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u.s. news Diabierna 11 Februari 2022

Saga of San Francisco’s school board heads to the ballot box

(AP) - A seemingly endless back into classrooms. The voters. San Francisco’s soar-
amount of drama, name- effort was also riddled with ing cost of living has pushed
calling, lawsuits and out- historical inaccuracies and out families for years, leaving
rage from parents and city shoddy research that drew the city with the lowest share
officials made the saga criticisms of political correct- of children under 18 — just
of San Francisco’s school ness gone awry. 13% — of America’s 100
board a riveting pandemic Then the board announced most populous cities, accord-
sideshow that is about to it was ending merit-based ing to 2020 US Census data.
play out at the ballot box. admissions at the city’s elite That made school board elec-
Lowell High School as part of tions a low priority for most
A special election on Tues- a broader push for equity and voters.
day will decide the fate of inclusion. It cited “pervasive
three school board members, systemic racism” and a lack Collins has faced more criti-
all Democrats, in a vote that of diversity at Lowell, one of cism than her two colleagues,
has divided the famously lib- the country’s top public high after recall organizers dug up
eral city. It has also motivated schools, where the majority 2016 tweets in which she said
many Chinese residents to Opponents call the recall national attention was the of students are Asian. Asian Americans used “white
vote for the first time, driven a waste of taxpayer money board’s decision to rename The vote blindsided the supremacist” thinking to get
by controversial school board and a right-wing attack on 44 of the city’s public schools community, and a court ulti- ahead and were racist toward
decisions and a batch of un- liberal San Francisco that is they said honored public fig- mately reversed the decision, Black students, prompting
earthed anti-Asian tweets. part of a national movement ures linked to racism, sexism finding in favor of a Lowell her school board colleagues
to oust progressives from and other injustices. On the alumni group that sued the to strip Collins of her role as
The parents who launched power. Both sides agree that list were names like George board. The group argued the vice president.
the recall effort say it was San Francisco’s school board Washington, Abraham Lin- board failed to place the vote
born of frustration at the and the city itself became the coln and trailblazing Califor- on its agenda, violating Cali- Collins says she is proud of
board’s misplaced priorities, focus of an embarrassing na- nia Sen. Dianne Feinstein. fornia’s open meetings law. trying to bring more diversity
mishandling of a budget cri- tional spotlight. to Lowell, which dropped
sis and failure to focus on the Organizers say they would re- The renaming effort drew Hsu and other parents formed its admissions test for the
fundamental task of reopen- call all seven board members swift criticism for some of its a group called the Chinese/ incoming class of fall 2021
ing public schools during the if they could, but only three targets, but also for its timing API Voter Outreach Task- before the decision was over-
pandemic. Most of San Fran- have served long enough to in January 2021, when public force in December, which she turned in court. The num-
cisco’s 50,000 public school face a challenge: Board Presi- classrooms were closed be- calls “the Chinese arm of the bers of Hispanic and Black
students did not see the in- dent Gabriela Lopez and two cause of COVID-19 restric- recall group.” Holding voter students increased this year
side of a classroom for over a commissioners, Alison Col- tions. Angry parents asked drives and spreading word in when the change was in
year, from March 2020 until lins and Faauuga Moliga. why the board was focused San Francisco’s Chinese-lan- place, while the numbers of
August 2021. on changing school names guage newspapers, the group Asian and white students de-
One of the first issues to grab rather than getting children helped register over 560 new creased.

US inflation highest in 40 years, with no letup in sight

(AP) — Inflation soared spending combined to send Food costs, driven by pric-
over the past year at its inflation leaping in the past ier eggs, cereal and dairy
highest rate in four de- year. And there are few signs products, increased 0.9% in
cades, hammering Ameri- that it will slow significantly January. Air fares rose 2.3%.
can consumers, wiping out anytime soon. New car prices, which have
pay raises and reinforc- jumped during the pandemic
ing the Federal Reserve’s Wages are rising at the fast- because of a shortage of com-
decision to begin raising est pace in at least 20 years, puter chips, were unchanged
borrowing rates across the which can pressure compa- last month but are up 12.2%
economy. nies to raise prices to cover from a year ago. The surge in
higher labor costs. Ports new-car prices has, in turn,
The Labor Department and warehouses are over- accelerated used-car prices;
said Thursday that con- whelmed, with hundreds of they rose 1.5% in January and
sumer prices jumped 7.5% workers at the ports of Los are up a dizzying 41% from a
last month compared with Angeles and Long Beach, the year ago.
a year earlier, the steepest nation’s busiest, out sick last
year-over-year increase since month. Many products and “Just as price pressures in
February 1982. The accelera- parts remain in short supply some areas ease, inflation in
tion of prices ranged across as a result. other parts of the economy” Among the Americans who for Family Dollar and Food
the economy, from food and is picking up, said Sarah are struggling with pricier Lion.
furniture to apartment rents, Prices for a broad range of House, an economist at Wells food and gas is Courtney
airline fares and electricity. goods and services accel- Fargo. “The upshot is that in- Luckey, who has changed her To help pay bills, she’s also
erated from December to flation is likely to remain un- shopping habits and taken picked up more hours at a
When measured from De- January — and not just for comfortably high.” on additional work shifts at Harris Teeter grocery store.
cember to January, inflation items directly affected by the a grocery store in Charlotte, But the store is 30 minutes
was 0.6%, the same as the pandemic. Apartment rental The steady rise in prices has North Carolina, where she from her house, so she’s had
previous month and more costs rose 0.5% in January, left many Americans less able lives. to spend more on gas.
than economists had expect- the fastest pace in 20 years. to afford food, gas, rent, child
ed. Prices rose 0.7% from Electricity prices surged 4.2% care and other necessities. Luckey, 33, used to be able All her forced additional
October to November and in January alone, the sharp- More broadly, inflation has to fill up a grocery cart for spending has caused Luckey
0.9% from September to Oc- est rise in 15 years, and are emerged as the biggest risk $100. Now, she said, $100 to pull back on the family ac-
tober. up 10.7% from a year ear- factor for the economy and as barely fills half the cart. To- tivities, such as bowling, with
lier. Last month, household a serious threat to President matoes have reached nearly her daughter, her brother and
Shortages of supplies and furniture and supplies rose Joe Biden and congressional $5 a pound, “which I think his two sons. Those outings
workers, heavy doses of fed- 1.6%, the largest one-month Democrats as midterm elec- is ridiculous.” Luckey has now typically happen once
eral aid, ultra-low interest increase on records dating to tions loom later this year. switched to canned tomatoes a month, rather than every
rates and robust consumer 1967. and has begun using coupons week or two.