Sam has the support of community organizations including Faith In Action and OEA, the local teachers’ union. Although he believes that charter schools have a negative impact on public schools, he believes in a stick and carrot strategy to bring charter parents into the fold of public schools. He needs support in learning the connections between development and gentrification of our city with the privatization of our public schools and imagining what public land for public good looks like.
There really is no big difference between Sam Davis and his opponent Stacy Thomas. They both support budget accountability and oppose school closures, publicly-owned property sales and charter school expansion.
Stacy is a little more adamant about abolishing the presence of police in schools. She believes that there is no real place for police in schools; while Sam sees that there could be some need for emergency police support but believes there should be no ongoing police presence.
They both need a little more support on seeing the impact of privatization beyond the school system, its connection to gentrification and how to address the impacts of gentrification within the schools.