Mark Sanchez (politician)
Encyclopedia
Mark Sanchez is an American politician in San Francisco, California. He was on the San Francisco Board of Education
from 2001 to 2009, and served as president of the board from 2007 to 2009. Sanchez lost a 2008 election for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
in District 9.
member and the second openly
-gay
Commissioner on the Board of Education.
Sanchez represented the opposition to then-Superintendent Arlene Ackerman
. The San Francisco Chronicle blamed Sanchez in part for the tense relationship the Board had with the superintendent:
At a September 2003 meeting of the Board of Education, Sanchez was among "three board members with whom Ackerman has locked horns said they remain steadfast in their objections to her management of the district, which they characterize as autocratic and unyielding to differing views." Ackerman resigned in 2005. Reported the San Francisco Chronicle, "Mayor Newsom
said he was saddened but not surprised by Ackerman's resignation considering the ongoing bickering that has gone on between her and a faction of the school board. He said it was a shame to be losing the architect of the improvements within city schools."
In January, 2007, Mark Sanchez was unanimously elected as the President of the Board of Education. His tenure as President included the hiring of new SFUSD Superintendent Carlos Garcia, the shortening of the Board of Education's regular meetings, the debate over San Francisco's popular JROTC
program and a resolution for Lennar Corporation
to halt construction in Hunters Point Naval Shipyard because of health concerns.
In 2003, commissioners Sanchez and Mar sponsored an anti-war resolution. "The original resolution called for promoting a district-wide anti-war rally and creating a curriculum culled from the resources of anti-war groups to be used from kindergarten on up." However, other board members objected to the resolution, calling it one-sided and for taking students out of school to participate in the rally. "The proposal failed but a watered-down version that passed the board called for a day of on-campus public discussion about the possibility of a war in Iraq.".
magazine criticized the schoolboard for closing down the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
in San Francisco high schools: "Supporters of JROTC acknowledge problems with the U.S. military and gays, but say Mar and (Norman) Yee are discounting the tremendous benefit JROTC has provided to minorities and low-income students."
In December 2007, during Sanchez' presidency, the Board voted 5-2 to postpone the elimination of JROTC because a replacement program had not been created. Sánchez and Mar were the only commissioners to vote for immediate elimination. In June, 2008 the board discontinued the awarding of physical education credit due to the threat of a lawsuit.
In 2008, San Francisco voters overruled the Board of Education and passed Proposition V, which urged the San Francisco Board of Education to reverse its elimination of the JROTC program. The proposition passed 55 to 45 percent.
. He received the endorsement of the San Francisco Chronicle
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/31/ED6613Q260.DTL He came in second in the race with 29 percent of the vote.
In March 2010, Horace Mann Middle School was put on California's 5 percent lowest-achieving schools list. Schools on the list were required to be closed, converted to charter schools, or subjected to a complete staff overhaul, including the principal. However, Sanchez was not replaced because regulations allow schools to keep principals who have been on the job two years or less.
In July 2010, Horace Mann Middle School appeared on the state Board of Education's list of 1,000 schools deemed so bad that parents have the right to transfer their children to a better school in their district or any other district.
In August 2010, a charter high school, Metropolitan Arts and Technology, began sharing the Horace Mann Middle School campus. The school was built to hold some 600 students, but enrollment in Horace Mann Middle School had dwindled to 330. Some middle school parents were uneasy about their children sharing the campus with older high school students.
In February 2011, the school district announced that Buena Vista, an elementary school with a well-regarded Spanish immersion program, would merge with Horace Mann to form a kindergarten through eight-grade school called Buena Vista Horace Mann. "We wanted to expand into a K-8," Sanchez told the San Francisco Chronicle. "There have been massive surveys of kids that show that kids feel safer in them. And they do better in testing." When the 2011-12 school year began in August 2011, Maria Dehghan became principal of the new school.
San Francisco Board of Education
The San Francisco Board of Education is made of seven Commissioners, elected by voters across the city to serve 4-year terms. It is subject to local, state, and federal laws, and determines policy for all the public schools in the San Francisco Unified School District.- Founding :In October 1849,...
from 2001 to 2009, and served as president of the board from 2007 to 2009. Sanchez lost a 2008 election for the San Francisco Board of Supervisors
San Francisco Board of Supervisors
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors is the legislative body within the government of the City and County of San Francisco, California, United States.-Government and politics:...
in District 9.
Biography and political career
Mark Sanchez was a long-time teacher in San Francisco. He founded Teachers for Change and Teachers for Social Justice before running for the Board of Education in 2000. In 2000, he became the first Green PartyGreen Party (United States)
The Green Party of the United States is a nationally recognized political party which officially formed in 1991. It is a voluntary association of state green parties. Prior to national formation, many state affiliates had already formed and were recognized by other state parties...
member and the second openly
Coming out
Coming out is a figure of speech for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people's disclosure of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity....
-gay
Gay
Gay is a word that refers to a homosexual person, especially a homosexual male. For homosexual women the specific term is "lesbian"....
Commissioner on the Board of Education.
Sanchez represented the opposition to then-Superintendent Arlene Ackerman
Arlene Ackerman (educator)
Arlene C. Ackerman, Ed. D. is an educator who was the former superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District and the former superintendent of Philadelphia Public Schools..-Washington, D.C.:Ackerman was superintendent of the D.C...
. The San Francisco Chronicle blamed Sanchez in part for the tense relationship the Board had with the superintendent:
What (Ackerman) doesn't need is sniping and second-guessing from elected officials whose job is to set broad policies, not micromanage the superintendent's daily conduct. Tensions between school board members and superintendents come with the territory. But in San Francisco, those tensions had gone far beyond the limits of acceptability. Three board members in particular—Eric Mar, Sarah Lipson and Mark Sanchez—need to start working with Ackerman, not fighting with her virtually on a daily basis.
At a September 2003 meeting of the Board of Education, Sanchez was among "three board members with whom Ackerman has locked horns said they remain steadfast in their objections to her management of the district, which they characterize as autocratic and unyielding to differing views." Ackerman resigned in 2005. Reported the San Francisco Chronicle, "Mayor Newsom
Gavin Newsom
Gavin Christopher Newsom is an American politician who is the 49th and current Lieutenant Governor of California. Previously, he was the 42nd Mayor of San Francisco, and was elected in 2003 to succeed Willie Brown, becoming San Francisco's youngest mayor in 100 years. Newsom was re-elected in 2007...
said he was saddened but not surprised by Ackerman's resignation considering the ongoing bickering that has gone on between her and a faction of the school board. He said it was a shame to be losing the architect of the improvements within city schools."
In January, 2007, Mark Sanchez was unanimously elected as the President of the Board of Education. His tenure as President included the hiring of new SFUSD Superintendent Carlos Garcia, the shortening of the Board of Education's regular meetings, the debate over San Francisco's popular JROTC
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a Federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States...
program and a resolution for Lennar Corporation
Lennar Corporation
Lennar Corporation is a Fortune 500 company based in Miami, Florida, United States, in the Fountainbleau area. It was founded in 1954.In 2008, Lennar was the United States' second largest homebuilder, constructing homes in 17 different states throughout the United States, including Arizona,...
to halt construction in Hunters Point Naval Shipyard because of health concerns.
In 2003, commissioners Sanchez and Mar sponsored an anti-war resolution. "The original resolution called for promoting a district-wide anti-war rally and creating a curriculum culled from the resources of anti-war groups to be used from kindergarten on up." However, other board members objected to the resolution, calling it one-sided and for taking students out of school to participate in the rally. "The proposal failed but a watered-down version that passed the board called for a day of on-campus public discussion about the possibility of a war in Iraq.".
JROTC controversy
In 2006, the Board of Education voted to eliminate its Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corp program as an anti-war statement. Commissioners Sanchez, Mar, Kelly, and Lipson voted to eliminate the program, with Commissioners Jill Wynns and Norman Yee voting for keeping the 120-year-old program. Commissioner Eddie Chin was absent. "Opponents said the armed forces should have no place in public schools, and the military's discriminatory stance on gays makes the presence of JROTC unacceptable." One supporter of the program argued that the program is the only place the kids feel safe AsianWeekAsianWeek
AsianWeek was a widely circulated publication of Asian American news, across all Asian ethnic groups, providing coverage of Asian-American issues such as the killing of Vincent Chin, Asian American college admissions, and quotas on Chinese students in competitive San Francisco examination schools...
magazine criticized the schoolboard for closing down the Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps
The Junior Reserve Officers' Training Corps is a Federal program sponsored by the United States Armed Forces in high schools across the United States...
in San Francisco high schools: "Supporters of JROTC acknowledge problems with the U.S. military and gays, but say Mar and (Norman) Yee are discounting the tremendous benefit JROTC has provided to minorities and low-income students."
In December 2007, during Sanchez' presidency, the Board voted 5-2 to postpone the elimination of JROTC because a replacement program had not been created. Sánchez and Mar were the only commissioners to vote for immediate elimination. In June, 2008 the board discontinued the awarding of physical education credit due to the threat of a lawsuit.
In 2008, San Francisco voters overruled the Board of Education and passed Proposition V, which urged the San Francisco Board of Education to reverse its elimination of the JROTC program. The proposition passed 55 to 45 percent.
Campaign for Supervisor
In 2008, Sanchez ran for supervisor in District 9San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections, 2008
The 2008 San Francisco Board of Supervisors elections occurred on November 4, 2008. Seven of the eleven seats of the San Francisco Board of Supervisors were contested in this election...
. He received the endorsement of the San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle
thumb|right|upright|The Chronicle Building following the [[1906 San Francisco earthquake|1906 earthquake]] and fireThe San Francisco Chronicle is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of the U.S. state of California, but distributed throughout Northern and Central California,...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/10/31/ED6613Q260.DTL He came in second in the race with 29 percent of the vote.
Principal of Horace Mann Middle School
In 2009, the San Francisco school board waived its own rules and offered Sanchez a one-year interim position as principal of Horace Mann Middle School. In order to give Sanchez the position, board members suspended a 30-year-old policy that prohibited the district from hiring or contracting with former board members within two years of the end of their term.In March 2010, Horace Mann Middle School was put on California's 5 percent lowest-achieving schools list. Schools on the list were required to be closed, converted to charter schools, or subjected to a complete staff overhaul, including the principal. However, Sanchez was not replaced because regulations allow schools to keep principals who have been on the job two years or less.
In July 2010, Horace Mann Middle School appeared on the state Board of Education's list of 1,000 schools deemed so bad that parents have the right to transfer their children to a better school in their district or any other district.
In August 2010, a charter high school, Metropolitan Arts and Technology, began sharing the Horace Mann Middle School campus. The school was built to hold some 600 students, but enrollment in Horace Mann Middle School had dwindled to 330. Some middle school parents were uneasy about their children sharing the campus with older high school students.
In February 2011, the school district announced that Buena Vista, an elementary school with a well-regarded Spanish immersion program, would merge with Horace Mann to form a kindergarten through eight-grade school called Buena Vista Horace Mann. "We wanted to expand into a K-8," Sanchez told the San Francisco Chronicle. "There have been massive surveys of kids that show that kids feel safer in them. And they do better in testing." When the 2011-12 school year began in August 2011, Maria Dehghan became principal of the new school.