SF mayor to appoint school board member, sources say

Candidate Faauuga Moliga running for the Board of Education comes to the San Francisco Chronicle for an editorial board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, in San Francisco, Calif. Candidate Faauuga Moliga running for the Board of Education comes to the San Francisco Chronicle for an editorial board meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 26, 2018, in San Francisco, Calif. Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Liz Hafalia / The Chronicle Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close SF mayor to appoint school board member, sources say 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

Just three weeks before the November election, Mayor London Breed is expected to fill a vacancy on the San Francisco school board with one of the candidates she endorsed for the job.

Sources close to the mayor’s office say Breed will appoint school social worker Faauuga Moliga to the board at a Monday morning news conference.

Superintendent Vince Matthews confirmed the mayor’s office contacted the district over the weekend about finding a location for an unspecified announcement Monday morning. Matthews said the district reserved space for 11 a.m. at June Jordan School for Equity. All school board members were invited to attend.

Moliga is one of 18 candidates for three open positions on the board. While he has a long list of endorsements, five other candidates have raised more than Moliga’s $34,769, according to the most recent campaign finance information.

Moliga would replace Hydra Mendoza, who left at the end of September for a job with the New York public school system.

School district officials speculated that Breed would not fill Mendoza’s seat given the upcoming election, which would give a political edge to any person appointed to the board.

Moliga would serve on the board through December, with the three elected board members sworn in for a four-year term in January.

Neither the mayor nor Moliga returned requests for comment.

Breed also endorsed nonprofit grant writer Michelle Parker, as well as Josephine Zhao, who withdrew from the race amid reports she made derogatory comments about transgender rights and the sexuality of her opponents.

Jill Tucker is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jtucker@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @jilltucker