SFUSD Shares Budget Updates

Press Release

San Francisco (December 10, 2024) - At the Board of Education regular meeting on Tuesday, Dec. 10 the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is sharing the following updates regarding its budget: the First Interim Report of the 2024-25 adopted budget, which covers a review of financials from July 1 through Oct. 31, and an updated Fiscal Stabilization Plan. The Fiscal Stabilization Plan outlines SFUSD’s efforts to staff schools and deliver educational services and programs to support student success.

SFUSD is experiencing a structural deficit, which happens when expenses exceed revenues. Enrollment has declined in SFUSD and across the state, and there is escalated oversight from the state regarding the district’s finances. SFUSD must implement $113 million in reductions for 2025-26 to balance its budget. The district has been taking serious corrective action to get closer to balancing the budget, including reducing central office staff; eliminating hundreds of vacant positions; reducing rentals, leases, repairs, and non-capital expenditures; and reducing costs for materials and supplies, contractors, and conferences. 

The Fiscal Stabilization Plan outlines a reduction in SFUSD’s workforce by 535 positions. While no decisions have been made yet regarding specific staffing reductions, including layoffs, SFUSD is taking steps to reduce the number of possible layoffs. Pending approval from the Board of Education, SFUSD will offer a Supplemental Early Retirement Plan (SERP) as an incentive for eligible employees to retire from the district on June 30, 2025, for Full-time Certificated (Management or Non-Management), Classified (Management or Non-Management), Supervisory or Confidential employee. 

“We are making the difficult choices now, including reducing costs, streamlining operations, and ensuring we’re spending within our means so that within two years, this district will be back on solid ground,” Superintendent Dr. Maria Su said. “While no decisions have been made yet regarding specific staffing reductions, I recognize the impact this has on people’s lives. I am committed to ensuring these changes are made with compassion, honesty, and clarity, so that we can continue to deliver on our mission of providing students with the quality education and equitable support required to thrive in the 21st century.”

The Fiscal Stabilization Plan identifies SFUSD’s efforts to staff schools and deliver educational services and programs to support student success in alignment with the Vision, Values, Goals, and Guardrails (VVGG). The budget development process for 2025-26 will continue in the winter and spring. As part of its next steps to balancing the budget, SFUSD is committed to:

1. Developing a school staffing model aligned with SFUSD’s goals and guardrails.
2. Minimizing impacts to schools by reducing Central Office staff and implementing operational improvements.
3. Restructuring districtwide services to serve students and schools more effectively and efficiently.
4. Providing consistency and predictability in budget planning for schools and departments.
5. Actively addressing operational challenges identified by the Financial Crisis Management and Assistance Team (“FCMAT”) review last Spring 2024.

In 2021, CDE appointed two state fiscal experts to support the district in fiscal stabilization. In May 2024, SFUSD received notice from the California Department of Education (CDE) that it revised the certification of SFUSD’s March budget report from “Qualified” to “Negative.” With this updated certification, the fiscal experts moved to fiscal advisor status and can directly engage in any district operation deemed counter to fiscal stability over board actions. SFUSD is on a path to create a sustainable district in an environment of declining enrollment and funds, but will likely not exit from this escalated state oversight until 2026-27.

View the Board agenda and associated documents here.

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