Getting Around in the Bay Area: Pay As You Go?

By Heather Mack

California is home to some of the worst traffic in the nation, particularly in the Bay Area, and that’s only one part of our transportation problem. Aging infrastructure, debt-ridden public transportation agencies and an ever-increasing population dominate the discussion on how to grapple with the state’s ways of getting around.

This morning, as The Club hosted another panel discussion on transportation in California, a new plan aimed at curbing congesting and increasing revenues is about to roll out with a series of toll roads planned for the Bay Area. However, the plan has received heavy criticism that the benefits of the pay roads will go to the very people who epitomize congestion conundrums: solo drivers.

Is the Sit/Lie Law Really Care Not Cash, Part II?

Now that Gavin Newsom’s run for lieutenant governor is official, the issues that will define his final months as mayor and carry over into his possible new role have come into focus. During his April 7, 2010, visit to the club, he referenced several topics that have since gained significant attention in the city.

Gavin Newsom catapulted himself to the public awareness beyond San Francisco in 2004 when he granted same-sex couples marriage licenses at the beginning of his term as mayor, but it was his work as a city supervisor and his stance on a far more alternative lifestyle that proved more controversial: homelessness.

California's Education Money Market

On March 4, thousands of people across the state marched and gathered in protest as part of the Day of Action to Defend Education, a culmination of determined rallying against budget cuts, fee hikes and various other impediments to education that have taken place consistently since 2002.

Here in the Bay Area, the throng of protesters were in full force: upwards of some 20,000 camped out loudly in front of San Francisco City Hall, the entrances to UC Berkeley and UC Santa Cruz were blocked in the morning, and a group of activists even took "taking it to the streets" to a whole new level by marching right on to Interstate 880, blocking traffic for more than an hour while waving signs and shouting.

The message was clear and strong: many people in California are fed up with the everlasting education crisis and demand action from the legislators. What is unclear is how it will be attained. After months of picketing, striking and walkouts, many are upping efforts to collaborate with all the major players, starting with local officials.

“I join the thousands of students, parents and teachers across California and here in San Francisco today calling for adequate, equitable education funding for our public schools and universities,” San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom announced on his web site.

Newsom, a candidate for California lieutenant governor, went on to explain that the city has forged new partnerships with public schools and community colleges to guarantee universal pre-school and after-school programs for every child in the community, as well as a place in community colleges. If elected lieutenant governor, Newsom will serve as an ex-officio member on the UC Board of Regents and the CSU Board of Trustees.

While the protests were successful in garnering local attention on the streets and making headlines across the country, the action ironically took place the same day President Obama announced that California did not qualify for the $700 million share in federal Race to the Top funds, the single largest pool of discretionary funding for education reform in U.S. history.

The program, which stressed collaboration between government, union leaders, teachers and parents, has been a dividing point for many. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was a strong proponent for the program and urged all parties to join in the application process, but some critics argued that a federal fix was not the answer for a state with a uniquely complicated system and referenced the widely perceived failure of the No Child Left Behind Act. Many argued that the reason the Golden State missed out on the funds was because of its complicated standards adoption procedures, the resistance to federal reform from union leaders and the decision of several districts not to participate in the application in the program.

For California, the difficulty in securing funds for education is systemic. The state ranks 49th in per-capita spending per student and already faces a $20 billion deficit. The inability to raise revenue without raising taxes has worn down the system considerably, so missing out on package deals like the Race to the Top program are a big blow.

To make matters worse, 188 California schools – 12 of which are in San Francisco – got the news March 8 that they were lowest of the low-performing schools, meaning that they will be required to undergo major changes: they will either be closed, converted to a charter school or undergo a complete overhaul of instruction.

In spite of the recent designation, Newsom referenced high points of city education, but emphasized the need for statewide collaboration. “Despite these difficult economic times, over the last two years and this year, we will have invested $49 million of our city’s rainy day reserve funds in our public schools to stave off teacher layoffs,” Newsom said. “But it’s still not enough. Cities and public school districts can’t do it alone.”

It won’t be revealed until April exactly why we didn’t get a piece of the pie in California, but many people are quick to suggest that one reason is that constant fights over the best fix for education seems to take precedence over adhering to federal standards.

--By Heather Mack

San Francisco Student Truancy: The Value of Showing Up

Skipping school may have once been viewed as a relatively small transgression committed by all capricious youth at least some point in their lives, but some San Francisco students today have taken it to a new level that is anything but innocuous. The days of Ferris Bueller-like escapades have lost their novelty, and for the repeat offenders of San Francisco’s beleaguered public school system, truancy is considered a crime.

Which is exactly why the system is getting money to make sure students stay in school. San Francisco has the worst truancy record in the state, but recent citywide efforts, including parental prosecution, have appeared to be working, prompting more federal dollars to be funneled to the cause, spurring the launch of more programs to combat truancy. The anti-truancy program at Bayview Hunters Point YMCA – which has served 124 formerly truant teens since its inception two years ago – will receive $238,000 over two years, enabling it to help more students at a time trying to re-enter school.
And if more kids are staying in school, the district gets more federal dollars – over $370,000 was tied to increased enrollment in San Francisco public schools last year.

Mayor Gavin Newsom launched the new Truancy Assessment and Referral Center (TARC) January 15 to address chronic truancy and close the achievement gap in San Francisco schools. TARC will be a citywide, one-stop location at 44 Gough St, allowing police to hand off truant youth to the San Francisco Unified School District and community-based organizations. TARC will assess youth – who are put on a "most wanted" list for truancy – and make the appropriate referrals to reengage them in the academic process. This innovative collaboration is the first-in-the-nation project that leverages existing city resources to specifically target young people who are chronically absent. It is also partnered with SF Juvenile Probation Department (SFJPD), San Francisco Police Department (SFPD), Department of Children, Youth, and their Families (DCYF), Huckleberry Youth Services, and Urban Service YMCA.

“The 21st century economy demands an educated, prepared workforce,” Newsom said in a statement. “We must rise to this challenge and close the graduation gap that afflicts underprivileged communities in San Francisco.” (Newsom will speak at The Commonwealth Club on April 7, discussing a range of his citywide programs in a conversation with Club President and CEO Dr. Gloria Duffy.)

Though this comprehensive program has thus far been successful, 5,000 kids are still not coming to class on a regular basis, a staggering number that is, remarkably, down from 5,500 – 10 percent of the city's students – in 2007 when District Attorney Kamala Harris started fighting the issue in earnest by implementing the Truancy Reduction Initiative and set up one of the first truancy courts in California. Harris has made combating truancy a main focus of her administration, after learning about four years ago that 94 percent of the city’s homicide victims under the age of 25 were high school dropouts, most of which had problems starting at the elementary level.

“As San Francisco’s District Attorney, I see what happens on the back end of school failures: young lives are being lost to street violence or prison time at an appalling rate,” said Harris in a statement. “Children will either get their education in the streets or in school. Combating truancy is a smart approach to crime prevention.” Harris plans to take her initiative statewide – if she wins the election for the California attorney general.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, "students with the highest truancy rates have the lowest academic achievement rates, and because truants are the youth most likely to drop out of school, they have high drop-out rates as well." It is estimated that that high school dropouts cost Californians over $46 billion over the lifetimes of the 120,000 students who fail to graduate from each class, including nearly $10 billion from increased crime alone. By addressing truancy, the city hopes to close the graduation gap. In San Francisco last year, 32% of African American,  and 19% of Caucasian and Latino students didn’t graduate public high school.

The Commonwealth Club will host a special program on keeping California's schools competitive. Learn more about the March 31, 2010, event.

--By Heather Mack