Supervisor Chu urges SFUSD to reconsider school assignment process, calls for PUC and debt hearings

Supervisor Chu used the July 8, 2008 roll call and introductions period to introduce a resolution urging the San Francisco Unified School District and Board of Education to review and revise the city's school assignment process and to request hearings on the city's debt and the Public Utilities Commission's Water System Improvement Program (WSIP).

Chu said the Civil Grand Jury had reported the existing assignment process has not achieved more diverse schools and that the system is perceived as cumbersome. The resolution urges the district to consider adding a geographic component to assignments, a change supervisors said could reduce long cross-town student commutes that some parents called unsustainable.

Chu also called for a hearing to review the city's level of debt, including general obligation and revenue bonds and overlapping obligations such as parcel taxes for the school district, saying the board had discussed financing many projects by issuing debt and should review the city's outstanding obligations.

Finally, Chu requested a hearing to review local progress under the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission's WSIP after a roughly 100-year-old, 8-inch water main break in the Taraval area the day before caused flooding, business interruptions and transit disruptions. Chu said PUC staff responded promptly, restoring service in under five hours, but that the board should examine planned local projects and the program timeline.

Action: Supervisor Chu introduced a resolution urging SFUSD to reconsider its school assignment policy and requested hearings on city debt and PUC WSIP; items were referred as indicated on the record.