San Francisco School Board Removes School Names Including Washington, Lincoln, and… Feinstein?
Who saw this coming?
The San Francisco school board played a game of “I’m more woke than you are” as the members fell over themselves to remove names of historical figures that, in their eyes, fell short of current moral standards. Founding Father Washington was booted because he owned slaves, while revered President Lincoln was axed because on his watch Native Americans were treated badly.
The list of 44 names includes many figures from the past and one sitting Senator, Dianne Feinstein. Her offense? A Confederate flag was stolen from the San Francisco city hall while she was mayor, and she had the audacity to replace it.
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle, not everyone is happy:
Many San Francisco parents — as well as Mayor London Breed — argued the effort was ill-timed given the pandemic and the impact on children, especially students of color, and the fact that students are not even in the schools subject to renaming. Some criticized the board Tuesday for focusing on symbolism rather than the urgent reality facing struggling students, who are approaching a year in distance learning, with many struggling academically, socially and emotionally.
And the renaming is likely to be costly.
It’s unclear how much the district will spend on new signage, repainted sports fields or gym floors, athletic, band or other uniforms, and other administrative costs. But based on other districts across the country, it could cost San Francisco at least $1 million to rename the 44 school sites and potentially significantly more.
The district faces a significant budget deficit, which could reach $75 million next school year.
But it’s their school district. If parents don’t like it, they know how to change it… vote.
