The San Francisco Board of Education has opted to suspend its plan to rename more than three dozen schools that are named after problematic historical figures. The board moved to rename these schools in January, but they have face significant push back from local residents and lawmakers. San Francisco Mayor London Breed argued that the board should focus on safely reopening schools before moving to renaming schools. President Donald Trump retweeted an article about the board's efforts and captioned it, "Crazy!" Attorney Paul Scott led a group of high school alumni associations in a lawsuit that ultimately led to a suspension of the board's efforts. In response, members of the education board called the lawsuit "frivolous litigation."
“It’s more than ironic to read their characterization of our action as frivolous, when it’s manifestly the sole reason they finally capitulated and agreed to do what the law requires,” Scott told the Los Angeles Times.
“I suppose it would have been a positive step forward if they had taken responsibility for their conduct.”
The sudden halt of the San Francisco Board of Education's efforts come as a surprise. In January, more than 80% of the board voted in support of renaming schools that were initially named after Abraham Lincoln, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and George Washington. Standing alongside the board of education, more than 40 supporters cheered in favor of the resolution.
“We are unapologetically going after white supremacy, white supremacist symbols, and making these changes that people have been demanding for years,” local teacher Jeremiah Jeffries said.
While the effort to rename these schools has been put on pause, members of the board of education refuse to let it die. San Francisco Board of Education President Gabriela López said that the board will give the resolution its full attention when the time is right.
“There is a hope and opportunity to uplift communities that are often underrepresented,” López explained.
“It deserves more full attention than we’re able to give right now.”
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