The San Francisco school board member in hot water over a series of anti-Asian tweets doubled down on her public apology and refused to step down Tuesday, despite widespread pressure to do so.
"I’d like to reemphasize my sincere and heartfelt apologies," San Francisco Board of Education Vice President Alison Collins said Tuesday. "I’m currently engaging with my colleagues and working with community for the good of all children in our district and especially Black children often left behind."
Her statement echoed similar sentiments from the weekend, as Collins' claimed her controversial tweets were "taken out of context."
Collins had been criticized over a series of unearthed tweets from 2016, released by a group targeting members of the San Francisco Board of Education for recall over past decisions, including a plan to strip 44 schools of their names. The thread in question used several racial epithets, accusing Asian American parents at her kids’ school of using "white supremacist thinking," among other statements.
Two board members of AAPI descent, Jenny Lam and Faauuga Moliga, called for Collins to step down on Tuesday.
"Commissioner Alison Collins’ statement regarding the Asian American community is dangerous, hurtful, and unbecoming," Moliga said in reading a prewritten statement posted to his Facebook page.
Less than an hour of Tuesday’s Board of Education meeting was allocated for public discussion on the matter even as over 1,000 people called in remotely to participate in the comment section of the agenda. "I am not alone when I say that I do not have confidence in Commissioner Collins’ ability to fairly govern a school district that is almost half AAPI with no bias," Lam added.
Students, parents and teachers also participated in the comment section.
"Some have said those who unearth the tweets were politically motivated," said student Amy Chang. "Why these tweets were found does not change what was said or the pain that these tweets have caused. If you do not want racist tweets to be used against you for political reasons, then do not make racist tweets."
Later this week, two school board members will introduce resolutions to strip Collins of her committee assignments and remove her as vice president, reported the San Francisco Examiner.
The pressure for Collins to resign amplified over the weekend, as several San Francisco and state-level elected officials weighed in on the controversy and called for Collins' resignation from the Board of Education.
Some said the issue will remain a distraction from the focus on getting kids back to school. On that front, outgoing SFUSD Superintendent Vincent Matthews said the district is on track to allow the first students to return from April 12.
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