In February 2014, the SFUSD Board of Education approved changes to the district's math sequence that effectively delayed Algebra to 9th grade — a policy that has drawn fierce criticism for holding back advanced students and widening achievement gaps. The seven board members who voted on that change included Sandra Lee Fewer, Matt Haney, Emily Murase, Kim-Shree Maufas, Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell, Rachel Norton, and Jill Wynns.

Fast forward to March 2024, when Proposition G hit the ballot promising to restore accelerated math pathways. Among its loudest supporters? GrowSF, the SF Republican Party, and the Ed Lee Democratic Club. All three groups campaigned hard against the very policy they'd helped enable by endorsing the people who created it.

GrowSF endorsed Emily Murase for the Board of Supervisors and Matt Haney for State Assembly. The Ed Lee Club backed Hydra Mendoza-McDonnell and Rachel Norton. The SF Republican Party endorsed Jill Wynns. These aren't ancient connections — these are active political endorsements of the architects of a policy these organizations now call a disaster.

Matt Haney, in particular, seems to have pulled off a masterful disappearing act. He sat on that board, approved the math sequence changes, then smoothly transitioned to the State Assembly without ever being pressed on his role in one of SFUSD's most controversial curriculum decisions.

This is the kind of circular dysfunction that makes SF politics so maddening. Organizations campaign against policies while endorsing the politicians who enacted them. Voters are left trying to figure out who actually stands for what, while the political class just keeps reshuffling the deck.

We're not saying people can't change their minds. But if you're going to run a campaign telling parents that delayed Algebra is hurting their kids, maybe acknowledge that you helped put the people responsible into office. Accountability isn't just for the other team.

The real losers here aren't the politicians or the advocacy groups — it's the thousands of SFUSD students who spent a decade in a watered-down math pipeline while the adults in the room played musical endorsements.