Web Log
Jul 20, 02:42 AM | Author: jane kim | Category: politics
bad blogger/ list
I have to be honest. It has been much harder to blog for this website than I had hoped.
I wanted to regularly blog about ongoings of local, SF politics, youth issues and public education. But the combination of my schedule and the incredible resources out there that already do the following, gives me less motivation. I give big ups to activists and politicos that regularly blog on sites such as leftinsf, sf sentinel, and sfist.
The reason I did want to write was because I was hoping to write for a different audience that is not in this “politico” community that reads sfusualsuspects, san francisco sentinel and other sites every hour. I was hoping to write for the many individuals that were involved in my campaign that do not usually know about these ongoings. I am also hoping to have youth write for this site as well, on what they see going on in SF and in the public schools.
However, I have created a list of “things of interest” to me that have gone in the past month:
1) Phil Ting, Executive Director of Asian Law Caucus was appointed SF Assessor-Recorder by Mayor Newsom on Friday, July 15th. (Mabel Teng had resigned earlier this year)
2) Wong v. SFUSD
A student (Alan Wong, student delegate to the Board of Education, voted at large by students), a teacher, a parent and concerned individual are suing SFUSD for its “golden parachute” contract to Superintendent Arlene Ackerman. SEIU 790, one of the largest unions in the city has signed on to the law suit and publicly given its support. Matt Gonzalez and Whitney Leigh are the attorneys in this suit.
This contract was voted on a special Friday meeting soon after Heather Hiles lost her seat in the November 2004 election. This slim majority voted to increase the Superintendent’s salary from $225,000 to $250,000, raise her housing allowance to $2000/month and increase her benefits. In additition, they wrote in a clause saying that should either she or the board decide they “cannot continue to work compatibly with each other”, Ackerman will be rewarded a severance package equaling $375,000.
Uh, aren’t we closing down schools and laying off teachers this year? Our War on Iraq and Arnold aren’t increasing our public education budget.
Just to put things into perspective, our mayor, Gavin Newsom makes $143,000. The budget for Golden Elementary School, which was closed this year is $375,000.
3) SFUSD shutdown of student voice
SFUSD staff and Ackerman tried to cancel and suppress the Student Advisory Committee meetings, the only student committee advising the District and School Board because they wrote a resolution supporting the renegotiation of Ackerman’s contract and opposing reconstitution in schools (a requirement of Ackerman’s Dream Schools).
SFUSD’s “Office of Engagement”, a $350,000 PR office for the district, even implicated me in this process. You can read all about it in the Bay Guardian . I have to say, I am grateful for reporters that record and transcribe public meetings which can correct wildly false accusations.
For more on our Superintendent, also read Ackerman’s Melt Down. A recent cover story in the Bay Guardian.
4) The race for Assessor is on! (Uh, what is the Assessor?)
Many of you may not know that we have one or that we vote for one. More of you probably do not know what the Assessor does.
However, this normally boring, off the radar race is heating up, as big names, Gerardo Sandoval (Supervisor in District 11), Phil Ting (Asian Law Caucus) and Vicki Leidner (Real Estate Agent, Green Party, Code Pink) throw their hat into the race. This news alone deserves several blogs and many other people have written about it. I will write more on this later. For now, you can read:
On Gerardo’s entrance
On Phil’s Appointment.
SFist more opinionated piece
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