Parents and community demand action after principal's admission of racial slur at Ulloa Elementary

A broad coalition of parents, Asian and Pacific Islander advocacy leaders, the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education (CAC), and civil‑rights organizations used over an hour of public comment May 24 to press the San Francisco Board of Education for action after a principal at Ulloa Elementary acknowledged using the "n‑word" in several school settings.

Speakers said the principal's use of the racial slur caused harm to Black students and families and demanded "a 0 tolerance policy for the use of the n word by paid SFUSD employees," as one APAC leader put it. (Speakers used the exact phrase when describing the request during public comment.) APAC and other speakers also asked the board to require restorative work "with fidelity, transparency, and urgency" and to publicly denounce the incident in policy and action rather than private communications.

Several parents and community leaders said the district's investigation concluded the principal violated multiple employee codes, and they urged the board to take swift and visible steps to restore trust. One parent recounted that after a child was attacked at school the site did not call police or arrange visible supports; Superintendent Matthews offered to follow up with those families.

Other speakers urged the board to support healing and prevention efforts in schools, including cultural‑humility training and resources for affected students and staff. Community members emphasized that corrective actions must include tangible supports for harmed students and transparency about discipline and restorative processes.

Board response and next steps: President Lam reiterated that the board hears the community and assigned follow‑up to staff; the transcript shows the board invited Superintendent Matthews to follow up with parents who described safety incidents. The board did not vote on discipline in public session; closed‑session items later in the meeting addressed personnel and student matters.

What was said (examples):
- "We demanded that SFUSD implement a 0 tolerance policy for the use of the n word by paid SFUSD employees," (public speaker representing APAC leadership).
- "Black minds do matter," said CAC advocacy chair Alida Fisher in public comment.

What's not yet decided: The transcript documents community demands and that SFUSD conducted an employee relations investigation; it does not record a board action removing or rehiring any individual on this item during the public session. Any formal employment action would be reported from closed session or a future public meeting.