This is a copy of the petition available at Farley’s, The Good Life & Klein’s

December 11, 2005

To Whom It May Concern:

It has come to our attention that there is a plan to close Daniel Webster Elementary School, merge current students in with Starr King, and turn the site into a last chance/Continuation School for at risk/troubled youth.

This plan was revealed to the administration at Daniel Webster on December 6th, 2005 and is to be voted on by the School Board on January 10th, 2006. As concerned citizens and active members of the Potrero Hill community, we are outraged that this vital educational decision is being made with no community involvement and no call for public opinion. The school had been told that they were a candidate for merger but were removed from the list of possible closures. Suddenly, just one month before the vote, a month that includes the Christmas and New Years holidays, they were given this shocking news with little time to counteract. This is an egregiously underhanded and deceptive move by the School Board.

We are strongly opposed to this plan for the following reasons:

This is a blatant attempt to slip this past the public — there has not been sufficient notice for neighborhood input.. As residents of Potrero Hill, we strongly object to this lack of community participation. The school administration is scrambling in this brief period before the January 10 vote to let student families know about the plan. We, the community which includes numerous families with preschool-age children found out BY ACCIDENT. We have a stake – and therefore SHOULD HAVE A SAY — in the education available on the Hill and in these vital decisions.

It is a fact that strong public schools increase property values and community. Their presence encourages young families to move into, and remain, in the neighborhood which is good for the economy, good for property values, and good for community morale. The presence of a facility for at risk students has the adverse affect. We are not opposed to the existence of such a facility, however, it seems counterproductive to take a thriving elementary school OUT of a needy community and replace it with a Continuation School. In addition, under the current leadership at Daniel Webster, test scores are improving. A number of parents have expressed interest in getting involved to further enrich Daniel Webster now – to build on the good work that’s going on there - before their kids enter kindergarten, with the goal of sending their children to a thriving and exemplary public school right here on the Hill.

This deceptive plan will have adverse affects on underprivileged families and underserved neighborhoods of San Francisco. For generations, families from Potrero Hill, Bayview, the Mission and the Tenderloin have chosen to attend Daniel Webster for reasons of scholastics, Limited English learning and safety. Closing Daniel Webster and trying to send students to Starr King will result in families opting to ship their children across town instead of attending Starr King. The Board will essentially be destroying two neighborhood schools with this unprecedented move.

We, the undersigned, are outraged at this deceptive plan and strongly express our opposition to closing Daniel Webster. Please hear our community plea and vote against this closure.

- Concerned Potrero Hill Parents,

Dena Fischer
Jennifer Betti