Two years after her high-profile defeat, Ann Hsu is running for San Francisco’s school board again.
Hsu, an outspoken educator and controversial figure who led the 2022 school board recall, is expected to file papers to run for the Board of Education, which oversees the San Francisco Unified School District.
“I want to serve the students,” Hsu said in an interview Tuesday. “I have decided to come back but stay out of politics, just focus on students.”
Mayor London Breed appointed Hsu to the board after voters removed three commissioners in the contentious recall election. But a few months later, Hsu lost her bid to keep her seat after stirring up a political firestorm over her racist comments about Black and Latino families.
Last year, Hsu launched a private school, Bert Hsu Academy, which she named after her late father, with a mission to promote Chinese and American bicultural education.
She said she saw no conflicts between working at a private school and being a public school leader. She emphasized that the private and public school systems should not see each other as enemies.
“Do we think the public schools are doing so well that we don’t need to learn from others, including private schools?” Hsu said. “Let’s be more open-minded.”
Hsu’s entry into the race is considered late, with more than 10 candidates competing for four seats, and one incumbent, Matt Alexander, running for reelection. The race is heating up as many political groups are in the process of completing their endorsements.
Hsu said she observed that some of the candidates and board members were “playing politics” again, and that’s why she wanted to offer herself up as an alternative for voters.
The deadline to file to run for the school board is Aug. 9.