Candidate Name: Lefteris Eleftheriou
Phone Number: 415-722-8511
Web site: votelefteris.com
E-mail: info@votelefteris.com
Name of Campaign Manager: Lefteris Eleftheriou
How much do you expect to spend in this contest: $8,000
Major Endorsements: N/A
Incumbent whose votes are most similar to the way you would vote: Lisa Weissman-Ward
Incumbent who votes least similarly to the way you would vote: Matt Alexander
1. What is your stance on pandemic safety in the schools? Under what circumstances might you support instating a mask or vaccine mandate, or canceling in-person classes? What would be the main basis on which you make this decision? (e.g., would it be based on your gut feelings, or whose advice would you listen to?)
Public safety and health are pillars for good schools, because being healthy and feeling safe are prerequisites for learning. At the same time, having our students attend classes in-person and not online is critical for their emotional well-being and building social connections. Therefore, it is necessary to strike a balance between the two: in-person learning and public safety. I owned and operated a school during the Covid pandemic and so I understand first-hand the difficulty in making these decisions. Based on my experience, if, we were again, faced with another pandemic, then I would carefully weigh all available options with our students, their parents, and our teachers before making any decisions. For example, I would keep in-person classes, but make online classes available, too, for those who do not feel safe attending classes in-person. I would not mandate masks or vaccines. Instead, I would allow parents and students to decide for themselves if they need them or not. Of course, if a student came to an in-person class with visible cold or flu signs, then we would ask the child to wear a mask or socially distance the child, and so there are exceptions to the rule. Any decisions we make will be based on past experience and will not be forced upon anyone. Instead, I would build consensus among the stakeholders and decide on a case-by-case basis.
2. What is your stance on school closures?
I believe school closures are setting a dangerous precedent. Although necessary in certain situations, school closures should not be the "go-to" option for fixing a chronic overspending problem or budget deficit. If the root cause - the mismanagement, fraud, and abuse surrounding our spending -- is not addressed and fixed, then soon we will have no more schools because we will not have the money to keep them open.
3. Do you have practical ideas on how SFUSD can be adequately funded?
Yes, for eight years, I ran a school and successfully managed the budget, hired, trained, and paid my staff, and created curriculums and lesson plans for children of all ages and skill levels. The key for success is two fold: 1) to manage the budged like your own personal finances, ensuring that you do not spend more than you earn, and 2) continually reaching out to families and engaging with your major stakeholders (parents, teachers, and students) to understand what they want in a quality education, and then aligning these goals and objectives. It's the same processes and customer satisfaction metrics that successful private companies and business utilize, and so I am not proposing anything new. It may just be new to the SFUSD.
4. How are you currently involved in the SFUSD -- or how were you involved in the past?
I have not been involved nor am I currently involved in the SFUSD.
5. How do you feel about the current school assignment system (including at Lowell)? Would you make changes, and if so, which ones?
I am not a fan of assigning schools or relying on a lottery system to decide either. Why force a child to attend a certain school or leave a child's education up to chance? Instead, I prefer engaging with the child and the parents and giving them options, ultimately allowing them to decide to attend the school that is best for them and their educational goals.
6. Some of our schools receive significant funding from parent fundraising. Are you concerned about the inequality in fundraising between schools in rich and poor neighborhoods, and if so, what ideas do you have to make things more equitable?
First of all, we can't allow socioeconomic status to stand in the way of quality education for any child. Secondly, it's not healthy or productive to think in polarizing terms, such as rich vs poor, as taking care of all the children in our city is important. Therefore, I would suggest that parents from rich neighborhoods fundraise in poor neighborhoods and vice-versa. For example, while campaigning for office, I make an effort to visit as many different neighborhoods across our city as possible, because I want to get to know as many different families and parents as I can. I want to understand what they like or don't like about our school district, because I believe this will make me a better candidate. Similarly, we become better people by getting to know as much about our city and the folks who inhabit it as we can. This type of real-world education and engagement opens our minds and expands our points of view, which is as important as how much money we raise during a fundraiser.
7. Are you familiar with the case of Williams et al. v State of California? Do you believe that all schools in the SFUSD are currently in compliance with Williams?
No, I do not believe children are receiving the adequate supplies and support they need to learn in the classroom. As I explained above, our budget is horribly mismanaged and our spending is riddled with abuse and fraud. It's why we are closing schools and why our children do not have sufficient supplies.
8. What is your position on JROTC in the public schools?
I support JROTC in the public schools.
9. Would you support district elections for school board members?
No, I support city-wide elections as they are now.
10. Did you support the 2016 Proposition A school bond? Do you think funds were spent wisely? Are you supporting the current bond?
I did not support the 2016 school bond nor do I support the current bond for the reasons I explained above. Until we resolve our spending problem at a fundamental level with full disclosure of bank statements, tax filings, payroll accounts, invoices, receipts, etc., bonds will not work.
11. What is your stance on allowing noncitizen parents, guardians and caretakers of students to vote in school board elections? Did you take a public position on previous ballot initiatives on the subject?
I have not taken a position on previous ballot initaitives on the subject, but believe noncitizen parents, guardians, and caretakers should have some sort of voice or representation when deciding school board elections.For example, if noncitizens have children enrolled in our schools and are paying taxes to support our schools, have an understanding of the issues at hand and qualfiications of school board candidates, then they should have a vote.
12. What are your thoughts on the various non-profit organizations that partner and/or contract with SFUSD?
We have a city-wide excess of non-profit organizations whose sole mission is to survive financially on the backs of taxpayers instead of serving the needs of taxpayers. Non-profits have lost sight of their true mission and who they serve, and therefore should either be dissolved or greatly reformed.
13. How do you see the role of the School Board in comparison to the role of the superintendent?
I see the School Board and superintendent as counterparts who work together, collaboratively and proactively, for the benefit of the school district. The superintendent can be compared to the CEO of a company while the School Board can be compared to the board of directors. I further believe the School Board acts as the moral compass for the school district and holds the superintendent or any other official accountable for ethical or legal misconduct.
14. Do you think that SFUSD currently serves the transportation needs of its students? Would you make changes to the current system?
No, I do not. I believe the SFUSD can do more to provide better, safer, and more reliable transportation for its students. Reliable transportation is a larger, city-wide issue that involves the SFMTA, which has fallen under heavy scrutiny in recent years for gross incompetence, negligence, and mismanagement. Therefore, it would not be possible to make meaningful, lasting changes to the current system unless we also make changes to the SFMTA.
15. Would you ensure that all San Francisco students have access to a public pre-K program? If so, how?
Yes. This is something, like the SFMTA question ablove, that must be done is connection with the city-wide budget. I am a staunch advocate of early childhood development and care and so believe there should be a public daycare or pre-K program that is earmarked from the city's general fund. The program should go into effect immediately after the child is born and stay in effect until the child enters kindergarten. Ensuring our children receive adequate care and nurturing for the first 5 years is crucial to their mental, physical, and emotional development. This will have a long-term impact on our city as a whole by reducing the incidence of homelessness, drug addiction, and crime. There is a well-known literacy study that shows that if a child cannot read by the age of 8, then the chances of being incarcerated or on welfare by the time that child is 18 years old is exponentially higher. Therefore, we must do everything in our power to ensure children are emotionally and physically prepared to start their primary education when they turn 5 years old.
16. Have you read Diane Ravitch's book, The Death and Life of the Great American School System? What lessons should the District take from this work? Whether or not you've read the book, what role do you see for charter schools in the public education system?
No, I have not read this book. As for the rise of charter schools, I see this trend as a normal response to a faltering public education system. As with private schools or homeschooling, charter schools are just another option in a free market society for educating your child. Having said that, charter schools will eventually face the same or similar problems as our public education system is facing, if they place revenue and bottom line profits before quality education.
17. What do you think of the current requirements that students take the SBAC test, and what are your thoughts on standardized testing in general?
Standardized tests are a useful tool or metric for understanding proficiency levels in a certain subject matter, such as the third grade reading levels I described above. Having said that standardized tests are only a guide and should, along with other non-metric or non-score-based methods, be used to ascertain how well children are doing in school or if they are meeting their educational goals. For example, how is the child doing at home? Are the parents or guardians engaged with the child, helping with homework, or reading to the child? Is the child eating properly and getting adequate rest? Is the child getting outdoors and playing with friends, or spending most of the time behind a screen? etc. Answering these more subjective questions will also provide insight into how better to guide the child, in addition to the SBAC test.
18. How can the public schools better address the needs of Special Education students and ESL students?
By engaging more with the parents and students to understand what they need and what the schools can do to fulfill these needs. There must be continual dialogue between parents and teachers and students to set goals and the methods and means to move toward these goals. For example, if a special education child requires more one-on-one attention or a group environment with other students, who may or may nor have special needs, then those factors must be identified. The same for ESL students. Is the child mostly exposed to family and friends who do not speak English as their native language? How can we begin to introduce the child to more English-speakers or online English content where the child can practice speaking or reading English? When I ran my school, I made the effort every day to engage my parents and students to understand if their needs were being met, and if not why? I also conveyed this information to my teachers so we were all aligned, on the same page, and tackled these needs as a team. This same type of commitment must come from SFUSD.
Due Date: Friday, August 23, 11:59 pm
Please submit by email to cc@sfgreens.org. For more information, call
Barry Hermanson at 415-255-9494. Please return your answers in plain
text (not HTML, PDF, or Word format), so that we can post all
candidates' answers in the same format.
The SF Green Party will invite selected candidates who return
completed questionnaires on time to speak and answer questions at our
candidate forum and endorsement meeting. To be given time on our
agenda, each candidate needs at least two active Green Party members
to request their invitation. This will be a hybrid meeting, so
invited candidates may also speak with us via Zoom.
Our endorsement meeting is scheduled for Wed, August 28 from 6:30-9:30
pm at our office, 2973 16th St, #300, SF - note that this is across
the street from our old office in the Redstone Building. The first
two hours will be for interviews of selected candidates, and the last
hour will be for decision making.
Completed questionnaires will be posted on our website,
https://sfgreenparty.org.