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tv   Government Access Programming  SFGTV  September 19, 2019 2:00am-3:01am PDT

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therefore, don't squeeze us to climb a tree, keep this money available for these kids, please. >> before you get started, going to read some more names. [reading names]
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>> good evening everyone. my name is sarah clark. my daughter is in eighth grade student at mlk. she is also a product, i graduated from balboa high school. i went away, moved away, and actually the school district is what brought me back from houston. prior to her transitioning over to mlk, we look into a charter school. the charter school did not have the resources available to her, that is why we chose mlk.
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receiving a letter last night, from the school, indicating that the school was going to be losing $300,000 with the possibility of losing resources. to me, that means that my child, as well as other children are going to be losing precious resources that are afforded to them right now. those resources could be counselors, could be school nurses could be somebody to talk to at that school. those resources will be lost if this funding is misappropriated somewhere else. i am asking you, you can tell by the number of individuals that are here from mlk, and the support that we do have. i am very instrumental in my child school. i'm constantly there. i am also at work with my employment, and my employment has given a lot to the school as far as helping with the school to bring the school up. as well as helping her with her elementary school. by losing this funding, basically you're putting it out there that the class sizes will be much larger, the teachers will be more stressed as well as the students will be stressed.
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more than likely it might affect peer resources. peer resources will be overwhelmed. therefore by eliminating this funding, the children will not have a choice. they will have nowhere to go. we are always talking about that there is large rates of suicide, things like that. in the release of this funding -- thank you. >> my name is katie carter, i am a seventh grade english teacher at mlk. this is my sixth year. i want to read a letter from one of my students. before i do that, i do want to say, it is my understanding that mlk is not the only school with open enrollment. but because we are a. 2 school we are expected to deal with this budget cut. a few years ago, i remember when mlk was a tier three school.
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we are working really hard, we are doing really good things. a school is like a tree, right? a tree does not grow overnight to, you know, you need to water and let it grow. i feel like we are still growing having something like this happen again, it feels like we are getting the rug pulled out from underneath us. fostering, creating, and helping quality schools for our kids, then you need to give us the time. you need to help us continue to grow. one letter that my students wrote; i am writing about the proposed budget cuts at mlk middle school but i love my school because it is i love mlk like my home. if we have to have budget cuts
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in our school, we will miss a lot of things that we should have. we will not have enough money to do enrichments. because of the budget cuts we will lose teachers that students trust, like counselors, homeroom teachers and nurses. just thinking about it makes me upset already. i hope that sfusd school board will changes decision because it's not fair. thank you for reading. thank you for your time. >> my name is alicia jacobs. i a resource specialist at mlk. i'm also going to read a letter from one of our students to echo what ms. carter was saying. one of the reasons i love working at mlk, there's so many opportunities for student voice. i do worry that could be taken away if we have these budget cuts. i am going to be reading a letter from a seventh grader. dear sfusd school board.
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i am writing about the proposed budget cuts at mlk middle school. i'm upset because $300,000 will have a huge impact on our teachers, staff and students. if we cut our budget, we need to consolidate classrooms, who have built good and meaningful relationships. i do not understand why sfusd needs to cut our budget and use it on other schools with money. i don't want my school to have less fun activities and teachers than the other schools have. if other schools have all of the fun, and we do not, what's the point of going to mlk. please consider finding another way to make the money. thank you. >> hello, my name is sasha, i teach eighth grade math and science at mlk. i will also read a letter from a student. they want me to share, they wanted to be here themselves but they are at a softball game. some of the students have
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connections and relationships with these teachers. we wouldn't want to lose these teachers. also, these teachers are supporting us to learn from our mistakes. we know our school is not perfect, but still other schools like presidio and who have a lot of money. they have a lot of things, not like us. they have a lot of fun with her teachers. their classrooms and bathrooms are clean, but our benches are broken, our basketball nets are broken, our desks are broken. we have to use the boys bathroom or the cafeteria bathroom because the girls bathrooms are broken. it is not fair they're going to take away money because they want to send it to other schools. that makes me feel really disappointed. they're showing us that the district does not care. they don't care about our opinions. we have a voice and we should have a say. we are kids, we get it, you adults know things but we should have a say. thank you. [applause] >> before the next speaker goes. i just want to say something. usually we don't comment during public comment, we don't respond
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back. i'm going to tell you a couple of things, a couple of you have said the superintendent's office is cutting our budget. my hope is that tomorrow morning you will go and talk to your principal. there has been no notice whatsoever, from my office, about your budget being cut. secondly, you talked about stir in the front, you talked about taking the cutback, or not doing the cuts, we have not proposed a cover your school. we have not communicated a cut to your school. this is for everyone. the rest of you can continue to share your comments, but we have not proposed a cover your school. one thing we know is that yes, your school -- somebody said something about attendance. it's not about attendance, it's about enrollment. it is currently under enrolled. at this point, the direction from the board, what they wanted us to do was to make sure if we are going to have to make cuts, that we do it in the most
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physically -- fiscally responsible way possible. all we are doing is looking. we know it is under enrolled. no proposal for $300,000, or any other number has been proposed. what really saddens me is that announcements are baited at your school -- were made at your school, i heard a letter was sent home saying we are proposing making cuts. we have not proposed a single cut from your school. the rest of you can continue, we will continue to listen fred i need you to understand the facts. it saddens me that it has taken on this mushroom like a, and spread all out that we. go to your school tomorrow and ask him if he has received anything from my office regarding we are taking $300,000 from his school. or, if we proposed a cut at all? you ask him tomorrow morning. i wasn't going to, we had heard
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so much, what i don't want to d- >> we can't have a discussion. >> board members, we have to be really careful. while you do have to legally hear from members of the public, and i know you want to, you cannot legally have a discussion about their comments, unless it is noticed on the agenda. >> continue, if you still want to speak your in line. >> i did prepare something. as an art teacher at mlk, we really do focus on student voice to what you've heard today. whether it is true or not, it's not the first time something like this has happened. i think the fact that just the thought came to us, it is triggering. i stood here three years ago and said some very similar things, and ask similar request.
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i do believe that this just goes to show the strength of our students, our families, and our staff, and the link that that we will go to to fight for our students. we are standing here today for our students, and i just want to refocus that. they made this today, they are holding it up. i know we keep talking about dollars, and budgets, these are the words from students today. this is their future. it's not just a matter of one moment, one school year, it is shaping the experiences they are going to have as adults, too. i am proud of everyone of you that are here today speaking on behalf of mlk. thank you for listening.
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>> i am the peer resources teacher at mlk. i want to thank everyone for listening, and thank you for the clarifier. what marissa said about this being a little bit triggering for us might have been from a complex history, systemic and equity in our district. i think we are all aware of them and we are trying to fight. everyone in this room wants what is best for the students, we know that. as we say one of our core values is social justice. as a district, we stand with those that are most vulnerable in our communities. i think what is important here, you need to take extra steps in the system, and to take care of those that need it the most, and to face that inequity. mlk is changing and growing and we still have a long way to go. it is a place i want to continue to build, to be the place that
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i'm going to send my children to, as they grow up. i hope as discussion goes on, decisions are made, some of the schools that are still building will continue to get that extra love and attention. thank you. >> good evening. my name is leslie, and i work at mlk middle school. doctor matthews, i appreciate, i want to invite folks to continue the conversation. that is not the messaging we have been getting, or the communication we have been getting. our community has been told to cut $300,000 from our budget this year. this has brought up so many questions, and concerns, for our entire community. i feel really frustrated that this is happening to our community again. several hundred thousand dollars were cut from our school community we have to come down here in march of 2017, and here we are again fighting a similar
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battle. several colleagues of mine are worried about their jobs and their ability to stay at mlk. fear, uncertainty and mistrust have creeped into our communities. i feel frustrated that it feels like a larger system changing our youth and families. i feel frustrated that mlk students that they primarily in 94124 are getting resources taking away from them again. i feel frustrated that the system feels like it's perpetuating a macro to b's. even worse than the frustration and anger, the confusion that i feel. i just don't understand why our enrollment numbers are 50 less students this year, when they have been steady for the past nine years. i have exact numbers for that. i don't understand the reasoning behind -- why we aren't being held. [inaudible]
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when we are working on our master schedule, there were 30 last students in our sixth grade. i understand and agree that that funding should follow students. we just want clarity. we want to conversation and really invite people to come to our school's community to see what we do, and to clear up any misconceptions. thank you. [applause] >> i want to start by saying that i am proud of all of the students that showed up today. all of the families that showed up today. all of the staff that showed up today. also the parents who are here, who might not even have students at mlk, who want to speak on our behalf. that really warms my heart. whether or not what we have been hearing is to. i think that is a beautiful thing. to all be here and be unified. i am so proud to be here.
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whatever direction it goes. my name is anna robert. i was involved in sfusd six years ago. i have been at mlk since then. i felt like it was important to be here, and to represent the students because that is why we're here here in the first place. at mlk, we have been intentional about starting the school year with community building. one of the most touching ones i was part of was one that my students recommended because they felt like they were not part, feeling like they were included. it's really touching to talk with sixth-graders about what steps we can take to step -- stand up for each other to make sure every student is being included. i've seen that ripple effect. i have a personal story of a student who started off the year being really frustrated. he told me that he hates school. i asked him why? he said he wanted to be at home,
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he would rather be playing video games. what have teachers done in the past that have supported you? he said nothing, i hate teachers the student was leading a group of students in an activity with a map, going and being totally involved. he's coming in at lunch and getting help on his homework. these are things that take time. these are things that are intentional. it is going to continue to take time. i would just hate to see those relationships ripped apart. [applause] >> i am short. my name is elizabeth alberts. this is my eighth year of the district, seventh year with mlk as a special education teacher. i want to tell you some of the amazing things that are happening at our school that are funded by our school site budget. we have increased counseling support, which means it when are escalated they can have a counselor come to them instead
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of having to leave their school community, and they can receive support. new teachers are getting support from our facilitator, and our instructional leadership team. this means that there has been less teacher turnover at our school. which means students are getting experience teachers in the teachers are getting support. it also means that students and teachers can build relationships over time. i work mostly with eighth grade, but i go six grade field trips. by the time i see kids in eighth grade, i already have a relationship with them, because i have been there and i know their families, i have taught their siblings. i've also seen teachers implementing project -based learning. students can engage, no matter how they learn, whether they are auditory learners are visual learners. they have a chance to feel successful at our school. we are starting to host more community events such as our biannual knights were students can showcase their work for parents and other community
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members. i am really proud of all of the students who spoke today. i think there is a lot of good things happening at mlk. i want to see them continue. thank you. [applause] >> good evening. my name is -- and i'm a teacher at m.l.k. middle school. i joined the community three years ago, and i have been student teaching there. i have about seven packets of letters -- [inaudible] our students are pretty amazing. i want you to know something. i have seen students grow with the trust, rely on a system that historically does not work for them. as a teacher, of color, i have been in system. there is a reason why i stayed at m.l.k. at 300,000-dollar budget cut could directly impact our community. it ignores sfusd's values of
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prioritizing student needs. we've incorporated all of these amazing systems, and i just want you to know our students really rely on. everything we do is student centered and student focused. we are reflective about the work we do. i feel frustrated that our communities going through this, even if there was somewhere along the way a misunderstanding. i feel stressed that our students are scared that their instability will be gone. i feel stressed that our students are here, on a tuesday night, wednesday night, fighting. i feel overwhelmed that i am a second year teacher of color, i'm spending my time at this board meeting fighting for our community, instead of curriculum planning for my students. i urge you to show our students that organizing has an impact, by keeping our community. i urge you to validate our students and feelings by keeping
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our community funds. i urge you to demonstrate to our students that they matter. ultimately, we are here for them. thank you. [applause] >> my name is colleen sampson. i'm a sixth grade resource specialist here at m.l.k. i want to make one point of clarification. all of the preparation it took to be here together from students, teachers, parents, has been driven by students, teachers and parents. this is not something that was a top admin communication to us. this is my first board meeting. i was here a few years ago, this is now the second time in three years that i have gotten the news that our community is at risk of losing hundreds of thousands of dollars. on the one hand it is upsetting to be here.
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i am confused. even a little bit more confused. i am not sure why some schools are being over enrolled why -- while ours is not. i am confused why we are fighting about about that now after school has started? after we have established a master schedule? [please stand by]
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>> when we implemented this we saw dramatic increase in the time students spent in the class learning. when w we started project base learning we saw students move into the classroom. you can see how awesome it is when the students are engaged in real world meaningful work. budget cuts would make it impossible to continue with the system. it takes staffing. as it is, we are stretched thin because of the last time that funds were taken away. the cuts would also make it nearly impossible to continue to grow with project based learning programs at our school, and it would contribute to instability for our students. i wantin want to be clear what t
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are talking about. these are schools on the southeast side of the seggrated school district. money is getting difficult from african students and those who experience trauma. it is clear to me the district made a mistake when they allocated seats. it shouldn't employee our most vulnerable students who pay. thank you. [applause.] >> i am jackson whittington, eighth grade history teacher at mlk. we were told at staff meeting it is possible to lose three full-time teachers, master schedule changed, we would lose community partners, counselors. we were told 300,000 cuts from the middle school, 600 cut from willie brown.
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we were told the information we were getting came from conversations with commissioner cook and hahn and names were dropped where this information was coming from. i find it very hard to believe this wasn't at least a conversation or work in progress so i did notice some carefully chosen language from doctor matthews saying nothing came from your office. i didn't hear no cuts are happening. i think that was word play there. it seems unlikely to me we would be told this information if there were no cuts happening. maybe there is confusion. something is going on. i attended sfusd for better or worse. in the early 1990s, this is different. what i experienced is adults
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were making decisions and it was impacting the students with us having no idea what was really going on. that is similar to what i am feeling now. i chose not to talk to my students about the situation because i felt confused about it, but the whole school is upset. it is a problem. something is happening. we are told that spots were opened up at whoever, francisco while we are losing 40 students. the schools with cuts on the southeast side of the city. i don't think that is a mistake when they are added on the other side. we know inequities exist in the school district. thank you. [applause.] >> thank you for allowing us time to express our opinions. for 10 years i lived, thrived and struggled.
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it is a shame that for 10 years we are faced within budget cuts within the community of color. people like us can't afford these kinds of losses. as an educator and humanitarian and with my students and fellow staff members, i am here to plead if you are not passing cuts you at least propose funding to our schools. if we can't foot the bill and provide welfare for tech companies, i don't understand how in the richest city in california we can't afford budgets to our schools. there is no excuse for not affording the same generosity we afford the tech companies to our children. we are tired having the same conversations each year. any support to the southeast communities will be greatly
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appreciated and felt for generations. stop the gentrification of our schools. thank you. (applause). >> before you start i am going to read the names on the list. reesa, robin o'keefe, michael johnson, samantha whittle, amb amber, devin, hunter, nancy yee, steve shelter.
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i have you here twice, steve. leslie salazar, someone that didn't want name disclosed. nancy cooler go ahead. >> good evening. i am kristan law from the middle school. i worked there 8 years. the first four years as science teacher and now coordinator. i love this community. my job is potentially on the line. i am state funded. i am state funded because our principal and community believes in project based learning. my role is to help teachers and staff, students and families make the transition to pbl. it is a new way of learns
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because we believe in student voice and choice. we are working hard to show them we can make change. we still have work to do. we are not there yet. we won't get there if the budget is cut. the silly think about tonight is i feel like it doesn't really matter what our voices are saying because we have been here before and the last time we were here, nothing changed because of it. the budget cuts proposed in 2017 went through. luckily our principal and community figured out a way to make our budget work. potentially we are facing another cut. you may not know me and my role or my work. i know you know our students. you know the demographics of our school who we serve. no matter the reason behind changes in enrollment our voices don't matter as much as other students and communities in the
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city. prove me wrong. do no harm to our budget, do no harm to our community. we have laid the groundwork for a year of growth, learning and opportunity for our students. listen to the voices. how the students the voices can make a difference and can make change. thank you. [applause.] >> hello. my name is katie. i teach integrated arts at mlk, and i just the information that i had sounds like it might not be totally correct. it does sound like there are going to need to be fiscally responsible decisions made. i didn't mean it for a laugh,
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sorry. when i thought that i had the information i wanted to look at the -- i will get embarrassed. i wanted to look at what schools we thought we were going to get the cuts. it is all on the southeast side of the city and what the schools' populations look like. i drew it out, and all four that i thought were getting the cuts have the highest percentage of students that are african-american. three of the four -- i lost it. two have the highest socioeconomicicly disadvantaged population. two highest next percentage of the population and three have the lowest percentage of white students across traditional
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middle schools so i just want to make sure when the decisions are made that i am bringing it up while fiscally responsible we understand money follows students that we also look at what those decisions, how they impact certain communities more than others and that we make sure that we are just responsible for our students because our students no matter where they come from are incredible, and i can speak that way about mlk students personally. the other schools that we expect to receive cuts would say the same about their students. i hope that when you make decisions that is taken into account. [applause.] >> i am brandy. i am speaking on behalf of jenny, she is a parent at mlk. her statement is i am a mother
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of three kids in san francisco unified school district. i want to thank the members of the board of education for all they have done in a previous situation with visitation valley elementary school. they help to restore programs and staff for the benefit of the children are well received by the parents and students that is why she is writing this today to plead for mlk middle school. the kids deserve the opportunity to have a successful classroom to boost the success of their future and she stands with the school and she is pleading for the district not to remove programs or program funding for the students and families who need them. she only wants the best for mlk and for the people that help her community to thrive. thank you. [applause.]
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>> hello, i am a math and science teacher at mlk middle school. i am here with one fact. schools with stable and consistent staff have higher achievement rates for students. at mlk is staff turnover is decreasing. it shows we are doing the work tto have a safe and stable schol at mlk. the district needs to be safe, stable and consistent for staff, students and our school. good evening. thank you for your time today. i am nikki. my role as the founder i have had the privilege of supporting mlk in the transition to more student led project based learning over the past four years. i have seen black and brown students thrive and acaccomplish amazing things from an idea to
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full fruition. from planning and cooking a gourmet pool to the entire staff. none of that would be possible without the incredible relationship and structure mlk built with the staff and community and exhibited by the young people that came out today. as district is considering how to manage the financial impact of the decrease in enrollment at mlk, i many here you to think about keeping resources at mlk to help them be a place where the voices of young people and parents and teachers matter.
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>> i am samantha. i teach eighth grade science and i want to read a letter. i am in seventh grade at mlk middle school. your decision impacts me. if you cut money because you are opening places for students on the other side, this is unfair and not helping to prove you are following your values. i feel terribly disappointed you are cutting off money because of your decision to open places in other school on the east side. you are not standing by the vulnerable communities. cutting money from already vulnerability communities is not helping the community progresses per. it will take away from staff and resources. the decision is not putting your students first. it is vice versa.
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>> my name is michael johnson. i am a seventh grade math teacher. i think i am confused overall. mlk has worked their but off over several years. we are talking about tier three and two. then we get hit with budget cuts to slap us down. it makes little sense to me. i want to read a letter from a student that talks about that. i feel like this is unfair because you are giving more money to schools that are rich and taking money from us. it is bad enough this school is already broke. how are you taking more money away from us? the students here are very different from the students at the rich schools. if you ask my opinion i think we should get more money because the students here deserve more
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opportunities than the ones they already have. talking about equity there. the students here feel like there is a limit to what they can do. that is kind of bad because the students on the north of san francisco are much more privileged. please, let these adults keep their jobs. thank you. [applause.] >> hello. i am amber ullrich a sixth grade science teacher. the entire purpose of the science is to introduce kids to the fact science can be cool, i can't do that, i don't know anything about that the that is my high school classmates. i took anatomy because i wanted to diet. classmates said it is cool. i can't too that class i will fail.
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in sixth grade we can introduce kids that science is awesome. it doesn't matter if it is mr. right away. you can fill you are it out. i went into middle school with that idea because i loved science already. i watched all the nature documentaries, how it is made. i watched all of those things that gave me the love of science. i went to a seventh grade science class knowing that i could do it. i sat with people who knew they couldn't. i am a second year teacher. one of my master teachers is in his 30th year of teaching right now at the same school. he taught the parents of his current students. honestly, it scares the daylights out of me to think already as a second year teacher
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the school i am at is facing cuts that could keep me from being the 30 year i can call your parents teacher. i know somebody coming to the school. it is scary, i am moving. miss ullrich is there. my brother had her class, my mom had her class. i want every single kid that walks into our out of my room to think is that cat skeleton? let us do that, please. >> hello everyone. i am hunter lynn. my son is an eighth grader at mlk middle school. growing up i attended the public schools in the bayview-hunters point district. if a budget cut is in discussion it will have negative effects on
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the students. the schools are getting the short end of the stick whenever this happens it makes kids feel like nobody cares about them and just there is a lot of weight on their shoulders. they start to feel why should they care? it is not fair for the kids and it doesn't set them up for a successful future. this will impact my son and rest of the students at mlk because they will lose faculty members that they built a relationship with and growing up in these low income districts and going to valley, these relationships that you build with the counselors and teachers can make-or-break if you graduate or not. i have a lot of friends that have been through it as well. in addition to that, it can cut some of the extracurricular
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programs at mlk. like i mentioned, i went to valley. i lived in that neighborhood for 15 plus years. i have seen how much that school has changed. i walk my son to school and i attend the teacher conference. i can see how much it has changed from the 1990s. that is all i have. thank you. >> goo good evening, commission. thank you for the opportunity to speak tonight. i am a proud school bus driver. i rode the school bus to and from public school in san francisco growing up. i went to drew and burbank and san francisco middle school. you are trying to implement challenges.
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10 passengers or less vehicles that you are considering. i asked the board to consider this. according to the california office of traffic safety, san francisco is considered the number 80 the lis 80 -- number h the worst city. traffic accidents are the number eight leading cause of death in the united states. the american school bus council beliefs school buses are the safest form of transportation and only constituted .4% of accidents reported. 20% of that .4% are incidents that occurred around the vehicle. passengers are most vulnerable when they board and unboard the bus and in presence of other vehicles. this is why the traffic ticket for passing the school bus while the stop arm is out is almost
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$1,000. even toddlers recognize the school buses and associate the image with children in school but a van or car with the logo on the side is another vehicle crowding the city streets and congesting the loading zones at schools. the shortage in school bus drivers is a problem. i feel bad when i hear parents say that it is not the driver's fault. to maintain. >> hello, i am nancy yee. i am a san francisco native and educator at sfusd in a trauma sensitive school. i can't imagine the impact with a budget cut at my school. we can lose key adult figures
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that make a impact on students. the school classroom may be the most stable place in their lives. i have heard you speak multiple times you have said we keep students in the center. how can we keep students in the center when we make cuts when they make a difference in the life of every single student they serve. >> united public workers for action. i am sickened about what has happened at martin luther king middle school. it is not the first time it is attacked. there are incidents where the principal gave away the band instruments and why are they attacked? it is a racist attack.
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the poor working class and minority students that is why. the school board wants equity. do they really want equity in this billionaire city when there are more billionaires than anywhere else. the board president is interested in comments of stokely carmichael. he gave the comment about alice walker. alice walker said in the case of the mural, teach it, don't tear it down. they are spending $850,000 to cover a mural that should go to my music in middle school. what is going on in the school district? you are attacking school bus drivers. you don't want the special ed students on uber is that protecting the students in the
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city and county of san francisco? the fact of the matter is if you want to spend $15,000 on the murals. the reality that money should go to the students and repair the mural. there is something going on in the school district. the wealthiest school district in the world with the wealth we have here and they are cutting the budget for poor working class minority schools. it has to stop. we have to hold th the super tho superintendent responsible. >> i am nancy tyler. i cam to talk about the mural. i have to ask a question. why isn't every school getting
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the same amount of money? i mean why are we putting more money in to better neighborhoods? that doesn't seem practical, doesn't seem like it would work right. i am from south florida. they do the same thing in south photograph. -- south florida. the rich parents give to the school and they get more money. it shouldn't work that way. i am here to talk about the murals. if you see my shirt this is from the legacy museum in alabama. it is about the lynching that took plays with african-americans in the last 100 years. it is very famous now in montgomery alabama. i took my 12-year-old black son with his black father and me to
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see the museum. he is 12 years old. those murals are nothing compared to what he saw and we talked to him about it. those murals need signage and to explain why the dead indian is there. he is dead because we killed him, the government killed him. that is why the dead indian is there. george washington is there pointing to the west because they are taking the land away from the indians so we have the indians without land and dead, and we have the black people that we have prospered for 200 years with black labor. that is why we are the richest country in the world is black lanlabor. we have to teach the children and teach them with signage.
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>> that concludes public comment. thank you all for coming out. section d committee appointments. we have a report from the parent advisory council. >> good evening.
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, president cook, commissioners, super-been dent. i am the chair of the pack. my children attend alamo elementary. >> good evening. i am sharon and my child is a sixth grader at ap and this is my first year as a pac member. the role of the parent advisory council is to represent parent voices and perspectives to inform policy decisions and discussions. on wednesday, august 28th the
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pac held the first meeting. we welcomed the super-been dent matthews to learn about the top priorities of the year and think about the work of the pack and how it connects and supports the strategic goals. pac members started the process of establishing priorities for the year with a gallery walk. we reviewed pivotal u.s. supreme court landmark decisions that still impact education policies today as well as the strategic initiatives and the 2018-2019 priorities. the actions we took to support those priorities last year. one thing that stood out to pac members was the fact there is no mention of our pre-k students in
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the sfusd vision 2025. in particular, new pac members wondered why and thought it would be essential to include pre-k students to support and the commitment to the pre-k through third grade approach and alignment to education in our district. pac members will continue the process of defining priorities for the school year at the next pac meeting wednesday, septembe. pac members will establish work plans. we will report more about this process next month. >> the pac plans to host a table at the enrollment fair on saturday october 19 at the
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o'connell high school. we encourage families to stop by to get involved with our organization. there has been a staffing change at the parent advisory council. after 7 years the coordinator is stepping down. she is leaving to work directly for the district in the office of family partnerships and will continue to support family engagement in a new and different capacity. we see that michelle is taking over as interim cord natetor. georgia and michelle have worked together for the past two weeks for a smooth transition and support the community in the continuity of our work. michelle is a long time resident of san francisco and resides in the richmond district. she is a proud advocate.
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she has spent 10 years operating, expending overseeing out of school time programs at the schools in cole valley, richmond and castro and excelsior. she has partner with the richmond neighborhood center and ymca. she is a former pac member. she is proud to be back and collacollaborate. she worked with the officers and funders to facility the change and we decided to hire an interim coordinator who was familiar to provide a smoother on boarding process. this approach. >> i'm sorry. i lost it.
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>> this approach will help maintain momen tent. michelle is committed to the goals and familiar with our work and we began planning the process for permanent coordinator when the transition is complete. we appreciate georgia's hard work and we wish to thank her. i personally am thankful for her help and support she provided me and the other pac members the last few years.
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>> i am ruth. i work at san francisco unified school district in the office of community partnerships. i was the former pac coordinator. this is a surprise to georgia, and she does not like being in the spotlight. while i am celebrating georgia i want to apologize for putting you on the spot. so many people wanted to share thoughts of your work tonight but couldn't be here. i will read a little thing from the advisory meeting. there is a lot of warmth and love from a lot of people. it has been a joy to work with you, georgia as we all figured
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out what is l cap and what do we do and actually bring this amazing opportunity to families and school communities to give them space to share their hopes and ideas to make public schools work better. it is amazing to watch you grow the pac. to see you step up i watch you on tv during every board meeting. they are so awesome. she has grown that. i want to make sure that georgia that you realize how much eileen on you as a coach when ever i wonder what is the right thing to do. of i copy your talking points all of the time.