and privilege to replicate that and also share at dr. martin luther

king middle school this past year. i want to give the mic to one of our stellar young men. we have two stellar young men who is less microphone shy and he actually has some remarks. and please, mr. daunte has a few brief words for you. good evening, everyone. student of promise is -- it's very empowering. it helps keep me and others young students -- young men

look forward to proceeding in like -- and like help me stay on track and others. (applause) and in closing, as we take our seats and as a former boy scout, if i know anything about scouting i remember our motto was be prepared. he did not know he was going to speak, did not know he was going to address and be on live television. so, i think that in itself -- [laughter] that in itself i believe is indicative of the potential our students have. they are our future leaders. i'd like to acknowledge mr. franklin, [speaker not understood] also accompanied us on our trip, mr. scott who is also a stellar stand out district employee. so i'm told. he also accompanied us and also a morehouse graduate. thank you so much for your ti