Board honors 110-mile 'broken pencil' walk and hears call for teacher-housing study

The San Francisco Unified School District board on Aug. 12 recognized educators and community members who undertook a 110-mile “broken pencil” walk to Sacramento to publicize cuts to school supplies and state funding.

The recognition honored LaDonna VanDiver, fifth-grade teacher Kelly Clark and Principal Sandy Lee of Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy, speakers said. The walkers told the board they carried the school site’s remaining $32 in pennies to the Governor’s Mansion to dramatize classroom supply shortfalls and to press for education funding. Speakers described daytime temperatures in the 90s and widespread public support during the march.

Public comment during the meeting also included a request to approve a district study on affordable teacher housing. The speaker supporting the study detailed options under consideration including surveying teachers about housing preferences, examining surplus district property for possible housing use, and short-term measures such as first-and-last-month rental assistance or below-market rentals. The speaker noted the mayor had launched a first-time homebuyer program that had allocated “over a million dollars,” but that a $20,000 subsidy remains insufficient for most teachers to purchase in the city.

Board members thanked the walkers for their advocacy and said they would place a presentation of survey results and related highlights on a future agenda. The board encouraged public support for student and teacher readiness as the new school year approached.

The recognition and housing-study request were presented as community-driven efforts to improve teacher recruitment and classroom resources; no formal budget action was taken on the housing study at the meeting.