School's in
The runoff may turn on something the mayor has no direct authority over: public education.

By Tali Woodward

A FEW DAYS after mayoral candidate Matt Gonzalez made it into the runoff election, one parent posted a message on the Yahoo! discussion board sfschools saying, "I think the guy actively dislikes children." –The statement was spurred by Gonzalez's vote against a popular proposal before the San Francisco Board of Supervisors that would direct up to $60 million a year in city funds to the public school system. That vote – which Gonzalez says was about fiscal prudence, not support for education – has become an issue of contention in a mayor's race that's increasingly focused on the public schools.

Margaret Brodkin, director of Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth, calls the attention being paid to education "unprecedented."

But the debate isn't as simple as who does or does not like children (though, for the record, Gonzalez told us he does like them). Many of those focused on public school issues, including Brodkin, are agonizing over the choice between Gonzalez and Gavin Newsom, the candidate of the city's more conservative forces.

Newsom's divisive stand on poverty issues has made him a pariah with many left-leaning voters, but he did support the school funding measure and has remained distant from the San Francisco school board divide that has been irking so many parents, while Gonzalez is politically allied with one board faction.

It's odd enough that Newsom, who claims to be the more fiscally responsible of the two candidates, voted for a measure that identifies no source of funding, while his opponent, whom Newsom tries to cast as a dangerous lefty, refused to. But it's odder still that school issues may sway some people who have long identified with the San Francisco left to help usher in a mayor who disagrees with many of their fundamental political beliefs.

With polls showing the race too close to call, the conflict could be a decisive factor in who becomes the city's next mayor.

City to schools

Schools have been an issue throughout the mayor's race, with each contender weighing in on matters that are typically left to the school board. Education came to the forefront on Election Day, when the charter amendment authored by Sup. Tom Ammiano came before the Board of Supervisors. Historically, there has been little connection between city government and the San Francisco Unified School District, an independent agency out of the city's purview. But Ammiano, a former public school teacher who was then still in the mayor's race, thought the time had come to help the district cope with slashed state and federal funding. He drew up a charter amendment that would phase in a subsidy starting in 2004 and capping out at $60 million a year four years later.

Both Gonzalez and Sup. Aaron Peskin voted not to place the measure on the March ballot. They argued that set-asides hamstring officials and that allocating $60 million would be particularly unwise when the city faces budget shortfalls for the foreseeable future.

"Assume for a second that Schwarzenegger fulfills his promise to fund public education," Gonzalez later told the Bay Guardian. Even if health and human services were struggling, city officials wouldn't be able to tinker with the money earmarked for the SFUSD.

Gonzalez also pointed out that this year, when he oversaw the budget process, the city made its biggest commitment to the schools: $8 million. Newsom, he said, did not try to direct money to the schools even when the city was flush. Gonzalez has drafted his own proposal for school funding: it would make it a "policy priority" to increase funding to the district by $4 million a year through 2006.

But he's still getting hammered for the vote. Charter amendment proponents emphasize that without a binding funding requirement, the city is unlikely to find money for education. Some parents who generally like Gonzalez have felt the need to reconsider how they will vote in December. Another chunk of people have been impressed by what they view as a politically risky, yet principled, stand.

Jane Sullivan, cofounder of the group Moms for Matt (and a Bay Guardian employee in the late '80s), told us, "As a matter of public policy, I don't like these dedicated pots. I would like to see twice as much money thrown at schools each year," but it shouldn't be set aside. Sullivan said it's disturbing how the charter vote has been used to paint Gonzalez as somehow antischools.

Indeed, there's evidence these recent events aren't helping the candidate. United Educators of San Francisco, which represents teachers in the public schools and had endorsed Ammiano in the general election, voted Nov. 19 not to endorse anyone in the runoff. President Dennis Kelly told us Gonzalez's opposition to the charter amendment "really damaged him."

Brodkin, who is officially staying out of the mayor's race, explained the emphasis on the charter amendment in an e-mail: "I believe, in terms of the Mayor's race, that it is THE litmus test on education issues. Everything else is way secondary. It really doesn't matter that much, for instance, what Gavin thinks of the diversity index, or what Matt thinks of the pace of implementing small schools. They have no direct influence over these policies."

Acrimony over Ackerman

There's evidence the criticism of Gonzalez has more to do with his school board alliances than with the charter amendment.

Caroline Grannan has two kids in San Francisco schools and is a close watcher of the school board. An outspoken critic of Edison Schools Inc., the for-profit company that runs a Noe Valley elementary school, she almost single-handedly ran a public relations blitz against Edison from her home computer a couple years ago.

"I'm not a fan of a lot of things Newsom has done, particularly [the welfare-slashing measure] Care Not Cash," Grannan said. "I agree with much of the Green Party platform."

However, for Grannan, who voted for Ammiano in the November election, this mayor's race is about the schools – and next month she plans to cast her vote for Newsom.

Yes, Grannan is dismayed by Gonzalez's funding vote, but she admits her reservations about him actually have more to do with his ties to the more radical flank of the school board. "What's looming in my face right now is this effort to get Ackerman out," she said.

Green Party members Mark Sanchez and Sarah Lipson and Democrat Eric Mar have repeatedly run up against Superintendent Arlene Ackerman and their fellow school board members over the past year. They've clashed over the effort to start more small secondary schools, the district's approach to testing, and the closure of Urban Pioneer Experimental Academy.

People on both sides concede that the "war" is often more about personality conflicts than substantive policy disagreements: Gonzalez's allies on the board have criticized Ackerman for being too authoritarian, and she slams them as rabble-rousers who make her job harder. The acrimony reached a climax in late September, when Ackerman called a press conference to insist she would not be "run out" of the district, but the tensions continue.

Some parents fear that a Mayor Gonzalez would fan the flames and, in the event of a vacancy on the school board, would appoint someone committed to ousting the superintendent. Gonzalez supporters don't necessarily agree. Sullivan told us anyone who follows the school district is upset by the divisiveness. But she thinks Gonzalez could help repair the school board split.

When asked his opinion of Ackerman, Gonzalez is measured. "I think Ms. Ackerman has brought some great reforms but has some difficulty with the fact that she has a board of directors," he said Nov. 11. Later he told us his opinion isn't that important anyway: "I don't see the mayor's role as influencing who is superintendent."

Political conundrum

Part of the difficulty for Grannan and other voters stems from the fact that on most issues facing the city, they are more closely aligned with Gonzalez than with his opponent. In fact, all seven members of the school board are probably to the left of Newsom.

School board veteran Dan Kelly, a longtime ally of Ammiano, has nonetheless endorsed Newsom. "I never thought I'd be supporting Gavin Newsom in a mayor's race," he told us. "I'm sticking up for the schools here."

If these usual-lefties vote for Newsom, they'll help elect a mayor who disagrees with many of their fundamental political beliefs.

In his education platform, Newsom emphasizes the need for neighborhood schools and for increased private sector involvement in the school system. Newsom, who did not return calls, has also hesitated to propose any new ways the city might generate more money for the schools, while Gonzalez frequently emphasizes that large corporations need to pay their fair share in taxes to build a strong school system (see "Dissecting the Newsom Agenda," 11/19/03).

Gonzalez's education platform is much shorter than Newsom's, but it's more in keeping with progressive ideals, and it goes where Newsom's won't: to the root inequities in San Francisco. For instance, Gonzalez's platform says that "the most effective means of creating integrated and diverse schools is to create integrated and diverse neighborhoods. This will require affordable housing throughout the city."

Gonzalez is critical of high-stakes testing and says he wants to promote diversity, small secondary schools, and "commercial-free education." He supports letting noncitizen parents vote in school board elections, providing free Muni passes to students, and pushing the school district to abide by the city's Sunshine Ordinance.

Some parents say although they would prefer for Gonzalez to support the charter amendment, they can't fathom voting for Newsom.

Hunter Cutting, a public school parent who was Ammiano's spokesperson in the general election, made his first post to the Yahoo! message board Nov. 7. "While I think that Gonzalez would be a better mayor for San Francisco than Gavin Newsom, I also think the education community should be very careful about throwing their support behind Gonzalez without first getting a clear commitment from him to support our public schools. Whatever his 'real' reasons were in opposing the schools amendment, he is just plain wrong on one of the most critically important schooling issues to come before the city in 50 years." More recently Cutting, who has helped organize two fundraisers for Gonzalez, wrote, "I think folks should support Gonzo and at the same time they should push him to support the charter amendment."

Ammiano issued a similar statement Nov. 24: "While I differ with Supervisor Gonzalez on some issues including schools, he is clearly the best of our two choices for mayor. Overall his leadership would be better for the City, and I strongly endorse his candidacy for mayor."

Some regret that the schools issue has come to loom so large in the mayor's race.

"I actually think it's quite unfortunate that this flap has sort of clouded the larger issues," said Sullivan, who emphasized that health care, parks, and housing are also hugely important issues in the city today. "What's good for families is going to be good for everyone. And I firmly believe that Gonzalez has the leadership and vision we need."

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