We’re well into the school year now and there’s, as always, a ton going on at SFUSD that you should know about. But first, a plug–especially for newer-to-SFUSD families who want to learn more about the purpose of the Board of Education and how they have a huge impact on our schools–to RSVP for our “BOE 101” event on Wednesday 10/22 at 8pm via Zoom, co-hosted by SF Parents Action, ENDC, and Westside Family Democratic Club.
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Before you know it, you’ll be voting for candidates running for the Board of Education next year – in not one but in two elections! (June and November 2026). Stay tuned for opportunities to join our parent-led endorsement process, but first, check out “BOE 101” this week.
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Here’s a quick recap on all the latest happenings at SFUSD that parent and teacher advocates like you should be aware of. These are some key issues we’re watching closely:
- The Budget. If you thought SFUSD’s slashing of $114M last year would get us out of the state oversight woods, think again. SFUSD has another $60M+ to cut this year, even before any salary increases, and we keep hearing that there are “no easy cuts left.” This could look like proposals, for example, to increase class sizes or reduce “extra” staff at schools (CA Dept. of Ed budget advisors have warned that staff SFUSD believes critical to student success are not necessarily mandatory according to state Ed Code, and these positions could be at risk). We were informed that SFUSD will present a budget road show soon. We hope to see real, honest information about what families, teachers, and school communities can expect, and to have opportunities for parents and teachers to weigh in on the difficult tradeoffs SFUSD is grappling with.
- The Threats of Strikes. Not unrelatedly to the budget, we hear things are not going well during contract negotiations between SFUSD and our labor union leaders. District and UESF leaders both declared “impasse,” which means a mediator now steps in to help. Also, our principals still haven’t gotten the customary follow-on raise after teachers received the historic raise two years ago, and are rightfully feeling a combination of undervalued and overworked. Both UESF and UASF are getting strike-ready. What does that mean for our kids and our schools? We hope to see district and union leaders come to an agreement before it comes to that, as any disruption to learning is not good for students. If strikes occur, SF Parents will work with community organizations and City departments to ensure our most vulnerable students have a safe place to be and continued access to three meals a day if schools are shut down. Keep checking back in for how you can help.
- The Murmurs of More Closures. After the recently-announced closure of The Academy high school—which felt abrupt to many despite SFUSD describing years of engagement around it—we’re hearing that school closures could be a re-emerging topic this school year and more could come. If that’s the case, we’ll continue to remind SFUSD of the lessons we all learned from the last time they attempted closures without engaging impacted school communities first.
- The Board of Ed. At Tuesday, October 14’s Board of Education meeting, we heard from the Board about a new matrix for decision making they’ll be presenting at a near future meeting. Given multiple reports that the current Board of Education has been taking more time from our Superintendent than is healthy or normal (yikes), we hope this matrix helps smooth things out across SFUSD leadership. We also hope this results in a board that will not micromanage the district but will stay focused on high-level issues that keep SFUSD focused on the basics like fixing the budget, supporting our teachers and principals, and improving student learning outcomes.
- The Superintendent’s Contract. We’re informally hearing higher favorability ratings from families, teachers, and principals alike about the current superintendent compared to any superintendents since our organization started in 2020. Why is it that Superintendent Su still doesn’t have an official contract, then? Su was appointed by former Mayor Breed during Fall 2024 when our previous superintendent was pushed out by the school board. Though the ousting was chaotic and unwelcomed at the time, Su’s leadership has won her a lot of fans across the landscape of SFUSD stakeholders, particularly after fixing (🤞) the payroll system and making systems changes that led to a higher percentage of fully-staffed classrooms across schools than SFUSD has seen in recent years.
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Last month, we kicked off our third Board of Education Bootcamp Fellowship cohort with an incredible group of parent and teacher leaders. Session 1 featured Jeff Camp and Carol Kocivar of Ed100, who broke down how education works locally and across California, and how it’s funded. In Session 2, Former Commissioner Jenny Lam shared what it’s really like to serve on the SF Board of Education, in our ever popular “Day in the Life of a Board Commissioner” session.
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We’re so proud of this strong, diverse cohort—SFUSD parents, alums, educators, advocates, PTA presidents, advisory board members, and even former candidates for public office. Their thoughtful questions and lived experiences have already sparked rich conversations. This is a core program at SF Parents Action and we’re proud of its impact: three program graduates from previous cohorts currently serve on the SF Board of Education!
Stay tuned for more highlights from our Bootcamp Fellowship, and watch out for these phenomenal leaders, S.F.!
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Did you know? Through our BOE Accountability program, SF Parents hosts small, focused accountability meetings with individual school board commissioners. Last month, we met with Commissioner Alida Fisher. Parents shared their experiences and concerns around special education, literacy, and access to sports teams, as well as updates on our SF Kids Can’t Wait and Fix the Budget, Fund the Future campaign progress and demands.
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It was a productive and thoughtful conversation, and we were glad to identify areas of alignment in the work ahead! When you get involved in SF Parents advocacy, you get to join meetings like this one and provide input, for example, on determining who we should meet with next! Email giovanna@sfparents.org to get more involved in our important BOE Accountability work.
As always, let us know if you have any questions. A real human–often an SFUSD parent–answers inquiries to hello@sfparents.org. We’re here to inform, engage and connect families across SFUSD, to ensure thriving, equitable schools for our city’s public school students.
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Don’t forget to RSVP for our “BOE 101” – this Wednesday!
Families deserve to know how the Board of Education works and why it matters for SFUSD students. Join us on Wednesday, October 22 at 8 pm on Zoom for a session covering the basics and what you need to know, followed by a Q&A with Board President Phil Kim. Bring your questions and get a clearer picture of how board decisions shape our schools. Co-hosted between SF Parents Action, ENDC, and Westside Family Democratic Club.
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Founded in the summer of 2020, SF Parent Action is the political sister arm of SF Parent Coalition. We advocate for policies and elected officials who put the needs of San Francisco’s public school students first. Our mission is to empower public school parents in San Francisco to advocate for policy change and local candidates who support public school families and students.
www.sfparentaction.org
Questions?
Contact an SF Parent!
hello@sfparents.org
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