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Families and community groups urge SFUSD to pass AROC MOU, oppose KIPP co‑location at Malcolm X
Summary
Community members representing students, teachers and local organizations packed public comment to press the San Francisco Unified School District to approve a memorandum of understanding with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center and to reject co‑location of a KIPP charter at Malcolm X Academy, saying the proposals threaten neighborhood schools and services.
Hundreds of speakers told the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education on May 8 that allowing a KIPP charter to co‑locate at Malcolm X Academy and delaying approval of an MOU with the Arab Resource and Organizing Center (AROC) would harm students and local schools.
The board heard repeated requests from parents, teachers and youth organizers who said AROC—an Arab community nonprofit—has provided Arabic language supports, cultural programming and youth services for years and that the district’s three‑year delay in scheduling the MOU amounted to an exclusionary practice. "AROC is a pillar in the community," said Jose Luis de Cumbajia of Coleman Advocates, urging the board to "put this on the agenda like it's supposed to be and make it happen." Lada Kiswani, identified in public comments as AROC's executive director, said her organization had been "smeared in the media" and urged the board to stand by values of equity and restore youth programming.
Speakers also urged the board to reject KIPP’s planned co‑location at Malcolm X Academy, saying the shared‑site plan would diminish classroom space, after‑school programs and services for students with special needs. "Co‑location strips us of this privilege," said Shaquille Kareem, a Malcolm X parent, arguing that competition from a charter school could push families and teachers out of the neighborhood. Teachers and site staff said the school recently met its reading goals and that enrollment‑based funding cuts would worsen if students leave.
Supporters of AROC included mission‑area principals, teachers and dozens of community groups. Robert Roth, reading a statement from Mission High School principal Eric Guthertz, urged board members to approve the MOU and said AROC "has been instrumental" in establishing the first Arabic pathway at Mission High School. Youth speakers described AROC programs as vital to immigrant students learning to navigate school and language barriers.
Opponents of the MOU were discussed in public testimony as well. Several speakers referenced concerns raised by other community organizations; some commenters accused outside groups of pressuring the board. Jewish Voice for Peace and other groups spoke in favor of AROC; other organizations named in testimony (including the Jewish Community Relations Council) were criticized by some speakers for opposing the MOU.
The board did not vote on the AROC MOU or on the Malcolm X co‑location during the May 8 meeting. President Mendoza McDonald acknowledged extensive public testimony and moved the meeting forward to other agenda items. The board’s next steps were not specified on the record that evening.
Provenance: Public‑comment block from SEG 1372 through SEG 2050 (AROC testimony) and the Malcolm X public‑comment block SEG 2054 through SEG 2490 (co‑location testimony).
