Jill Wynns

Jill Wynns is a member of the San Francisco Board of Education.

Biography

Jill Wynns was raised in and around New York City and its nearby rural areas in the 1950s and 1960s. She was admitted to the private Hofstra University after her junior year in high school. She spent one year in college in Sweden, then moved to San Francisco in 1969 after earning her BA in Humanities. She worked for 10 years in professional theater as a costume designer and costume shop manager. She is currently employed as a campaign executive (professional fundraiser) for the Jewish National Fund.

Wynns became increasingly involved in political issues surrounding education when her three children started public school in San Francisco. For six years she was the President of San Francisco Parents' Lobby, a citywide political organization for public school parents, and was a founding organizer of a local education coalition, San Franciscans Unified. [ [http://www.smartvoter.org/2004/11/02/ca/sf/vote/wynns_j/bio.html Full Biography for Jill Wynns ] ]

Political History

Jill Wynns was first elected to the San Francisco Board of Education in 1992, and was re-elected in 1996, 2000, and 2004. She served as President of the School Board in 2001 and 2002, and served as Chair of the Budget Committee for five years. [ [http://www.smartvoter.org/2004/11/02/ca/sf/vote/wynns_j/bio.html Full Biography for Jill Wynns ] ]

Accomplishments

Wynns has become nationally recognized for her opposition to the commercialization and privatization of public schools. Wynns also gained reknown for helping expose corrupt Superintendent Bill Rojas. As the left-leaning San Francisco Bay Guardian noted when they endorsed her in 2004, "Wynns has spent years as the board skeptic, asking the uncomfortable questions that needed asking and identifying legal and financial realities." [ [http://www.sfbg.com/39/01/cover_endorsements.html#BoardofEducation San Francisco Bay Guardian News ] ]

Controversy

Once seen as a stalwart progressive on the Board of Education, Jill Wynns is viewed as having moved toward the moderate viewpoint as the board's leftist faction has staked out controversial positions. Wynns drew considerable criticism as a supporter of former San Francisco Superintendent Arlene Ackerman, who eventually left after increasing clashes with the board's leftist faction. Ackerman is now superintendent of Philadelphia's school system. Wynns is currently known as the board's vocal supporter of keeping the JROTC program in San Francisco schools, though the board majority has voted to banish JROTC. Wynns has said that although she opposes the Iraq war and military recruiters in the schools, students and parents have convinced her that JROTC has provided valuable resources and support to many students.

Labor negotiations
In 2006, Wynns voted in the majority to hire replacement workers in the event of a teacher's strike after teachers mobilized to fight their low wages and years without a raise. [ [http://www.beyondchron.org/news/index.php?itemid=3741 BeyondChron: San Francisco's Alternative Online Daily News » Guest Editorial: The Miseducation of Dan Kelly ] ] This vote followed a growing rift between Wynns and the union, as Wynns had voted multiple times to lay off teachers. Wynns viewed those actions as necessary to balance the district budget and points out that the San Francisco Unified School District risks being taken over by the state and losing local control if its budget goes into the red, as has happened to other nearby school districts.Fact|date=January 2008

The knitting issue
In 2006, the SFUSD listed approximately two dozen schools as targets for closure. Jill Wynns was criticized for knitting while school communities pleaded to keep their schools open. Wynns' supporters countered that knitting helped her keep her stress level and blood pressure down while listening to angry speakers as well as helping her focus, that other board members routinely open mail and use laptops during public comment, and that the criticism was not sincere but rather a calculated political ploy. [ [http://www.sfschools.org/2008/09/big-school-board-issue-is-jill-wynns.html] [

Future Plans

Jill Wynns' fifth and current term on the Board of Education ends in 2008, and she has announced her candidacy for re-election.