This is a critical election for San Francisco’s public schools, which are grappling with falling enrollment, staff shortages, and a fiscal crisis that could trigger a state takeover.
Four of the seven Board of Education seats are up for grabs, with 11 candidates vying for them.
A sales manager who ran a private art academy down the Peninsula for several years, Lefteris Eleftheriou answers our questions below.
For more background on the school district’s situation, our questionnaire methodology (such as: why do some links come with asterisks?), and an overview of all the candidates, please visit our main page. – Ida Mojadad and Alex Lash
The Frisc: If Superintendent Wayne deserves to be fired, what specifically has he done that can’t be blamed on longtime SFUSD dysfunction? If he deserves to stay, please describe why.
Lefteris Eleftheriou: Honestly, I don’t know enough about Wayne to judge whether he should be fired or not. But what I do know is that those in the upper ranks of the SFUSD echelon are not calling each other out for unethical behavior that could be putting our schools into further jeopardy. For example, my fellow Board of Education (BoE) candidates — Parag Gupta, Josh Jersin, Jaime Huling, and incumbent Matt Alexander — decided to enter into an alliance in exchange for the endorsement from the teachers’ union.*
This is appalling. And I find it even more appalling that Superintendent Wayne or members of our BoE are not pressuring them to drop out of the race. Instead, now BoE President Alexander and Superintendent Wayne felt it necessary to issue a joint statement* to the SFUSD repeating the same empty rhetoric that we hear so often from our politicians and demonstrates to me their inability to take the crisis we are in seriously. Former BoE President [Lainie] Motamedi seems to be trying to hold Wayne accountable but, from what I am reading online, she is not getting the support she needs from the SFUSD. This may be a good story for folks in the media to look into deeper.
What issue in SFUSD doesn’t get enough attention and what do you plan to do about it?
Corruption. There is widespread fraud and misuse of taxpayer money across our city, and this includes the SFUSD. As we all know, the budget is being poorly managed and the SFUSD is being forced to close schools and is at risk of a state takeover. No one mentions corruption in the media though. I plan to make all financial transactions public record.
All bank statements, tax filings, payroll records, invoices, receipts, etc., will be made available for audits and public scrutiny so we can decipher how, where, and when taxpayer money is being spent. Those responsible for the corruption will be uncovered and held accountable. This is how it’s done in the private sector and there is no reason it should not be done the same way with the SFUSD.
There’s been poor management, which everyone acknowledges, but you also allege fraud. Have you seen evidence? And you mention financial transactions: which ones are not yet public that should be made public?
I tend to equate government overspending with the fraud, waste, and abuse of taxpayer money. If fraud or corruption is too strong of a word, then please feel free to replace it with mismanagement or misuse. You asked me what issue in SFUSD does not get enough attention. My answer was corruption and fraud, because although it does exist it’s rarely spoken about and swept under the rug; i.e., it does not receive the attention it deserves.
I’ll give you an example to illustrate. When I ran my school, each child generated about $800 per year in net income to support a staff of around 12 people. In the SFUSD, each child generates about $26,000 each year to support approximately 10,000 employees. If you do the math, the SFUSD generates about 33 times more net income per child than my school did but has to support 8,333 times more employees!
Payroll is the single biggest expense in running a school and the SFUSD is horribly bloated and unsustainable in its current state. SFUSD staff are being paid for results that do not justify what they are earning. In other words, there are employees who are either being overpaid or do not deserve to be on payroll.
This is what I mean by “fraud.” It is gross mismanagement and misuse of taxpayer dollars, and school staff and officials must be held responsible for allowing it. If not, overspending will continue to worsen and ultimately the SFUSD will become insolvent, if it’s not there already.
Many candidates bring up the importance of more early education, intervention, and meeting basic needs. What do you recommend, under the current financial circumstances? Please be specific.
Yes, I do emphasize early education as a central theme of my campaign, because the earlier we can engage the parents and legal guardians regarding the creation of a nurturing and supportive home for children, the better. After all, “healthy children come from healthy homes,” and so by investing in our children, especially during the earlier, developmental years, the more this will pay off in the long term. There is a well known literacy study that concludes that if a child cannot read by the age of eight, then the chances of that child being incarcerated or on welfare by the age of 18 is exponentially greater.
[Editor’s note: We asked Eleftheriou to point to the “well known” literacy study. This was his reply, link included: “I don’t have the exact study, but the correlation between literacy levels and incarceration rates is well referenced on the web.”]
Therefore, the importance of early education cannot be overemphasized. Having said that, I owned and operated a school for eight years where we taught children as young as three years old, so I know what it takes to provide early education services to families. Therefore, after we resolve the fraud and abuse of taxpayer money, as I explained in the previous question, we will use our budget in positive and productive ways by investing in daycare services for children younger than five, provide early and extended care services for children older than five for parents who work, and offer parents financial assistance so that they can stay home and be with their children during the critical zero to five years of development.
There’s a chronic shortage of special education staff. Students have to go outside the district for services, which costs the district a lot of money. What do you propose to fix this?
When I operated my school, I taught and offered assistance for special-needs students, along with teaching other students who did not require such assistance. The key is to engage both parents and teachers to ensure the needs of these students are being met and everyone is moving in the same direction. As with early education, special education can be done simply and effectively alongside any other class.
SFUSD has a $1.3 billion budget and so there is no reason to have to go outside the district to provide these services. Therefore, I will address and fix the issue of special education the same way I will address early education.
Some observers say the state’s special-ed mandate is underfunded. Sounds like you believe the district gets all the money it needs. If elected, would you discourage the district from seeking more outside grants, etc., for special education?
First, I would like to know who the so-called “observers” are who believe the special ed mandate is underfunded. Can you please provide names of specific individuals or organizations? [Editor’s note: We responded with these links.]
Second, yes, I generally believe that there is no point in asking for more money if it will be poorly spent. That is the entire reason the SFUSD is insolvent.
If you’re elected, will you abide by the final decisions in December to close schools?
I will only abide by the final decision to close schools as a last resort. I will do everything in my power to fight corruption and salvage what remains of the budget to keep schools from closing.
How do you propose keeping families in the district after the school closure decisions and further budget cuts?
As I explained in the prior question, I will do everything in my power to keep schools from closing, minimizing the impact on families and preventing them from leaving the district. School closures only set a dangerous precedent, because they do not address the underlying cause of the budget crisis, which is fraudulent spending and misuse of taxpayer money. If we don’t resolve the underlying cause, and do it urgently, as I explained in the first question, then further school closures are inevitable.
Closing schools will free up facilities. What should the district do with those buildings? Do you support charter schools moving in?
Closing schools may free up facilities, but, again, they do not answer the question of how to spend our money more productively to keep schools from closing in the first place. Because our schools perform so poorly and families are leaving the district, other options such as charter schools, private schools, homeschooling, etc., are gaining in popularity.
It’s not necessary to allow charter schools to move in. Instead, it’s absolutely necessary to resolve corruption and our budget crisis and improve the quality of education the SFUSD offers so that our public schools can compete more effectively with charter schools.
What’s the No. 1 thing that SFUSD can do to improve campus safety for students and staff?
In the short term, to renew the MOU with the SFPD. In the long term, to invest in early childhood development to ensure we nurture and raise healthy, happy, and productive children.
It’s been two years since five-year academic reforms began: math, literacy, and high school curriculum. What’s gone right? What’s gone wrong? How should the board address the next three years of the plan?
The results speak for themselves: enrollment is at an all-time low, school closures are imminent, and corruption is running rampant. The next three years should not be anything like the previous five years; namely, unless the budget crisis and corruption are resolved and we return to fiscal responsibility, no reform or measure will improve math, literacy or high school curriculum.
I know this because I ran a school successfully for eight years, where I balanced the budget, hired and trained staff, designed and developed lesson plans and curriculum, and engaged with parents, teachers, and students on a daily basis to ensure they were receiving the best education possible.
Why didn’t you participate in the SF Parents forum in May and the Sept. 5 forum at the Main Library?
I declared my candidacy in May, shortly after the SF parents forum was announced, and so was unable to participate in time. I was not aware of [the] forum at the Main Library. I do not have a campaign staff and do not have wealthy donors or expensive ads. My campaign is completely grassroots without the aid or support of big money.
Click to jump to other candidates:
✏️ Matt Alexander
✏️ Min Chang
✏️ Virginia Cheung
✏️ Parag Gupta
✏️ Ann Hsu
✏️ Jaime Huling
✏️ John Jersin
✏️ Maddy Krantz
✏️ Laurance Lem Lee
✏️ Supryia Ray
Ida Mojadad covers education for The Frisc. Alex Lash is The Frisc’s editor in chief.