San Francisco school board's leadership shifts left

San Francisco's school board selected a new president this week, marking an ideological shift for the panel, the San Francisco Chronicle reports.

What's happening: The San Francisco Board of Education voted 4-3 to elect Kevine Boggess to serve a one-year term.

• Boggess, the previous vice president of the board, is replacing outgoing president Jenny Lam.
• Commissioners Alida Fisher, Mark Sanchez and Matt Alexander supported Boggess' election. Together, the four commissioners make up the progressive faction of the board.
• Lam, meanwhile, garnered support from Lisa Weissman-Ward and Lainie Motamedi, the two mayor-appointed commissioners, who have since been elected.

Why it matters: The school board determines policies for all public schools across the city, establishes educational goals and standards and sets the district's budget.

Between the lines: The Board of Education has been at the center of the controversy around the academically prestigious Lowell High School's lottery-based admissions process.

• Those in favor of the lottery system argue it would help improve diversity and equity at the school.
• In June, the board voted 4-3 to revert Lowell's admissions process back to a merit-based system.

Of note: Boggess, along with Fisher, Sanchez and Alexander, have signaled they would support reinstating the previous admissions system at Lowell, the San Francisco Examiner reports.