SAN FRANCISCO (CBS SF) — Mayor London Breed on Friday announced her three new appointments to the San Francisco Board of Education in the wake of last month’s recall election.
Residents in San Francisco voted overwhelmingly to recall Alison Collins, Faauuga Moliga and Gabriella Lopez in the special election that was held on Feb. 15.
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Lopez was president of the board at the time of the recall, while both Collins and Moliga had served as vice president. Moliga had been appointed by Breed
The three women Breed announced to replace the recalled board members were Ann Hsu, Lainie Motamedi, and Lisa Weissman-Ward, all of whom are currently the parents of students in San Francisco public schools.
“I’m so happy and I’m so proud that we have three amazing women who all have kids in our public school system,” Breed said. “Who all want better for our children and who also care about supporting our educators.”
The announcement was made at a press event held on the football field at Galileo Academy of Science and Technology.
Breed went on to say that all three new appointees were willing to “ignore the politics” in order to focus on making the sometimes difficult decisions that are in the best interest of both students and teachers.
The special election was the city’s first recall election since 1983. Only about 25% of eligible voters cast their ballots in early voting, a somewhat low turnout for an election that could drastically change the city’s school board.
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The successful San Francisco school board recall garnered national attention, with some saying the result was a message against liberal “woke-ism.”
“I feel really good because, again, it’s not just about their children; it’s about equity, it’s about the achievement gap, it’s about the kids who are being left behind, it’s about changes to the school system,” Breed said. “It’s about making sure that regardless of parent advocates or any advocates, that those kids who have no voice or parents who may not be able to speak English have a voice in this school system.”
“And so, now with a good, solid school board, I think that we are going to be headed in the right direction,” the mayor added.
After introducing all three new board members, Breed proceeded to swear them in.
San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Dr. Vincent Matthews was also present and spoke after the board members were sworn in.
“I welcome our three new commissioners,” Matthews said. “I look forward to working with all of our commissioners to address the challenges and opportunities before us in collaboration with our district staff, families, students and community members. While there are many, many urgent and important matters to realize our mission, at this moment in time, our students and families are counting on district leaders to stay focused on these priorities.”
Matthew went on to list areas that need to be prioritized, including safe learning environments, “high quality” learning experiences, a “fiscally responsible” budget, and picking his successor.
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Within days of the recall election, San Francisco Unified School District officials announced that they would extend the search for a new superintendent through the summer to replace the outgoing Dr. Matthews.
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