San Francisco mayor London Breed announced her support for the recall of three city school-board members on Wednesday.
“Sadly, our school board’s priorities have often been severely misplaced,” Breed said in a statement. “During such a difficult time, the decisions we make for our children will have long term impacts.”
A group of parents gathered enough signatures to hold a recall election for three school board members following months of school closures, as well as an effort to rename schools christened after historical figures deemed problematic.
The recall election is scheduled for February 15, 2022. Those on the ballot are board President Gabriela López, Vice President Faauuga Moliga, and Alison Collins, who removed from a leadership position on the board over past Twitter comments about Asians.
Breed will appoint the replacement of any school board member who is recalled. General elections for the school board are set for November 2022.
Breed herself appointed Moliga to the school board in 2018 to fill a vacant spot, and Moliga was elected to a four-year term shortly afterwards.
“The mayor seems unconcerned with removing the first and only Pacific Islander to hold office in San Francisco,” Moliga told the San Francisco Chronicle. Moliga said he had “authored resolutions that will retain teachers” and improve services in various components of the district.
San Francisco schools saw some of the longest closures in the country, with students learning from home for almost an entire year beginning in March 2020. The city sued its own school board in February 2021 in an attempt to reopen the district for in-person learning.
Breed backed the lawsuit against the school board and criticized the board when it announced an effort to rename schools while students were still learning remotely.
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