The San Francisco Unified School District halted its plans to rename 44 schools that hold titles linked to slavery or oppression.
“Today, I released a statement on the board’s focus to bring our students back into our schools. We must stay focused on reopening. I am committed to sharing as much information with parents as possible as this process moves forward. And I have faith and confidence that we will get this right. Together,” San Francisco Board of Education Commissioner Gabriela Lopez wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
“In the meantime, this is the last time I’ll comment publicly on renaming until schools are reopened,” she wrote. “We will not be taking valuable time from our board agendas to further discuss this, as we need to prioritize reopening.”
DIANNE FEINSTEIN CANCELED BY HOMETOWN SAN FRANCISCO SCHOOL BOARD BY CHANGING ELEMENTARY SCHOOL NAME
San Francisco’s plan to rename the 44 schools came under intense scrutiny in recent weeks. The city’s school board voted in January to change the names of schools such as Abraham Lincoln High School, George Washington High School, and Dianne Feinstein Elementary School. The move was described as timely, considering the protests and riots over racism throughout the United States this summer.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
“It’s a message to our families, our students, and our community,” board member Mark Sanchez said in January. “It’s not just symbolic. It’s a moral message.”
Lopez said this weekend that when the board takes up the initiative in the future, it will make the process more “deliberative” and contact historians on the names.
