Jill Wynns
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Jill Wynns is a member of the San Francisco Board of Education.
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[edit] 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 several years as a costume designer and costume shop manager. Wynns became increasingly involved in political issues surrounding education when her three children started to attend public school in San Francisco. For six years she was the President of San Francisco Parents' Lobby, a city-wide political organization for public school parents, and was a founding organizer of a local education coalition, San Franciscans Unified.[1]
[edit] 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.[2]
[edit] Accomplishments
Wynns has become nationally recognized for her opposition to the commercialization and privatization of public schools. Wynns also gained notoriety 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."[3]
[edit] Controversy
Once seen as a stalwart progressive on the Board of Education, Jill Wynns has received heavy criticism over the past several years and has moved considerably to the center of the political spectrum. Much of the criticism was related to the tenure of former San Francisco Superintendent Arlene Ackerman.
Labor negotiations
In 2006, Wynns voted in the majority to hire replacement workers in the event of a teacher's strike after teachers mobilized fight their low wages and years without a raise.[4] This vote followed a growing rift between Wynns and the union, as Wynns had voted multiple times to layoff teachers..[citation needed]
School Closures
In 2006, the SFUSD listed approximately two-dozen schools as targets for closure. Jill Wynns was criticized for literally knitting while school communities pleaded to keep their schools open.[citation needed]
[edit] Future Plans
Jill Wynns' fifth term on the Board of Education ends in 2008, and could run for a sixth term. Wynns has not confirmed her candidacy, however, and has been rumored to run for District 9's Supervisor seat against colleague Mark Sanchez, Police Commissioner David Campos, and housing advocate Eric Quesada.
