SF Board of Education approves budget for 2016-17 (Funding increases for teacher salaries and retirement funds)

Press Release

June 29, 2016 (San Francisco, CA) – The San Francisco Board of Education has approved the 2016-17 operating budget for the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD). The budget for next year totals $823.9 million in expenditures, an increase of approximately $38 million over the previous year.

Budget highlights

SFUSD will be providing $11.1 million in unrestricted funds to negotiated salary increases for teachers and other staff as approved in the most recent labor contracts. Additional expenditure increases include $5.1 million to the teachers’ retirement fund (CalSTRS) and $4.5 million in school site weighted student formula allocations.

Teachers, paraprofessionals and other staff represented by the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) will receive a 5% raise at the start of the school year, effectively moving the previously planned second salary increment of 2.25% up by six months.  The raises will be implemented in the first paycheck of the school year for all UESF members, both classified and certificated. Originally, the contract called for a 2.75% raise for the pay period starting in July 2016 and a 2.25% raise for the pay period starting in January 2017.

This budget also includes an expansion of Arabic and Vietnamese language pathways, programs for youth with incarcerated parents, and more support for homeless youth. It will also include support for SFUSD’s Tech Lead Program, a stipend-based program to help school site staff integrate technology for classroom learning environments. Also funded will be an additional African American Achievement and Leadership Initiative (AAALI) program coordinator.

“We are committed to ensuring our resources go to where they are most needed to create maximum impact for our students. The SFUSD budget reflects our district’s long-term goals of equity, achievement and accountability,” said Board President Matt Haney.

The Local Control Accountability Plan

The board also approved the annual update to the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP), which, per state requirements, documents how SFUSD will spend the supplemental funds earmarked for vulnerable student populations, including students who are low income, foster youth and/or English learners.

Just as SFUSD looks to the community for input on school site budgets and plans, parents, community members and organizations are actively engaged during the creation of the district’s LCAP.  The district worked with the Board of Education’s Parent Advisory Council (PAC), the District English Learners Advisory Committee (DELAC), and other parent groups to hold a series of focus groups and public forums which helped to shape the LCAP. 

Long-term planning

This year, approximately $490 million in revenue will come from the state’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF), compared to $465 million last year. The LCFF accounts for the majority of state funding to the district.

Reeta Madhavan, chief financial officer for SFUSD, cautioned that funding from the LCFF is not expected to increase at a comparable rate over the next four years and that some other state funding sources may go away. The 2012 voter-approved Prop 30 sales tax increase is set to expire at the end of this year. Another tax on the top earners in the state is expected to end in 2018. These two taxes were considered temporary ways for the state to supplement school funding, and there is still a possibility of the state extending the higher income taxes beyond 2018.

“Unless the fiscal forecast improves, SFUSD will have structural deficits and budget shortfalls within the next two years,” said Madhavan.

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Page updated on 06/29/16