Community calls to officials in the Unified School District of South San Francisco to formally end relations with the city police were answered last week as trustees supported a suspension of the school resource officer program.

“Until and until we have an agreement to support and defend our students and have broad community support, I do not feel comfortable having a routine police presence on our campus,” Trustee John Baker said during the Board of Trustees meeting Thursday .

District and city officials negotiated a letter of intent through campus police after current and past students and other community members pleaded with the district to stop contracting the police department for the services of the student resource officer.

About a year ago, the district’s board of trustees encountered outcry against the SRO program as the nation grappled with a social settlement over local policing. During Thursday’s meeting, members of the public reiterated their demands and spoke anecdotally of negative experiences with officials on campus.

Superintendent Dr. Shawnterra Moore followed the calls and said the county and city officials are swiftly approving a final draft of the MOU before the school meets on August 11th.

Thursday’s meeting should give the trustees an opportunity to discuss the police minutes in case a letter of intent is not approved ahead of time.

Baker was concerned about accepting suggestions that the letter of intent could be finalized and approved in less than a month before classes began. Out of caution, he suggested that the district suspend the campus SRO program until thorough agreement was reached.

“I don’t think a student should be scared because we made a decision or we didn’t make a decision on this case,” Baker said.

Trustee Mina Richardson was also strongly opposed to allowing SROs on campus during cultural events or at the start of elementary school. Based on her personal experience, she shared her displeasure that armed officers were sitting in their cars outside the El Camino High School campus during a COVID-safe drive-through event.

Richardson also urged the district to review the various student programs funded by the city, such as a youth academy program, digital security programs, and gait resistance training and education, noting that many may involve police officer involvement.

“My problem is that I have no idea which one [programs] traversing or participating in our district, ”said Richardson. “Everyone needs to be clear about what the limitations of this program mean for the district.”

Moore noted that the district’s insurance policy requires a certain level of security depending on the size of the event. Police officers are often hired to provide security services when events are too large for campus security to handle on its own.

With or without a MOU, campus staff are expected to handle disciplinary matters without calling the police, unless the offense is listed in the Education Act after Thursday board actions.

While school staff were expected to limit interactions with the police if necessary, Moore said she wanted to codify the policy, noting that the board had been repeatedly informed that the standard was not being followed.

Trustees will likely have to hold a special meeting before August to approve the MOU, Moore said. With the suspension of the program, the trustees suggested that employees take time developing a strong letter of intent while the board of directors focuses on a safe reopening.

“Obviously, we need to prioritize opening schools that go from zero to 260 in no time,” said board chairman Daina Lujan, noting that the district can return to the MOU discussion later in the year. “We hope the Memorandum of Understanding continues, but if it doesn’t, we have this” [measures] in place. “

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – America’s founding fathers received a reprieve Tuesday in San Francisco when the city’s scandal-ridden school board officially overturned a plan to rename 44 schools as part of a racist settlement that critics said went too far.

The city’s education committee, which met on Zoom, unanimously voted to honor its much-criticized decision to remove the names of a third of San Francisco public schools associated with racism, sexism, and other injustices. Among them were schools named after Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, writer Robert Louis Stevenson, and Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. Also on the list was a school named after long-time Sen. Dianne Feinstein.

Tuesday’s 6-0 ruling means school boards will overturn their vote from January and come back on the matter after all students have returned to full-time study in person. It does not set a specific schedule.

The renaming debacle was one of several self-inflicted controversies the San Francisco School Board faced during the pandemic, along with numerous lawsuits and public ridicule.

Parents, students and elected officials have blown the board over some of its goals – and timing. The decision was made in late January when all of San Francisco’s public classrooms were closed due to coronavirus restrictions. You still are. Mayor London Breed called it “offensive and totally unacceptable”, among other things, for the board to focus on changing school names rather than bringing children back into the classrooms.

Some of the city’s youngest students are expected to return to face-to-face classes this month after more than a year of distance learning due to the pandemic. There is no schedule for the return of middle and high school students.

The renaming efforts have also been criticized for historical inaccuracies and inferior research that consulted Wikipedia rather than historians.

A renaming advisory committee falsely accused Paul Revere of attempting to colonize the Penobscot people. It also confused the Alamo Elementary School’s name with the Battle of Texas rather than the Spanish word for poplar.

“While we’re at it, how about the renaming of San Francisco,” wrote columnist and city clerk Carl Nolte after the vote in the San Francisco Chronicle, noting that the city was named by missionaries after a Roman Catholic saint. “That clearly fits in with the guidelines for a new name.”

Feinstein Elementary made the list because when she was mayor in 1984 it was decided to replace a destroyed Confederate flag that was part of a longstanding exhibition outside City Hall. When the flag was pulled down a second time, it was not replaced.

“It feels like the truth has won this time,” said Seeyew Mo, head of the San Francisco family, of Tuesday’s vote. His group opposed the renaming and drew attention to the inadequate research.

“I’m glad they came to their senses – after legal proceedings and public pressure,” said Mo, who also opposed the board’s “top-down process”, in which a small group made the decision without the wider school community . “A lot of people agree with the idea of ​​revisiting names, but they just disagree with how it was done.”

The renaming process was led by a committee formed in 2018 to investigate the names of the county schools amid a national reckoning of racial injustice that followed deadly clashes at a white supremacy rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Schools and institutions across the country are considering changing their names as the country re-evaluates its heroes.

The San Francisco committee noted that anyone “who has engaged in the subjugation and enslavement of people, or who oppressed women, is holding back social progress, or whose actions have resulted in genocide, or who otherwise enhance the opportunities of those of us who have the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness “should not have schools named after them.

The result sparked an outcry in California that the net had been thrown too far and ridicule on social media and right-wing news sites for reviling political correctness that had gone wrong.

Board chairwoman Gabriela Lopez said in February that the process would be paused until all the children were back in school. Lopez admitted in a statement that mistakes had been made in choosing schools and said that if the board got back on the issue, they would hire historians for a “more deliberative process”.

Since the vote on the name change, the board has faced several lawsuits. The city of San Francisco took the dramatic step of suing the school district and board of directors to pressure both of them to reopen classrooms faster. Another was filed in March by San Francisco attorney Paul Scott, whose children attend public schools, claiming the school board’s renaming decision violated California open assembly law and did not involve the community.

San Francisco Superior Court Judge Ethan Schulman issued a ruling asking the board to do what the lawsuit requires – overturn the vote and dissolve the renaming committee – or show by April 16 why he shouldn’t be forced to do so.

The resolution passed on Tuesday ignored the criticism but condemned the lawsuit, saying it wanted to “avoid the distraction and wasteful use of public funds in frivolous litigation”.

Tuesday’s meeting was also the first since the board voted last week to remove one of its members, Alison Collins, from her role as Vice President and other titles over 2016 tweets about Asian Americans.

In the tweets, Collins said that Asian Americans are using “white supremacy” thinking to move forward. She defied calls to resign and last week sued the school district and five of her six colleagues for violating her right to freedom of expression. She is demanding $ 87 million in damages.

The historian Harold Holzer described the school authorities’ first attempt at renaming as “overcorrection”. Holzer objects to the removal of Abraham Lincoln’s name from a high school, which, according to the San Francisco committee, was due to the treatment of Native Americans during his tenure.

“I know people want to be inspired and not worship false idols,” said Holzer, Lincoln Scholar and director of the Roosevelt House of Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. “But to be honest, for me there is still no better example of American history at its highest idealism than Abraham Lincoln.”

In the midst of the Civil War in 1863, Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation that freed slaves in the Confederation, among other achievements that included rising out of poverty to become president, fighting for equal opportunities, and saving the country from division .

“If Lincoln doesn’t win, we’re in big trouble,” said Holzer. “The performances so far outweigh the mistakes. I think he deserves praise.”

This story has been corrected to show that the City of San Francisco sued its school board, but the lawsuit was not filed by the mayor.

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SAN FRANCISCO (AP) – America’s founding fathers received a reprieve Tuesday in San Francisco when the city’s scandal-ridden school board formally overturned a plan to rename 44 schools amid what critics considered to be an over-the-top racial bill.

The city’s education authority that convened on Zoom unanimously voted to reverse its much-criticized decision to strip the names of one-third of San Francisco’s public schools. Among them were schools named after Presidents Abraham Lincoln, George Washington, and Thomas Jefferson, writer Robert Louis Stevenson, and Revolutionary War hero Paul Revere. Also on the list was a school named after long-time Senator Dianne Feinstein.

Tuesday’s 6-0 decision means school authorities will withdraw their vote from January and will re-examine the matter after all students return to full-time study in person. There is no specific schedule.

The renaming debacle was one of several self-inflicted controversies the San Francisco School Board faced during the pandemic, along with numerous lawsuits and public ridicule.

Parents, students and elected officials blew up the board over some of its goals – and timing. The decision was made in late January when all public classrooms in San Francisco were closed due to coronavirus restrictions. You still are. Mayor London Breed called it, among other things, “offensive and totally unacceptable” that the board focused on changing the names of the schools rather than bringing the children back into the classrooms.

Some of the city’s youngest students are expected to return to face-to-face teaching this month after more than a year of distance learning due to the pandemic. There is no return schedule for middle and high school students.

The renaming efforts have also been criticized for historical inaccuracies and poor research, in which Wikipedia rather than historians were consulted.

A renaming advisory board falsely accused Paul Revere of wanting to colonize the Penobscot people. It also confused the Alamo Elementary School’s name with the Battle of Texas rather than the Spanish word for poplar.

“While we’re at it, what about the renaming to San Francisco?” Wrote columnist and town clerk Carl Nolte after the vote in the San Francisco Chronicle, noting that the town was named by missionaries after a Roman Catholic saint Guidelines for a new name. “

Feinstein Elementary made the list because, when she was mayor in 1984, it was decided to replace a destroyed Confederate flag that was part of a longstanding exhibition outside City Hall. If the flag was pulled down a second time, it was not replaced.

“It feels like the truth won this time,” San Francisco family leader Seeyew Mo said of Tuesday’s vote. His group rejected the renaming process and drew attention to the flawed research.

“I’m glad they came to their senses – after legal proceedings and public pressure,” said Mo, who also protested the board’s “top-down process” in which a small group made the decision without the wider school community. “A lot of people agree with the idea of ​​revisiting names, but they just disagree with how it was done.”

The renaming process was led by a committee established in 2018 to investigate the names of county schools as part of a national settlement of racial injustices following deadly clashes at a white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Schools and institutions across the country are currently considering changing names when the country re-evaluates its heroes.

The San Francisco committee noted that all persons “involved in the submission and enslavement of people; or oppressed women and stunted social progress; or whose actions resulted in genocide; or who has otherwise severely restricted the opportunities of those of us to have the right to life, freedom and the pursuit of happiness ”should not have named a school after them.

The result sparked an outcry in California that the web was too widespread, and social media and right-wing news sites that denied political correctness went wrong.

Board chairwoman Gabriela Lopez said in February that the process would be suspended until all the children were back in school. Lopez admitted in a statement that mistakes had been made in the selection of schools and said when the board came back on the matter it would involve historians for a “more deliberate process”.

Since the renaming, the board has received several lawsuits. The city of San Francisco took the dramatic step of suing the school district and board of directors to pressure both of them to reopen classrooms faster. Another motion was filed in March by San Francisco attorney Paul Scott, whose children are attending public schools. The school board’s renaming decision violated the California Open Congregation Act and did not involve the community.

San Francisco Supreme Court Justice Ethan Schulman issued a ruling urging the board to do what the lawsuit calls for – to overturn the vote and dissolve the advisory committee on the renaming – or by Jan. To show April why he shouldn’t be forced to do so.

The resolution passed on Tuesday ignored the criticism but denounced the lawsuit, saying it wanted to “avoid the distraction and wasteful spending of public funds in frivolous litigation.”

Tuesday’s meeting was also the first since the board decided last week to remove one of its members, Alison Collins, from her role as Vice President and other titles over 2016 tweets about Asian Americans.

In the tweets, Collins said that Asian Americans are using “white supremacist” thinking to get ahead. She defied calls to resign and last week sued the school district and five of her six colleagues on charges of violating their freedom of speech. She is demanding $ 87 million in damages.

The historian Harold Holzer called the school authority’s first attempt to rename an “overcorrection”. Holzer does not agree to remove Abraham Lincoln’s name from a high school, which, according to the San Francisco Committee, was due to the treatment of Indians during his tenure.

“I know people want to be inspired and not worship false idols,” said Holzer, a Lincoln Scholar and director of the Roosevelt House of Public Policy Institute at Hunter College. “But to be honest, for me there is still no better example of American history at the highest level of idealism than Abraham Lincoln.”

In the middle of the Civil War in 1863, Lincoln issued the Declaration of Emancipation, which freed slaves in the Confederation, including achievements out of poverty to become president, fight for equal opportunities and save the country from division.

“If Lincoln doesn’t win, we’ll have big problems,” said Holzer. “The previous successes outweigh the mistakes. I think he deserves recognition. “

This story has been corrected to show that the City of San Francisco sued its school board, but the lawsuit was not filed by the mayor.

Copyright 2021 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed in any way without permission.

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