that has an effective voluntary mechanism for people to donate that will benefit all schools, so how can we bring across the district those types of things, and we want to hear from the parents and school groups in the communities about how to move forward with this idea. >> vice president sanchez: thank you. i know that santa monica, years ago, they were going to have a large percentage that went to a central pot, and it went to schools that didn't have active p.t.a.s. you might want to look at what they've done. they spent a lot of years hammering it out. a lot of people left the district because they depth want to share. it's something we should be looking at. >> i think that's the emphasis

on the voluntary piece. i think there's emphasis on p.t.a., not wanting to force anybody, but we want to hear from the ground up, what are some ideas people have about how to move forward with that? and i think that's why we were looking at santa monica, san jose. over in marin, they have a coalition of foundations that have created a central pot? know, there's several different districts but it's all put into one? it's called school rules? so we're exploring that and just to move the idea forward and trying to collaborate with spark about what was the capacity. >> vice president sanchez: can you remind me who the new director is for development. >> cole haggerty. >> vice president sanchez: thank you for the work. >> president cook: commissioner lam? >> commissioner lam: i just want to echo the statement

around equity for high school students. i know my daughter in language, there will be time for her to take that at city college, and when she goes through sequencing, she will have that space in her sophomore year in high school? and i think that overall, just being able to expose our young people around the opportunity of their post secondary experience and really from an early age, in the early years of high school to be able to offer that out to our students and saying that post secondary college is -- can be a reality for you and to be in the experience of taking city college classes i think means a real great deal to their confidence level, to their ability to think just what's possible and the opportunities before them. and one question i do have, then, around process, it sounds like the grants to support the dual enrollment is going to be sunsetting, so i'll be curious

to see what those plans are and what are recommendations from the superintendent and the staff around budgeting to support that program to continue if not expand. >> president cook: was that a direct question or for later? >> commissioner lam: it can be a direct question around -- or just as a comment if staff -- superintende >> we'll get that information to you, but we'll get it to the entire board. >> president cook: okay. he's good. i thought i was the best at thurgood, and i am oh, so wrong. we -- commissioner -- vice president sanchez and i passed a policy for dual enrollment so

students could be in ninth grade, and they didn't have to be in the school. we had some back and forth about how that should work, but it would be great to get an update from staff in one of the upcoming curriculum meetings to see how that process is going, and hopefully, we can get that report to the parent c.a.c. so you can get an overview of what that policy is and how it's working, and now you can go home. oh, sorry, unless there were other questions. okay. okay. are there any appointments to the advisory committees by the board? commissioner lopez? >> commissioner lopez: i'd like to appoint diana payne to the pcac? >> president cook: section c -- on the appointment?

okay. >> commissioner lopez: well, i just wanted to remind folks that we're going to have a new charter and we're going to appoint folks to the charter oversight commission. as we can appoint folks, we can have folks supporting mike davis who reviews some of the charters coming up. thanks. >> president cook: section c, consent calendar. can i have a motion and second on the consent calendar? >> moved. >> second. >> president cook: we do have public comment on the consent calendar, so when you hear your name called, you can please make it right to the podium. you'll have two minutes. nick chandler, joanna lopez, david sewell, and saul hidalgo.

>> my name's nick chandler, and i'm the counselor for horace mann. this is the first time i can honestly say that i've been able to partner with our organizations to address the housing needs that our students have. you know that kids that sleep in a car do not show up ready to take part in classes. these basic needs, the barriers to learning are at the center of our immediate work. we identify a community school, and that means partnering to address the basic needs of all of our families, so we launched one this year, opened one our jails to house families facing this imminent need. what we've seen is we started out with 60 families that were housing insecure. we made contact and secured all

of of those families. we partners with those families and through this pilot which cost zero sfusd dollars, through this pilot, with you look at each of those 26 families options. what are they eligible for, what paperwork is missing, what do they need to do to get access to housing, single-family voucher is, alternatives to what we have. so what we learned is a, we need this tangible resource. here's a bed. put your stuff away. so this program shows we have a lot of work between the city and school district to address these needs. we need a tangible resource but because we've addressed it through this collaboration we now have the ability to address this to other students through the districts, so i'm going to ask you to open this up to

other sfusd schools to participate in this pilot, and then i'm going to let the data speak for itself at the end. >> hi. my name is joanna lopez miyaki. i'm a parent at the horace mann. i'm here to talk about what our -- nick just spoke to. i am ache going to ask the board to please put a pause on making any kinds of decisions. i think that it's premature. i think that it's -- it's some data but not enough data to support that this should be expanded. when this was initially rolled out, it was a promise made to the community that this was to serve buena vista who are an m -- horace mann families, and i don't know how expanding it to all district families, you can keep that promise. if you have a bed full, and another family drops in, like i

don't know how you can say hey, this bed is for a bbvh family. i think a lot of the meetings that we had with the first draft proposal were rushed. the last meeting that we had, there were seven parents that attended. so i don't think there was enough communication given around to the whole community. it's pretty well documented in some of the media that's covered this, as well, to see that there's definitely a lot of questions and concerns from the community. so i'm just hopeful that we can -- like what we were talking about earlier with the other -- you know, just really taking the time to look at the data, look at the facts, look at the impact so you can -- these things could have before we make decisions that are -- that are so huge. this is a pilot program. it's not even done with the pilot and now we're talking

about expanding it? i just don't see how that makes sense, so thank you for your time. >> president cook, honorable members of the board of education, david serrano sewell. it's always a pleasure to be a room with other parents and educators such as yourself. i want to acknowledge work done by our principal on what is a very credential and important -- crucial and important issue, how we deal with housing of our students at horace mann school. to say that this proposal was made at our school without a discussion, a robust policy discussion wouldn't be true. there was. there was a serious dialogue when it was first proposed and there were varying opinions and

views on it. we were all unified because we cared about the campus, and we wanted to make sure that the school had the resources to absorb this program. so certainly -- certain assurances and promises were made. chief among them, this would be for the buena vista horace mann families. why? because providing this service would uplift the entire campus community because they would be getting this assistance and they can be in a better learning environment, and that would uplift the entire school community. that was the progress made. now it's shifted. now something else is being proposed. and as johanna stated, we haven't been afforded -- parents have not been afforded the opportunity to have that same discussion that we did last time.

i kind of think we should because there are serious issues to consider. facilities, etc. you know what they are. some of them we don't know what they are because we haven't had a chance to discuss them. what brings me to you tonight is i know what a good faith discussion looks like, and we just haven't had that yet. thank you very much for your time. [applause] >> good evening. my name is saul hidalgo. i'm the director of housing and shelter street programs with delores community services. we are lucky enough to be the providers of said shelter, and we are lucky enough to be collaborating with buena vista horace mann k-8, and we are lucky to be collaborating with h.s.h., the department of homelessness and supportive housing. we are ready as a -- as an

agency and as a collaborative, we are ready. this program has been working, as nick mentioned, and it has worked to such an extent at buena vista that we understand that we don't have enough usage to justify it just remaining with buena vista, we have enough room for some of the other needs that exist across the city. there's as many as 3,000 homeless children in san francisco, the majority of which attend san francisco unified district schools. they deserve a place to go, they deserve a place to sleep, and we are ready to make that happen. on a personal note, i am hungry, i am sleepy, and i am tired, and i would love for our families, i would love for our children who experience this on

a nightly basis to have an opportunity to stay in a place that is safe, secure, warm, and where they can get a warm meal. thank you. [applause] >> hello. again. susan solomon. uesf president. i want to add a little bit to what the previous speaker said, to what nick chandler said. one of the reason i've heard that fewer families with sleeping -- actually sleeping at the school is this program actually provides counseling that gets them into more stable housing so they don't need to sleep at horace mann. the other issue i want to talk about is pilots.

often, we don't always take the time to examine them and learn from them. from everything i've learned about this program, this pilot, as every pilot, has been a learning opportunity. and what we've learned is more families need the services provided by what is going on in the program at buena vista who are as -- horace mann. so i am speaking on behalf of united educators of san francisco is we support the plan as it was originally presented, an expansion for more families who need housing for their children and themselves. thank you. [applause] >> president cook: thank you for your comment. do we have any items withdrawn or corrected by the superintendent? >> no. >> president cook: any items -- >> excuse me. i submitted a comment card.

>> president cook: oh, sorry. did i miss your name? what's your name? [inaudible] >> president cook: go ahead, marisa. i don't have you here, but go ahead. you've got two minutes. >> good evening. thank you. buena vista horace mann k-8 community school is currently a skoog struling to build community. the struggle is due to the previous and current administrations with how they've chosen to communicate or not with the community including the disdain of some community stakeholders withholding information and making decisions that affect the entire community without parent input. this is now my 11th year at buena vista horace mann. in those 11 years, i was the

p.t.a. president for two years and p.t.a. president cochair for two years. i estimate in the 10.5 years that my family has been at buena vista horace mann, i've volunteered over 3,000 hours while working a full-time job and volunteering for other organizations. in short, i work a lot, and i sleep very little. i'm providing this info only to put context in how shocked i was last year when the bvhm was announced, and making the announcement to open the bvhm to all sfusd students without seeking any community input. i'm asking the board before rushing to a decision that makes our entire school community that a true effort

for community engagement be made. i'm very proud of the contributions that i've made to the school system so far. [applause] >> president cook: let's see...do you have any items? >> vice president sanchez: no. >> president cook: any items removed for first reading by the board? seeing none, any items severed by the board or superintendent for discussion or vote tonight? commissioner norton? >> commissioner norton: b-44. >> president cook: b-44? >> commissioner norton: b-44. >> president cook: for discussion? >> commissioner norton: yes.

>> president cook: okay. all right. roll call vote on the consent calendar. >> clerk: all right. with the exception of b-44 -- [roll call] >> clerk: seven ayes. >> president cook: commissioner, did you have a question? >> commissioner norton: yes, i had a number of questions, so just to address the question. it's b-44 in our agenda. we have an odd way -- a nontransparent way, shall i say, of numbering items. so for -- so i did have some questions about the expansion of this m.o.u. so first, does this expansion

change the effective date of the m.o.u.? -- the effective expiration? >> no, it does not. the expiration date is june 30, 2019. >> commissioner norton: but actually, the state of the program is only operational when school is in session, so it would be through the remainder of the school year, is that correct? >> no, it's through june 30th by the terms of the m.o.u. >> commissioner norton: so it'll be for sfusd families even though school will not be in session for at least a month part of that time? >> yes. >> commissioner norton: and so how are we -- how are we verifying that students are sfusd families or parents? >> that's a good question -- or you mean after they've -- after the session's over or you mean

currently? >> commissioner norton: no -- i mean, if we expand this, right -- presumably, the staff at buena vista horace mann know who their families are, so it wouldn't be an issue today, but it's if we propose to expand it to all sfusd families, right? >> yes. i'll let the principal at horace mann buena vista address that. >> good evening, commissioners. i'm the presence incipal at bu vista horace mann, and i have a student -- i have a fifth grader there. >> commissioner norton: you're proposing to do this as of now. >> so the way that we

coordinate our services between delores street and the access point and our school social worker is they actually talk with each other about every individual case, so it's a very coordinated entry. a lot of the information is put on the table, so we know exactly who we're talking about when we're discussing what it is that they need and who's going to provide it. so during the school year, i see that it would be very easy to connect directly with the school social workers at all of the site. >> i'm sorry. so what you're saying is that -- so you would -- a family arrives at 5:00 or whatever time the stayover program starts, and they say hi, i'm an sfusd parent and we attend this school. and at that point, you're going to call social workers? >> that's not how it works. >> commissioner norton: oh. >> so it's done through a referral basis? everybody that we know that is in need, we end up directing

over to the delores street people, representatives, and then, they meet with them. i'm not sure if jackie is in the room from delores street, but we have someone who is funded to do that handoff work and be with them all throughout the process. so there are no unknowns in terms of the people that are coming. >> commissioner norton: so the only people that come to the stayover program and would continue to come to the stayover program would be referred by another social worker in either delores street or other community? >> yes. you have to do it through the access point which is connected through h.s.s. and community services. you have to be vetted, you have to verify that you're not any kind of predator. you have to make sure that you're not only an sfusd family

but that you are legitimately able to stay in our shelter. >> commissioner norton: and so -- and families would only be able to stay there as families, correct? like, it wouldn't be if a parent came and said i'm a parent, but sfusd, for whatever reasons, i don't have my kids with me. if there was a relative or other family members without their children, would they be able to allowed to stay? >> well, i can't imagine that scenario. >> commissioner norton: well, what about without the children? would they be allowed to stay? >> the reason we dreamed up this initiative in the first place is to make sure that our students would be able to be better to better attend school the following day because they have a supportive environment. so minus the student being there, you kind of lose that argument. >> commissioner norton: so the answer would be no, if a parent came without children, so it's

only parents with children that neat housing that -- need housing that evening. and not the other scenario? >> well, i can't imagine -- >> commissioner norton: well i'm asking for assurances. >> i can't give you insurances. this is a -- >> commissioner norton: basically, the answer has not gone through a year-long process with all due respect, and so i'm asking the questions. i'm asking the questions because quite honestly that there's been some criticism from families at your site that you have not done appropriate hosting. you put out notice of the meeting, and the meeting was that night. >> no, that's incorrect, actually. >> commissioner norton: so some of them -- is that incorrect?

>> that is incorrect -- [inaudible] >> president cook: i'm sorry. miss -- miss -- miss norton, if i can just chime in. >> commissioner norton: your families are saying that you didn't. i'm just looking for assurances. and i want to say there's some issues with trust on your families and your leadership on this issue. so i'll leave it there, but i think that this is -- this is a somewhat rushed process, so let's prove that it's liable, it's prove and expand it. that said, i don't have anything against the program? i just am pointing out that there's been a cost to your community in wanting to push this through in a very aggressive way in my opinion. and what i also would like to

say is that for this m.o.u. -- so this m.o.u. expires in june -- on june 30, and would have to come back to us assuming that there is a superintendent's recommendation that we continue this program, is that correct? >> that is correct. >> commissioner norton: okay. >> if it were going to come back -- if were going to continue, it would need to come back to this board. >> commissioner norton: okay. i would like much more data for the board to consider when we evaluate the success of this program in general and its effect on the full community? so really, much more information about how many families are served, the schools they come from, the cost of operations and compared to the cost of operating the other city shelters that the city already operates? are there other family shelters in the vicinity of this school that -- that have excess

capacity? those are the kinds of things that i think the board should be able to evaluate when we're asked to consider something like this. so i understand that there's a little bit of time pressure on this, and so i'm not going to hold it up tonight? but i do feel like if we are asked to consider an extension of this program or move it from the pilot phase or beyond that, that we really are entitled to a lot more information about how it's being used and what the effectiveness of it is. thank you. >> president cook: commissioner collins. >> commissioner collins: i just want to say that my primary concern is supporting families in the highest need, and i really appreciate the work that buena vista's doing and delores housing and homeless support service, that they're doing to meet a need that is just dire

in our city. and i also just want to speak personally about a friend that was transitional. there are so many families that you wouldn't know that are transitional in our communities. they made sure her child was washed and clean, and got to school on time, but her child was ridiculed because her backpack was dirty. in the process of being in shelters, he was separated from his parents because his mom -- you're not allowed to showering -- so he was showering with adults and he was molested. so on top of the family was going through all this trauma, they were further traumaized by going through our shelter system. so to find an option for families that's safe and that values -- you know, that's centered around students, i really want to applaud that. and i appreciate your work in

leading that effort and also using our buildings -- everybody says oh, we have so many buildings in san francisco, to actually use our buildings in a way that is in line with sfusd values but also that expands access to supporting our communities. so i just wanted to say thank you for that, and i appreciate your leadership and -- and -- and just the generosity, i think, that it takes to be thoughtful about a community where everybody talks about but very few people step up and actually take action, so thank you. >> president cook: commissioner moliga? >> commissioner moliga: i guess as the social worker on the board, i should say something. i think it's a slam dunk, and i'll take my hat off to the work that you guys have been doing. i think it's super successful. you know, the city is facing a homeless issue, and we're all

trying to figure it out, and the city is part of the formulation and intervention in how to do that. when i saw it, i thought let's just get going. what are we waiting for? there's other families that need the support. i know that because i was homeless. i lived in the streets, i lived in the car, i lived in dope houses. so when we talk -- so again -- and i think i mentioned this last week. with all due respect, we're talking about an area that not really everybody's familiar with. and so to be very super, super culturally sensitive around this area and be impatient around the development of these things that we're all trying to figure out, there hasn't been enough focus on this population and other populations to say that. and so i think, you know, as a school district, we -- i think this is a slam dunk. i thought buena vista was champions for doing it.

my personal voice behind it is i'm in full support. yeah. >> president cook: commissioner sanchez? >> vice president sanchez: i just want to say thank you so much. you guys are trailblazers. this work is so important. we have upwards of 2,000 homeless students in our district, and this is a -- frankly, it's the first program i think in the entire country where a public school is being utilized to house our students and families, and it's important work. it's so sad that we have to do this work. it's so sad that you have to do this work, but i'm so grateful that you have taken it on. i won't speak for everybody in the district, we have varying viewpoints on this, but i think when i talk to your staff and i talk to parents that are friends at the school, i just hear the love for this, and it's so important. don't be distracted. keep working.

>> president cook: commissioner lopez? >> commissioner lopez: i, too, appreciate the work that's being done to support families in your site and so expand that to -- to expand that to families in the school district. i don't think it's fair to say that the families here and what they're voicing is representing bvhm as a whole. i think there are a number of families that want to be here but can't? so i appreciate the people who are here representing them who work with them, who know what they need. as a teacher who has worked with students who are homeless, i understand that a community is more important than anything else, so i applaud you, i will support you, and thank you for reaching out to more families. >> president cook: roll call vote on this -- i'm sorry, miss

casco, this is item b-57. [roll call] >> clerk: seven ayes. [applause] >> president cook: section d, discussion and vote on consend clent residence -- consent calendar resolutions. section e, proposals for action. we already went over number one and none two. the continued proposals -- number two. the continued proposals, there are six proposals for actions. their 615.92, 6146.4, differential graduation and

competency standards for students with disabilities. 3311, bids # 7211 developer fees, appointment of surrogate parent for students with special disabilities. 5141.52, suicide prevention. 1312.3, uniform complaint procedures. let's see. we have a report from the rules committee from vice president sanchez. >> vice president sanchez: well, i'll just say generally that all the ones that made it to our committee were forwarded to the full board with a positive recommendation, so those were -- i think it was all of them except for the financial reports -- no, math

placement. do we -- okay. all of them? there was a lot. >> president cook: rules committee getting it done. let's see, the -- sorry, we have miss hugby on this. >> so in the interests of time and in consideration of the hour, my -- are -- the recommendations are the same for all of those policies which is the board approve them as submitted. >> president cook: okay. any comments from the board or superintendent? roll call vote, miss casco. >> clerk: thank you. [roll call] >> clerk: seven ayes. >> president cook: see section g, special order of business, there are none tonight. section h, other education or issues, there are none tonight.

section i, consent items removed at a previous meeting, there are none tonight. section j, introduction of proposals and assignment to committee. number one, public and board proposals. do we have any proposals for first meeting? [inaudible] >> president cook: so we have two. number two for first reading, they're board policies 5127, graduation ceremonies and activities. and 5146.1, high school graduation requirements. i hear a motion and second on both board policies? >> so moves. >> second. >> president cook: thank you. unless i hear otherwise from the general council, i'm referring both policies to the rules committee. [inaudible] >> president cook: the reason i stopped that was because we're discussing changing our own

rules to have public comment earlier, and we wanted to get our own rules to modify that. >> that'll be on your april meeting for first reading. >> president cook: okay. all right. section k, proposals for immediate action, and this is commission rules. there are none tonight. section l, board members' reports. let's see, we have reports from recent committee meetings. we have rules from the last update. do you have anything to add, commissioner sanchez? >> vice president sanchez: yeah, it's the beginning of the calendar year for the state legislature, and there's five that pertain right now to charter schools, and a lot of them are suggesting we do things that we already have suggested as a board. the lowest hanging fruit is the charter schools abide by the brown act.

the governor asked for that to be sped through. the others are going to take longer time, but i think the other thing we're all interested in is having the ability to deny or approve charter schools in our municipality. >> president cook: thank you. [inaudible] >> president cook: vice president sanchez, you're back up for the committee of the whole. >> vice president sanchez: we it -- it was peef. and then, a discussion on the -- on the bayview schools, so it was really nice to -- again, for the committee of the whole meeting to go to the district website, and you can access the meeting there. >> president cook: thank you. and we have a report from the legislative services committee? >> yeah. it was really great. we had mtsf share information

around what mtsf -- their rationale for funding various programs which includes doctors, nurses, things like that. then lcap made a presentation, and i think that one of the things that came out of both of them being at the same meeting is the lcap process is kind of misaligned in terms of the timeline. so what they were saying is a lot of times, they make recommendations and the parents don't see the feedback of the recommendations in our district policies? and that's because parents don't understand -- they want to see family engagement and they don't understand the specific thing that we're doing, which is parent-family liaison. so making it clear sometimes, and also, there isn't a direct opportunity for them to respond? and that's because their recommendations come after we do the budgeting process. so we do budgeting process, central process, peef, and their recommendations that came out in april, after all that's

happened. i think one of the recommendations that came out, they agree today share that last year's central office and share it with the current central line so see "bohemian rhapsody" there's alignment in planning and we can see some of the gaps in some of the recommendations that they've made repeatedly over time. and also where we're funding as a district we can be more clear how we're responding through certain initiatives so they can see those initiatives in central office. so i think that was very helpful. >> president cook: thank you, commissioner collins. >> can i announce -- >> president cook: well, i think we have one more report. >> yes.

aside from the peef discussion, we've made no recommendation for gateway approval, and we also heard from the summer programs in which we explained -- we shared with them the recommendations from delac. >> president cook: we actually have board delegates membership organizations. you have any reports out on that? >> no. >> president cook: okay. any other reports from board members? okay. calendar of committee meetings. >> finally, my turn. so student assignment will be monday at 6:00. we have a really -- a good agenda, and right at the moment, i can't remember what's on it, but i know it's really good, so please come. >> president cook: thanks for the reminder. i'm on that committee, so i should there. the next budget meeting -- you want me to read them off or people read their own? the next budget meeting is

wednesday shs april 3, 2019. the next buildings and grounds meeting is march 25, which is actually spring break. so if you're around, we can do it. if not, we should talk about rescheduling it. so there's that. so we're going to keep it for now. we might reschedule the next buildings and grounds. the next curriculum committee -- i forgot to mention that buildings and grounds is the best committee ever created. [inaudible] >> president cook: the curriculum committee meeting is monday, april 8, at 6:00 p.m. next rules meeting it says monday, april 4.

they can't both be on monday. the next curriculum meeting is on april 8. the next rules meeting is on april 1 -- >> vice president sanchez: it's a monday. >> president cook: let's see, the ad hoc committee on student assignments which was just announced. committee on personnel matters is tomorrow, march 13, at 6:00 p.m. and ad hoc school district city college joint committee has been postponed for another -- it's going to be a joint meeting with the board of supervisors and city college and the board of ed, and that first meeting's going to be scheduled, and i'll be assigning commissioners to that meeting.

>> president cook: section m, other informational items. there are none tonight. [inaudible] >> president cook: section n, memorial adjournment. we have a memorial adjournment. mr. spiel?

>> so in honor of mission high school graduates eva valira and chad valira, we were sad to learn that three former mission high school students passed away suddenly in a car accident in the early morning of february 28, 2019. mission high school staff and students have known the valera family for many, many years. mission has been and is the high school of seven of the family's children. the principal noted in his letter to the mission high school family that mission is a place filled with love and kindness, and that it is this sense of love, compassion and community that gives us strength that will allow us to begin heeling together and support the care and heeling of the family.

please join us in sending our sympathy and sending good thoughts to the entire valera family. at this time, we will take public comments for those who submitted speaker >> president cook: okay. we are back. readout in closed session. the board by a vote of seven ayes approved the resignation agreement with one teacher on one matter of anticipated litigation. the board gave direction to general counsel. that concludes tonight's meeting. this meeting is adjourned.

>> thank you all for being here so early in the morning. and, i've got to tell you, we're here early because the fire commission has a meeting at 9:0:00 a.m., so this is the best time. nothing is more important to me in the city than public safety. and as a former fire commissioner, i've worked

closely with the department on issues impacting our city. as a former supervisor, i saw how critical the department is in responding to fires and emergencies in the district. and as mayor, i see every day the important role that the department plays in keeping our city safe. and i know how critical this department is when a disaster strikes. we have some amazing men and women who go out every single day to protect our residents and to do the hard work. they run towards the danger. these men and women deserve a leader who has seen what they've seen, who have fought those same fires. who knows what all of them are going through on a day-to-day basis. and i am pleased to announce that i have chosen a leader for the department that has done all of that and more.

it is my honor to announce that the next fire chief for the city and county of san francisco will be deputy chief janine nicholson. [applause] [applause] >> chief nicholson is a dedicated public servant and a tremendous leader and has put her heart into san francisco and the fire department. she has been a firefighter, a paramedic, a lieutenant, a captain, a battalion chief and deputy chief. she will be the second woman to lead this department after chief joanne hayes white, and the first lgbt fire chief in our city's history. [applause]

>> she has survived being burned in a fire in 2009. she has survived breast cancer. she has been on the frontline fighting fires, and she has saved lives as a paramedic. she has done the complicated work as a deputy chief to manage multiple divisions. this woman is tough. this woman is resilient. this woman is a leader. and i am confident that she will lead the department on day one. before bring up deputy chief nicholson to the podium, i want to take this opportunity to recognize our current fire chief, joanne hayes white for her years of service to the city and county of san francisco. [applause] >> thank you, chief, for

not only your work as chief over the years, but also your support during this really challenging transition. and i also would like to thank all of the members of our fire commission. we actually have a quorum here today. the number of interviews that they had to do is the number of interviews i never would want to do for any position. but they were absolutely amazing. president nicoshi, and commissioners, thank you so much for your commitment and the countless hours you spent to help us make the right choice for our next fire chief. i also want to thank so many of the men and women in the department, again, for your role, for your patience, and all of the work that you continue to do to make sure that our department is one of the

best in the country. and, i see that tom o'connor is here. i didn't know you would be here? did you fly back from l.a. -- or d.c.? you didn't leave? i want to thank tom o'connor for being here, who was the executive director of the local 798 union. i know sean buford is in d.c. and couldn't be with us. i see sherman tilman with the black firefighters -- so many people who played a role in helping to make this selection. and the former fire commissioner, thank you so much for being here. this was a very difficult decision to make, and i also want to thank all of the candidates who applied, as well as so many candidates who put countless hours into just really doing the work so that we could vet everyone and make the right decision here. thank you to our elected officials who are here,

including the only supervisor who showed up this morning, supervisor walton. [applause] >> treasurer jose, and our city attorney, dennis. we have so many incredible leaders in our city. and now as we move forward to address what we know are serious challenges that we face as a city with public safety, i know we're going to be in good hands with our next fire chief. ladies and gentlemen, deputy chief janine nicholson. fla[applause] >> good morning, san francisco. i warned the mayor this morning that i'm a hugger, and she didn't want a hug. just give me the stiff arm. i'm good with that. i can respect boundaries. so good morning, everyone. first of all, i'd like to

thank mayor breed for this incredible, incredible opportunity and honor. thank you so much. thank you chief hayes white for bringing me into your command staff. and thank you to all of my colleagues, all of you. i am excited to work for the breed administration, which is one of bold new ideas. i am honored to be able to continue to serve the citizens of san francisco. i am extremely humbled to lead this department and all of our firefighters, e.m.t.s, paramedics, investigators, inspectors, and civilians. one of the things i love about the fire department is that it is always a team effort. i appreciate the hard work you do every single day.

24/7, 365. you are my family. i love this city and this department, and i love being of service. i vow to work hard, to continue to carry out the mission and vision of the san francisco fire department, and to keep moving us forward in a positive way. thank you, all. and, mayor breed, again, with humility and determination, i accept. now let's get back to work. [applause] >> short and sweet, just the way we like it in the morning. i also want to take this opportunity to recognize our police chief, bill scott, who is here, and our sheriff, vicki hennessey. thank you both for joining us this morning. at this time, i would like

to give our chief, joanne hayes white, an opportunity to say a few words. >> thank you, mayor breed. good morning, everyone. this will be even shorter and much sweeter. i'm thrilled to be here. i wanted to acknowledge mayor breed for her emphasis always and prioritization of public safety of first responders and the critical role that they play in our city. so thank you for that. and i'm also here to offer my heartiest congratulations to janine nicholson. she has worked diligently in over 25 years with the san francisco fire department. she gets the importance of teamwork, which is what we're all about. within our department and working with other city agencies. and i was really proud last year to promote her to deputy chief of of administration, where i think on top of her excellent career, she got a taste of what it is like to work and juggle different priorities.

and you shined in that role. so i wholeheartedly endorse mayor breed's selection. and i wanted to acknowledge the fire commission and the panel that worked to select our new fire chief. we both guarantee, chief nicholson and i, a very smooth transition. i'm here working and i'll finish strong. i know nothing different. the next five to se six weeks will be a period of transition. chief nicholson and i will be working shoulder to shoulder to make sure this city is protected and safe. and that's what we commit to, and that's what the city deserves. thank you very much. and also to the command staff, everybody stand up that is here, that actually works in the fire department. tom sherman, olivia -- this is part of the team. thank you very much. deputy chief gonzales over there. and thank you to chief scott and sheriff hennessey and other department heads that are here as well. good morning, and have a

great day. >> thank you, chief. and the folks who actually, again, did a lot of the heavy lifting, with the countless numbers of interviews was our fire commission, starting with president king cleveland -- when king cleveland served as president, and steve nicoshio carrying on that legacy. i wanted to ask our president of the san francisco fire commissioner, steve, to say a few words, please. [applause] >> thank you very much, mayor breed. we, on behalf of the fire commission, and cleveland commissioner, and covington commission, and commissioner hartiman, express our support. congratulations, chief nicholson. at this point, as well, we

want to thank and appreciate the 15 years of service that joanne hayes white has served this great city. we are looking forward to working together to accomplish what we need to do. we are the fire department, we save lives, we respond to emergencies. we ensure that the buildings in san francisco are safe, and we make sure that our duties and staff are well-kept. thank you very much, mayor breed, for this. congratulations, and as we say, let's get working. thank you. [applause] >> all right. that concludes our press conference. there will be a swearing in at a later date. you all will be invited. i'm really excited about this, along with so many other incredible things happening in san francisco. thank you all for taking your morning to be here. and, again, congratulations to our new fire chief. and we will be happy to take questions on the side from the press. at