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Welcome back to the “Meet the Candidates” series for the school board, where we ask each candidate one question every two weeks. They must answer the question in 100 words or fewer. We will link to longer answers.
Eleven candidates are vying for four seats on the city’s seven-person school board. The election will take place on Nov. 5. Non-citizen parents of children living in the city are permitted to vote in school board elections, and can find information on doing so here.
On Aug. 23, then-President of the San Francisco Unified School District school board Lainie Motamedi resigned, more than two years after being appointed by Mayor London Breed, citing “personal and health reasons.” That same day, Mayor Breed swore in Phil Kim to serve on the board, and Vice President Matt Alexander became President.
Kim’s extensive background in charter education — including a more than decade-long stint as a teacher, then senior director of STEM education at KIPP charter schools — has raised concerns among the teachers union and other groups opposed to charters, and opened up questions about how public school districts should relate to charter schools.
This week, we asked the candidates:
How successful, in your view, have charter schools been when it comes to serving San Francisco students, and do you support their expansion?
Most of the candidates do not currently support expanding charter schools in San Francisco, and say the district needs to address ongoing budget problems, a decline in enrollment and school closures. But some candidates say select charter schools have succeeded in narrowing equity gaps, and can be models for how to improve public education in the city.
Madeline Krantz
- Job: Dual enrollment student at CCSF and SJSU
- Age: 19
- Residency: Inner Sunset
- Educational background: Synergy School for K-8, Abraham Lincoln High School, experience working as teacher’s aide in synagogue and currently working toward education degree
- SFUSD experience: Worked with SFUSD students as part of Teacher Academy at Lincoln
- Languages: English
Several charter schools in San Francisco have been successful, and we should see what we can learn from them that could help all of SFUSD. But especially in years when we know we’re facing big budget cuts and even school closures, I don’t think we should expand charter schools if that means taking away funding from public schools that are struggling. We need to make sure we are taking care of all our students first.
Laurance Lee
- Job: Small business owner, L3 Construction LLC
- Age: 54
- Residency: Noe Valley
- Educational background: Went to SFUSD K-12, bachelor’s degree in chemistry and history of science from Harvard University, graduate work at Stanford University
- SFUSD experience: SFUSD Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee, extended family who are SFUSD student and educators
- Languages: English
Charter schools have been good for about 7,000 students and, at the same time, they have actually been losing students faster than our public schools over the past few years. I don’t support charter school expansion.
As a K-12 SFUSD graduate, my focus as a School Board candidate has been on helping our 49,000 non-charter students. I have been working to restore faith in our bond facilities spending by restarting the Citizens Bond Oversight Committee* [a group that reviews how the district’s bond funds are spent] and working with the new auditors. I have been advocating for low-cost means to address chronic absenteeism, literacy outcomes, and improving student safety. We … read more here
Endorsed by: SF Guardians, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, former School Board President Emily Murase … read more here
Supryia Ray
- Job: Attorney and writer
- Age: 51
- Residency: Sunset
- Educational background: Bachelor’s degree in political science and French from University of Miami, summa cum laude; juris doctor degree from Harvard Law School, magna cum laude
- SFUSD experience: Parent of two SFUSD students; Jefferson Elementary parent-teacher association leadership; parent advocate on issues such as outdoor learning and school safety
- Languages: French, some Spanish
Like all schools, the quality and success of charter schools vary considerably. Some of SFUSD’s unique charters operate in admirable ways, offering families alternatives they may need. But every school funded by public funds should be subject to appropriate oversight and accountability. If elected, I will insist on that.
SFUSD is in a fiscal crisis and is reducing its overall number of schools. We must make the transitions as smooth as possible for affected families and students. For this reason, I do not currently support expanding the number of charter or regular public schools (apart from Mission Bay).
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, SF Guardians, SF Parent Action, GrowSF … read more here
Matt Alexander
- Job: Community organizer at Faith in Action Bay Area, incumbent board member
- Age: 54
- Residency: Outer Sunset
- Educational background: Master’s degree in education
- SFUSD experience: Teacher and principal; current school board vice president
- Languages: English, Spanish
I’m opposed to new charter schools in San Francisco. The original intent of charter school laws when they were passed 35 years ago was to provide a space for grassroots innovation, led by teachers, which would then benefit the public school system. Many of the charters in San Francisco do fit this description. Educators at some San Francisco charters have unionized. But charter laws generally have been co-opted by corporate entities intent on undermining public education. Especially when San Francisco is facing a declining population of children, and SFUSD’s enrollment is declining, we don’t need any new charters.
Endorsed by: UESF, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
Min Chang
- Job: CEO at healthcare organization Homebridge
- Age: 58
- Residency: San Francisco
- Educational background: Ph.D. in international affairs and master’s degree in international public policy from Johns Hopkins University; master’s degree in management from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Sloan; bachelor’s degrees from the University of Pennsylvania
- SFUSD experience: Doing outreach in SFUSD and attending school board meetings.
- Languages: English, Chinese, French
My focus is on SFUSD. We should raise performance of schools/curriculum by bringing back the basics like math, science, history, civics, the arts; expand accelerated/gifted programs and keep language immersion. We should support educators, especially now given the tremendous demands placed on them with pending school closures, shortage of teachers, and teachers pulling double-duty. We should work hard to keep schools open, not close them, and provide a secure environment for kids to learn without fear of bullying and harassment. Until improvements are made, parents need choices and charter schools are options, but my focus is on improving … read more here
Endorsed by: The San Francisco Republican Party, San Francisco Young Republicans, The Republican Club of San Francisco, San Francisco Briones Society … read more here
Virginia Cheung
- Job: SFUSD parent, co-founder and vice president of Give a Beat Foundation (volunteer work) and previously director of advancement at Wu Yee Children’s Services
- Age: 41
- Residency: District 11
- Educational background: Bachelor’s degree in social ecology (first in family to graduate college).
- SFUSD experience: Parent of Alice Fong Yu student; Wah Mei BASE! ExCEL program Parent Advisory Board
- Languages: Basic Cantonese and Mandarin, conversational French
While charter schools can meet specific community needs, expanding them should not be a district-wide strategy. Charter schools divert funding from public education, cost more to maintain, and can isolate communities. Rather than expanding charter schools, we must invest in SFUSD’s public schools, which are accountable to voters and serve all children, especially the most vulnerable.
Public schools foster equity and community, ensuring every child has access to a quality education. Strengthening public schools supports teachers, improves learning environments, and uses taxpayer dollars more effectively. Our public schools must remain a public good for all students to ensure a stronger, … read more here
Endorsed by: Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club, Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, School Board Commissioner Jenny Lam … read more here
Lefteris Eleftheriou
- Job: Regional sales manager, Sanyo Denki
- Age: 56
- Residency: District 7
- Educational background: Bachelor’s degree in engineering, master’s degree in education
- SFUSD experience: No direct experience, but previously ran an art school in Belmont.
- Languages: English, Japanese, Greek
My goal is to improve the quality of education provided by the SFUSD. We live in a free market economy and so if the SFUSD is providing an inferior product or service, then the competition will identify this as a business opportunity and step in. That is why we are seeing a rise in alternative education models, such as private schools, charter schools, homeschooling, etc. There is nothing inherently wrong with this; it’s just how competition in a free market works. Having said that, as a member of the BOE, and having worked with some of the world’s best performing … read more here
Parag Gupta
- Job: Chief program officer at Mercy Housing
- Age: 46
- Residency: San Francisco
- Educational background: Bachelor’s degree with honors from the University of Chicago; master’s degree in Public Policy from Harvard University
- SFUSD experience: Parent of recent CIS De Avila grad; School Site Council chair; 8th grade algebra focus group; drafting SFUSD policy priorities for SF Democrats as SF DCCC member; developing financial strategy for Stupski Foundation programs to help students, including SFUSD students, complete postsecondary education
- Languages: Basic Spanish, basic French, conversational Hindi
Research suggests charter school expansion adversely impacts the financial stability of school districts. Given the particularly precarious financial situation of SFUSD, I do not currently support the expansion of charter schools.
As for success, each charter school’s performance must be evaluated individually as schools are governed differently and serve different students. Looking at ’21-’22 outcomes, KIPP and Mission Prep, who primarily serve Black and Brown students from low-income families, have performed well in Math and English Language Arts scores compared to peer SFUSD schools. We should understand this success and what we may be able to replicate within our public … read more here
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Senator Scott Wiener, UESF … read more here
Ann Hsu
- Job: Head of School at Bertrand D Hsu American & Chinese Bicultural Academy
- Age: 57
- Residency: Richmond District
- Educational background: Bachelor’s degree in electrical engineering from Pennsylvania State University, master’s degree in electrical engineering and master’s in business from University of California, Berkeley
- SFUSD experience: Two sons in SFUSD; SFUSD Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee chair; Galileo High School PTSA president; active in recall efforts; appointed by Mayor Breed to school board in 2022 and served until early 2023
- Languages: English; Chinese, Mandarin
SFUSD has 12 charter schools as of June 2024; all the charter schools are located in the city center and eastside.
The composition of charter schools is 55% Latino, 15% Black and only 5% Asians. Evidence from standardized test scores and AP participation rates, while not conclusive, indicate that Black and Latino students do much better in some charter schools than in SFUSD.
As a public school district, our focus should be on student success, and therefore, I support any school that educates students well and gives families options for their children’s education.
Jaime Huling
- Job: Deputy city attorney, formerly in San Francisco and now in Oakland
- Age: 42
- Residency: Glen Park; previously Hayes Valley and 13 years in the Mission
- Educational background: Juris doctor degree from Stanford Law School with distinction; bachelor’s in history from Northwestern University with honors, minor in gender studies
- SFUSD experience: Parent of SFUSD Spanish immersion school student; worked with Mission-based nonprofit ScholarMatch to help first-gen, low-income students of color attend college, including SFUSD students
- Languages: English, some Spanish and French
The school district is on the verge of bankruptcy and takeover by the state due to its budget crisis, worsened by declining enrollment. I don’t support the expansion of charter schools, which would take students and funding away from the district and lead to the closing of more SFUSD schools.
Still, SFUSD can learn from what’s worked in San Francisco charter schools to improve student achievement. For example, Mission Preparatory School’s success in closing the racial achievement gap in math shows the effectiveness of increased instructional minutes.
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, UESF, SF Parent Action, GrowSF … read more here
John Jersin
- Job: Co-founder of education nonprofit Jersin Foundation, previously a LinkedIn executive
- Age: 40
- Residency: Noe Valley
- Educational background: California public schools from kindergarten through college; bachelor’s degree in computer science from the University of California, San Diego, master’s degree in computer science from Stanford University
- SFUSD experience: Brother-in-law of SFUSD teacher; SFUSD Citizens’ Bond Oversight Committee; parent of two young children who will attend SFUSD schools
- Languages: English, learning Mandarin
There are cases where charter schools can perform well, especially when focused on under-resourced communities which should be a key focus. However, the danger of a growing number of charter schools is a slow replacement of the entire public system with a privatized system. This has happened and led to disaster elsewhere, and absolutely must not be allowed to happen here. Especially in light of school closures happening right now, I do not support increasing the number of charter schools in San Francisco.
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, UESF, GrowSF, TogetherSF Action … read more here
Candidates are ordered alphabetically but rotated every question. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at anne@missionlocal.com.
Read the rest of the school board questions here, and the entire “Meet the Candidates” series here.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website. Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.
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Source: missionlocal.org