>> happy new year >> i second that. happy lunar new year for everyone .and i'm going to adjourn which may be our last meeting on zoom but certainly we will be in some from a hybrid next month if things go well let's hope for the best. and i will adjourn this meeting. thank you so much for hanging on by our fingernails aswe get through our technology . thank you all the commissioners and staff for everything you do to make this happen. thank you again and we will see you next month.>> i look forward to seeing everyone. >> yes.

>> good morning everyone. i am mayor london breed. i want to welcome you today to talk about the election last night and the results as well as talk about today being the first day that we have lifted some restrictions as it relates to indoor masking. last night, during the race the voters sent a clear message, a clear message as it relates to the school board and the need to begin the process to refocus on

our children and on what is most important in their lives and what is most important for the future of our schools in san francisco. i want to take this opportunity to thank the parents and the grassroots organizers who pulled this together and called attention to some of the challenges that exist with the school district. i want to thank the educators who continued to show up and to try to work with our students despite a very challenging two years. i really want to take this opportunity to talk a little bit about our next steps and what we plan to do because although we may think that as a result of this election that this is behind us, there is even more important work that needs to be done moving forward.

over the past couple of weeks, i have had a number of conversations with a number of parents throughout san francisco. parents that aren't necessarily politically engaged. parents who struggled, whose kids struggled. the asian community and latino community, geographically throughout san francisco, parents who really felt that they were left out of the process when schools were struggling to reopen during this pandemic. many of them talked about a lot of the challenges that exist in their lives. that is really where our focus should have always been. kids usually vibrant and talkative more subdued and quiet and seeing the changes in their

kids and struggles they are going through. talking to parents with children with significant learning challenges, those with disabilities and other issues and seeing the rapid decline in their children as a result of what sadly had been happening not just with the school district but with the pandemic has really been tough for them. it was hard to hear the stories and hard to hear some of the challenges the parents were facing. more importantly, what was made clear to me is their feedback what they want to see in a new member or members of the school board. they want to focus on the fundamental responsibility of the school district. that is to make sure that we educate our children. education and the system around

education has to be at the for front of everything we do. when we think about the learning loss, mental health challenges, that has to be our focus. talking with a number of educators about what they were experiencing in the classroom and frustration about inconsistent information. i am concerned about all parties involved. in selecting new school board members we are asking a lot of very hard questions. what are we going to do for those kids who have learning disabilities? what are we going to do for the kids with special needs? what are we going to do for the kids who don't have parent advocates? how are we going to focus on the challenges around learning loss? how are we going to deal with the challenges around gaps relating to equity? so many questions, so many

concerns. how are we going to deal with the budget deficit for the school system? one that is increasingly growing. a new superintendent is expected to be hired. those decisions are critically important to the long term success of the school district. there are immediate things to address right now today, long-term we have seen a significant decline in enrollment in the public school system. school assignment has to be revamped in a way that again is done fairly and equitably. a number of these challenges we are looking for well-rounded school board members who are focused on the schools. who are focused on our children and their success. who are focused on collaboration

and working together. who are focused on wanting to hear from different perspectives whether they are in agreement with those perspectives or not. bridge builders. that is what we are going to look for. this is all coming from many of the parents i had an opportunity to talk to. questions that these parents provided me with and want be me to ask of the people that i am going to be interviewing and to be clear. i am going to be meeting with aa number of people to have the conversation around why they think that they would be the best person for the job. you know, i made appointments before for this city on a number of bodies, including school board. this is probably one of the

hardest decisions that i have ever had to make as it relates to appointments because of the significants of what this means and what the people of san francisco expect from the people that i will appoint. because of the future and the concerns about our kids. none of us knew we would be in the midst of a global pandemic. there wasn't a playbook for this. when we think about what happened in san francisco and what we did, our early action to save lives. we were a model for the country, and the number of people whose lives were safed and the number of people fully vaccinated and boosted and we should be proud. the stark contrast to what happened in the school district. the frustration, uncertainty,

inconsistent information, lack of clarity, bickering, politics and who suffered the most? our children. they suffered the most. they are still suffering. we have to put aside all personality conflicts and we have to focus our attention on addressing what is most important, and be that is their future. i met with a lot of parents. there are a lot of parents out there that can't be advocates for their kids. they may not know how. i can't help but think if this pandemic had happened when i was a kid when my grandmother was raising me, a woman who never had the opportunity to come to

the school if i got in trouble i had to get sent home. i think about those kids who don't have the parents who have the time because they are working two or three jobs or those parents who may feel uncomfortable with speaking out because of their immigrant status or a number of issues. those kids in abusive homes. i think about all of those kids who don't have advocates, who don't have that level of support that they need and school was in some cases their only outlet. there are going to be a number of heavy conversations in the coming weeks because the decision that i may being is going to be important. it is going to be important because of the short term and

long-term challenges the school board faces. what is next? what is next is there are votes to be counted. department of elections anticipates that they will be finished counting votes by next week. end of next week. once they certify the results they will forward that information to the board of supervisors, and the board of supervisors will meet to approve the election results, certify the results. that process is expected to take somewhere close to a month. in that time i will be interviewing candidates. there is a lot of work to continue to be done. we will do everything to work with the school district. once a vacancy occurs that is when i will have an opportunity

to appoint and my hope is that i could make a decision that sanfranciscans can be proud of d feel the school district is in good hands. it will require patience and development clearly of new found trust because of what is experienced. so we have still a process involved, still time that we need to take. time where my focus will be on reaching out meeting with folks and doing everything i can to make the best decision for the kids of our city. with that i wanted to just talk a little bit about the mask mandate.

today officially the masks are no longer required in places like restaurants, bars, offices, movie theaters, museums and indoor settings for vaccinated people. people can still wear their masks. in fact i know people will still wear their masks and there may be some businesses that still may require you to wear your mask. please don't get into arguments about whether or not you are required to wear your mask or not. it is a hard time for all of us. if a business asks you to wear a mask, wear a mask or choose another business. let's understand this is challenging. i know some of our regulations have been confusing. one minute you are wearing a mask then you are and then you are not. we are in this together. we have a lot to be proud of.

as i said, a leader in the country related to saving lives in a global pandemic we could not predict. we should be proud. this is the homestretch. numbers have declined in hospitalizations and the number of people impacted. my hope as we begin to change that and people are boosted and vaccinated. masks may not be required in some other settings like schools and hospitals and jails where they still respect required. continue to be patient with us. continue to be patient with the businesses all over the city. we will get through this. thank you.

>> can you speak to the concerns some may have around that? >> what i will speak to is there is always conversations around money and politics. at the end of the day what we see in the election results it is clear that many of these san franciscans are more concerned about our children and what has been happening with the school district and distransactions and lack of focus and what is more important than they are about our children. what is my focus is the children first and four most. whoever is selected will focus on trying to turn the school district around. focus specifically on public school and enrollment apsome of the challenges that exist there.

the point that you made is something that is news to me because the fact is there are a lot of different kinds of people involved in the push for this recall from all walks of life. to attribute to one group of people is not fair to the work that so many grassroots people who have children in the public school systems have done. >> i am not disqualifying anyone at this time. i am going to meet and talk to as many people i can that with serve the san francisco unified school district well and focus on the public schools and our children.

[indiscernable] >> i think, you know, i do not regret my decision to appoint foga to the school board. foga had a lot of skills in working with communities that are on the southeast sector of the city. many people advocated for him as a voice for them. i made that decision. he was running already. he had a lot of support and especially a lot of support from many of the communities struggling in the school district. i don't regret the decision i may being. in this particular process i will think about the same thing. thinking about those same communities in the decision i make and thinking about, you know, more in depth people who have more in depth knowledge of, for example, what i heard from

parents. they want someone who understands finance. the financials. they are concerned about the budget deficit and what that might mean for their children. having people who understand budget and who have knowledge of not just community but who have the qualifications to understand how an organization is run. hiring and budgeting and there is a lot of different components to this. those are things that are added to the conversation in addition to some of the things i look for in previous candidates. >> do you think given the results 70 something plus of the recall that san francisco and san franciscans are moving less in the direction of having progressive ideas and more towards moderate and liberal

ideas? >> i don't think so. our children suffered. it is not about politics. it is not about having progressive or moderate or liberal idea. it is about my kid used to be a kid that was social and fun and is now quiet and sad and doesn't smile. you as the parent feel like there is nothing you can do about that because of what is happening with your child's education. at the end of the day this is about what was happening. we are not saying some of the things at the school district weren't important conversations to have. i think renaming schools and looking at the history of the names is important. the problem was the clear communication around when schools would open and how

during the process of distance learning we would deal with those challenges of kindergarten not signing in and issues happening at hand. the fact those weren't put front and center and solutions weren't focused on there is what drove this decision. that is what i heard from the people i talked to. it wasn't about progressive or liberal. i think it minimizes is hard work so many people did to get this on the ballot to get it past by trying to attribute it to that. >> the chinese american community reasserting its political power. >> sorry. >> was yesterday's recall was

the chinese american community reasserting it goes political power in the city? >> these are people fighting for their children. i can't say that enough. the storyis heard over the past couple weeks would have brought you to tears. imagine if it were your child and you didn't have money to put them in private school or anything which most of the private schools were open and your kid is struggling. this came from a different place. this came from parents who were upset and frustrated and stressed out and in many cases trying to work two or three jobs to take care of their kids. single moms and grandmothers afternoon grandfathers. this was from my perspective not about politics.

>> how are you going to ensure the picks you make are independent and not be holden to you. there is concern you might have too much influence over the school board instead of the voters. >> that is unfair in terms of assessment. i feel confident my history of appointments demonstrates that i willing to work with people who have a different ideology than i do in order to make what i believe is the best decision based on input. one of my first picks worked for someone who actually ran for mayor. we ran against one another. i think that at the end of the day, i am a san franciscan. i love the city. i will make a decision in the best interest of the entity and

best interest of the city. that will involve feedback from people who really -- parents especially, teachers, educators as well -- having well rounded feedback and number to choose from that are going to be important. that is my focus. my hope is they are people who will work with me and work with the city. we want to partner with the cool district. you have come to us and we have gone to them. we want someone to work with us so we can help support our children. >> do you have a position? are you open to changes? >> i think that it is the wrong message right now.

these people worked really hard. this was a very grassroots effort. i think that people should have the ability if they have a concern with any elected leader. they should have the right to take a recall effort to the ballot. it is unfortunate. to put this on the ballot is very unfortunate. >> you are a part of children and families staying in the budget. so much per household. how will you keep housing affordable so the state comes in to fund the school board. >> changes to the am location so it is not based on individual student enrollment. they are looking at different formulas. san francisco is an i very

expensive place to live. one solution is to build more housing remove the barriers that obstruct our ability to do so and recently the housing measure to speed up housing production was rejected by the board of supervisors. we can't keep saying we want more affordable and more housing and the decisions we make are counter to that. thank you everybody.

. >> president walton: good afternoon and welcome to the february 15th, 2022, regular meeting of the san francisco board of supervisors. madam clerk, please call the roll. >> clerk: thank you, mr. president. roll really [roll call]