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Supervisors agree to place school-board pay amendment on June ballot after debate
Summary
The Board voted to submit a charter amendment that would allow the School Board to set member compensation up to half a first-year teacher's salary; the board voted 8-3 to table an alternate draft and approve the version that lets the school board set pay.
San Francisco ' The Board of Supervisors voted to submit a charter amendment to the June ballot that would allow the San Francisco Board of Education to set member compensation up to one-half of a first-year San Francisco Unified School District teacher's salary.
The board approved a motion to table an alternate draft and submit the version that removes a city-funded pay provision and permits the school board itself to set compensation, capped at one-half of a first-year teacher's salary. The motion to table item 43 and approve item 44 passed 8-3.
Supervisor Kim, the measure's author, said the revised draft responds to concerns raised in committee and by the school board and gives the School Board the discretion to decide whether and how much to pay members. "We have taken out the subsection that states that the city will pay for the board of education member salary," Kim said.
Supporters argued the amendment makes the Board of Education more accessible to working people who cannot afford to serve on an unpaid board. Supervisor David Campos, a former general counsel to the School District, said modest pay would broaden the pool of candidates and improve representation of communities that lack the financial means to serve on the board.
Opponents said the timing was poor, given ongoing budget cuts, and warned of a potential "slippery slope" that could extend compensation to other appointed boards and commissions. Supervisor Scott Wiener said he supported the amendment as now drafted because it does not require payments and places the decision with the school board.
The board also confirmed on the record that another local measure petition had qualified for the June ballot, allaying some members' concerns about running a single local item this election.
With the board's action, the charter amendment version in item 44 will go to the ballot for voter consideration. The ordinance ties the cap to "one-half the annual salary of the first-year teacher in the San Francisco Unified School District" and removes a consumer price index escalator from the draft.
