Leland Yee: It's Time to Build Parkside School

In 1997 San Francisco voters passed Proposition A, authorizing a $90 million bond for school modernization and reconstruction. This measure passed overwhelmingly because of the wide support from residents, politicians, civic organizations because everyone recognized the needs of children.

Scores of meetings were held throughout San Francisco and at the Board of Education to develop a "priority list" of items identified in the Proposition A bond. Although that list was not included in the language of the bond measure, it was understood to be the accepted program for use of the bond money. So the question arises as to why, after four years, with Parkside School as the number two item on the list, the school is still not built?

The answer will vary depending on who is asked. The Board of Education will point to the state. The neighbors will point to the Board of Education. The state will point to the Board of Education's lack of follow-through on its request for matching funds in December, 1998. With all the finger pointing going on, it's no wonder children in the Sunset District are still without their new school.

I have been holding hearings at the Neighborhood Services and Parks Committee of the Board of Supervisors these past few weeks to try to get to the bottom of the problem.

Clearly, mistakes have been made by not following the priorities established in Proposition A. Delays in design components of the new Parkside School have also contributed to the problem.

While I understand that the state is directing its matching monies to new construction in Southern California, that does not address why the local funds of Proposition A were not used to build Parkside. Nor does it explain why the school district is not, so far, discussing the $1.1 million available from the 1990 Proposition B Specialty Property Tax measure.

Of the $90 million 1997 Proposition A Bond money authorized, roughly $60 million has already been spent on projects with a lower priority than Parkside. The remaining $30 million is yet to be issued.

At the last meeting of the Neighborhood Services and Parks Committee Oct. 16, a resolution I authored was passed to the full Board. It states, "The Board of Supervisors urges the SF Unified School District to honor their explicit promise to the voters of the city and county of San Francisco, and that it is the policy of the SF Board of Supervisors that none of the balance of the 1997 Proposition A bonds for the SFUSD be approved for sale unless the SFUSD guarantees to apply these bond funds to the exact identified school projects, to be completed in the priority order that was enumerated to the Board of Supervisors in 1997, and that the board urges the SFUSD to provide a timeline detailing the completion of each school project and finally that the Board of Supervisors urges the SFUSD to complete the original projects before using 1997 Proposition A funding for new projects or other purposes."

It is important for the Board of Supervisors to adopt this resolution. We have a moral obligation to the voters of the City to carry out their wishes.

The SFUSD has failed in its attempts to build Parkside School and now the Board of Supervisors must step up to the challenge.

The children of San Francisco cannot wait for more "studies" or for "matching funds" that may never materialize.

It is now our responsibility to provide children with the facilities they need to enhance their educational opportunities.