One of the co-founders stated that “Almost everyone in San Francisco was for renaming schools.”
CNN votes for San Francisco recall campaign co-founder says it was about incompetence
One of the co-founders stated that “Almost everyone in San Francisco was for renaming schools.”
Faauuga Moliga and Gabriela Lopez, who were the school board members that was ejected, were accused by parents of having skewed priorities. The members advocated for renaming 44 schools that were deemed offensive, even though public schools were closed.
Looijen stated that she believes everyone is in favor of renaming schools and closing the opportunity gaps, but these should not be the top items on the agenda.
The problem was that the work wasn’t done on time. The house was on fire and the workers were busy changing the name above it. We were like “Hey, we have to take care of that fire first.” Then we’ll do renaming. Looijen stated that everyone wants to do renaming but not now.
Siva Raj, co-founder, stated that children from disadvantaged backgrounds were the most affected. Raj and Looijen both have children in different school districts. Looijen had his children back at school, while Raj’s weren’t.
“His high schooler didn’t return to school for a whole year. It was frustrating. It was unfair,” Looijen stated earlier in the segment.
Raj stated that his son, who was an honor student, had dropped to the bottom of his grades and was now “borderline depressed.” Raj said that he was one among many children with mental health problems.
It was crucial to get him back to an in-person learning experience. This was not a priority for the school district. Raj stated that the main problem was the disconnect between what was happening on the ground and the struggles and sufferings we saw in our own homes. Raj also said that the school district did not acknowledge this as a problem.
Smerconish pointed out that the local story had received a lot national attention before asking “What is the message?”
Looijen stated that “the message is you have to do your job” because “the best social justice, good educational is the best social injustice.” Raj said that after speaking with so many residents, one thing was clear: people expect their leaders put their children first.
Raj stated, “The only ideology that matters” is the one that has the greatest impact on students’ educational outcomes.
Smerconish asked the couple about their plans for the future and whether they plan to recall any other members. The recall campaign’s founders stated that they first need to find the right candidates for replacing those who had been recalled.
Some saw the vote on the school board as a wake up call for Democrats. Donny Deutsch, host on “On Brand with Donny Deutsch”, stated last Wednesday that the vote showed Democrats need to get out of their “super-wokeness.”
The LA Times, Newsweek and other newspapers warned California Democrats about similar results in the midterm election.
Newsweek headlined, “San Francisco school board recall is an alarm for progressives.” According to the LA Times, “very bad” could happen for Democrats if November’s outcome is announced.
