Editor:

This is in direct response to a claim that “Stand With Joel” has publicly made on a relevant hot-button issue. On or around March 30, “Stand with Joel” released a statement claiming that Joel Engardio advocated for merit-based admissions at Lowell.

As a former D4 resident and someone with intimate knowledge defending Lowell from repeated attacks, I found this remark to be rather surprising and suspiciously self-serving. I say this because when Lowell was being attacked, friends in high places were far and few between, and because if there had been any hint that Engardio was actively supportive of Lowell, I would have heard it, and those of us who worked tirelessly to defend Lowell would have gladly welcomed it. Lowell stands today continuing its proud and rich tradition as a merit-based institution because of the unwavering support of some of its most loyal supporters – surprisingly, many of them didn’t even have kids at Lowell, as they were hoping that this institution would continue to be there once their kids might qualify to apply. Many certainly lived in D4.

For example, if I make a claim that I was central to the defense of Lowell, I can easily supplant this claim with actual, selected, demonstrable details:

1. I attended numerous meetings of the committee set up to railroad Lowell, and I made many public comments in defense of Lowell. The High School Task Force was a committee sponsored by the San Francisco Unified School District that comprised primarily of SFUSD insiders (two-thirds of whom work for the SFUSD); not a single committee member represented, for example, the monolingual blue-collar Chinese families that comprise much of D4.

2. I videographed these SFUSD proceedings concerning Lowell when the SFUSD refused to conduct these proceedings under the benefit of a permanent public record. Until this day, since the SFUSD High School Task Force refused to document in writing its committee members’ votes in favor of a GPA-only admissions scheme (one that former Supt. Matt Wayne endorsed), at least the Friends of Lowell Foundation has a permanent video record on YouTube to show for its oversight of the High School Task Force.

3. I serve on the Board of Directors of the Friends of Lowell Foundation. (Offered strictly for identification purposes; the Friends of Lowell Foundation has neither approved nor endorsed this personal statement of mine.) Although I was not yet on the board at the time, this is the organization that sued the SFUSD and Board of Education in 2021 to overturn lottery admissions. In everything that I personally did, I worked alongside many others whom I have come to respect and admire, such that we could provide meaningful description and testimony of each other’s actions.

4. Along with others, I organized a number of rallies to protest the numerous improprieties of the High School Task Force. These deliberate, willful transgressions included the disregard and disenfranchisement of D4 residents – the severe limitation of public comment from certain members of the community with opinions that differed from the opinion of the SFUSD High School Task Force facilitator and refusal to take into consideration the input that was made. In excess of 30 attendees would sign up at our direction to speak on behalf of Lowell, but the SFUSD saw to it that their input was disregarded. The video record itself along with a summary of these events is located at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ILEpQvCTr0 for all to see.

5. I personally brokered a meeting between Supt. Wayne and San Franciscans who were deliberately ignored by the High School Task Force, in a failed and naive attempt to collaborate with the SFUSD. Although the meeting seemed productive, it was ultimately clear in the end that Wayne completely disregarded the input of some San Francsicans, including many in D4.

6. When the SFUSD moved forward with Wayne’s “3.00 GPA” admissions proposal for Lowell High School (aka Lottery 2.0), I personally delivered a legal threat from the Friends of Lowell Foundation to the SFUSD. You can wonder for yourself if this “3.00 GPA” proposal went anywhere.

While I can easily recall certain political figures who were sympathetic to Lowell, I never once recalled Joel Engardio in the vicinity of those who defended Lowell. As such, I highly suspect his claims of “advocacy” for Lowell to be specious and self-serving – it is a cheap attempt to render voters emotional hostages conjured strictly to obstruct his eventual recall. It is exactly like how he got elected in the first place by organizing signature drives outside his home for the Board of Education recall. He did this only to fool D4 voters into believing that he was moderate. Of course, the usual group of volunteers showed up one day to find nothing set up because Engardio was nowhere to be seen – he had already had his photo op.

As a former D4 resident, I actually appreciate Joel Engardio’s honesty in one regard – he fully admits that it was his intention to shut down the Great Highway all along. What was left unsaid was that, if his constituents had known of his position from the beginning, they never would have voted for him. I, too, agree with many San Franciscans – this recall is wasteful. Joel Engardio, knowing that he does not represent D4’s wishes or interests, refuses to resign. He’s the one forcing the recall. San Francisco needs to hold him to account for this electoral boondoggle.

And it was the Friends of Lowell Foundation that fought for Lowell High School and the disenfranchised members within D4 and throughout San Francisco, not Joel Engardio.

Frank Cheung

Former D4 Resident and Lifelong San Franciscan