S. F. board members: Schools must open
Proposal may set Jan. 25 for kids to start returning
The San Francisco school board could compel public schools to start reopening by Jan. 25 under a proposal introduced Tuesday.
At least three of the seven members of the Board of Education already back the plan.
The specific date comes amid increased pressure in recent weeks on the board and the district. Angry parents have called on the district to set a timeline for reopening, and Mayor London Breed has been vocal in pushing for campuses to take students back.
The district has resisted setting a firm schedule, citing ongoing negotiations with the teachers union, and insufficient supplies. Breed and others have argued that reopening schools will help children who are struggling with the academic and social aspects of distance learning and allow working parents to function.
The measure calls on the superintendent to begin reopening elementary schools for students with moderate to severe disabilities, as well as all other students in preschool, transitional kindergarten, kindergarten and first
grade.
Other grades would be added on a rolling basis.
About 10,000 students would be in that first phase, returning on a rolling basis after schools reopen, according to district staff.
The measure explicitly states that reopening schools is among the top priorities for the district — something parents have questioned in recent weeks as the school board has largely avoided the topic during its meetings other than informational updates.
The board could vote on the plan as early as next week, said board member Jenny Lam, who coauthored the proposal, along with Vice President Gabriela López and Stevon Cook.
“The board needs to get to governing and ensuring the district work toward a concrete plan,” Lam said Monday. “At the heart of this is our students and their education.”
Breed officially supported the measure in a letter to board President Mark Sanchez.
“Some may raise this increase in cases as a reason to not move forward with planning for schools to reopen,” the mayor said. “But I urge you to continue this important work. Our goal as a City should be to get our case numbers down so that we can get our kids back in school starting in January.”
Several parents and staff expressed concern about returning to inperson learning given the pandemic. District officials noted that any families wishing to continue distance learning will be able to do so.
Others were close to tears speaking of how their children have struggled with distance learning and are suffering emotionally.
Student board member Kathya Correa Almanza, a high school senior, thanked those parents for speaking out.
“Students right now are struggling — some are doing good — but others are struggling,” she said. “I appreciate the reality check. You are being heard by us.”
If the proposal passes, district officials would be required to submit a reopening plan for elementary schools and a timeline to the board by Dec. 8.
The proposal also calls for a survey of parents to determine how many would prefer to return to school rather than continue with distance learning, and a projection of costs related to reopening.
In the meantime, Superintendent Vince Matthews notified principals Friday that those welcoming students back in late January would be required to return to school sites starting on Nov. 16. All others would be required to start working from their school offices by Nov. 30.
For the past few months, principals have been working from home, while top district administrators, including the superintendent, have had to take turns sitting at school sites to oversee access for teachers who requested use of classrooms for distance learning.
The return of principals, who are represented by the United Administrators of San Francisco, would presumably free up the superintendent and his top administrators to spend more time on reopening plans.
The pressure to reopen has increased in recent weeks, with city officials calling for a more detailed plan.
“We are at or even beyond the point at which families need a timeline and need information,” said Supervisor Matt Haney, adding that the city and health officials need to provide support to help reopen schools, including figuring out testing and other safety measures.
“School districts are not built to figure those things out on their own,” Haney said.
Behind the scenes, district staff have been working on the critical components of reopening, including how to conduct staff testing for COVID19 on a regular basis as well as negotiating agreements with labor unions.
On Tuesday, the board also approved an agreement with Curative, a company that would provide free testing to teachers and staff with costs covered by staff health care insurance.
It’s still unclear, however, how frequently staff will be tested, which is part of negotiations with teachers and principals, among others. So far, the district and unions are still in talks about pandemic working conditions.
The resolution before the board does not address how schools would reopen by Jan. 25 without teacher or principal support.
District staff provided a comprehensive update at Tuesday’s meeting on the progress made in readying buildings for reopening, among other health and safety issues related to bringing students back.
The district continues to assess buildings that could reopen first, noting that given custodial staffing, only about 15,000 students would be able to be on school sites on any given day.
Staff noted that significant progress has been made in the past few weeks, although there is still work to do.
To meet the timeline, “it will require us to adapt and problemsolve,” Lam said. “This work must continue. The planning that is required, we know is going to take time.”