Difficult Decisions for a Brighter Future in SFUSD

Dear SFUSD Community:

Every student knows that solving difficult problems takes hard work and time. There are no shortcuts or easy solutions. That can be frustrating, but in the end, solving the problem is worth the perseverance. The San Francisco Unified School District faces the same challenge right now. We have many difficult problems to solve, all of which will take a lot of hard work and time. 

While not unique to San Francisco, declining student enrollment, the expiration of COVID-relief funding, and increased operating costs have contributed to SFUSD’s significant structural deficit. Over the last few years, decisions have been made to minimize the impact on students by relying on our reserves, which are depleting quickly. This is not a sustainable approach to meet the needs of our students. 

Without a balanced budget and a plan to consolidate our resources, we risk a state takeover of our school district. Should SFUSD fall into receivership, the state of California will take over the district’s governance and its financial, operational, and programmatic decisions for years to come. If this happens, parents and school site communities will lose their ability to shape their children’s educational experience. It will further deplete resources directed to our schools, erode our collective decision-making power, and likely compound educational disparities for our most vulnerable students.

I have to be honest about the tough decisions that are on the horizon to balance our budget.  There will be significant staff reductions, which will impact all of our schools. We are particularly mindful of the impacts of these staff reductions on schools already experiencing the greatest resource challenges because of their enrollment patterns and other factors. In some circumstances, we must explore whether we can best meet student needs by consolidating schools. 

Given our challenges, families need information, certainty, and clarity. To that end, I am committing to the following over the next five weeks.

First, my staff and I will hold three public town hall meetings with the SFUSD community about our budget process, challenges, and proposals to eliminate our structural deficit and retain local control of our schools. 

Second, my team and I will meet with the staff and families of schools that meet our criteria for closure or merger (see below). At these meetings, we will share what happens to their budget next year and our initial thinking about the school's future, including why a closure or merger could result in a better educational experience for students. I plan to listen and hope we can problem-solve together.

I know it has been a challenging start to the school year with uncertainty about the future. We are taking steps to rectify that and are unequivocally committed to the timeline of budget-related activities set forth below. I am also providing additional information and the list of composite scores guiding our consideration of school closures and mergers that will likely be a part of this difficult budget process.  

Thank you for your understanding. I hope you will join me in what must be a collective effort to ensure a locally governed and sustainable future for public schools in San Francisco.

Sincerely, 

Dr. Matt Wayne, Superintendent

Schools that Meet Closing and Merging Criteria and Proposed Welcoming Schools

13 schools meet the criteria for closing or merging

• 3 schools close 
• 8 schools merge with another school
• 2 schools become a welcoming school for a closed school  

Timeline of Engagement Activities:

• Oct. 10: Budget Town Hall #1 5:30-6:30 pm - Virtual Meeting
• Oct. 14-Nov. 1: School site engagement (see below for which schools)
• Oct. 24: Budget Town Hall #2 - TBD 
• Nov. 6: Budget Town Hall #3 - TBD 
• Nov. 12: Regular BOE Meeting: Staff presentation of the proposed new school portfolio and recommendations for school closures, mergers, and co-locations
• Dec. 4: Additional engagement - To Be Determined
• Dec. 10: Regular Board Meeting: Board of Education action on school closures
• Dec. 12: Special Board Meeting: Adoption of 1st interim, including any additional budget balancing adjustments for current or future years.

FAQs

What does it mean that SFUSD has a budget crisis?

Last May, the California Department of Education issued a negative certification of our budget report and increased state oversight. In response, the district was required to submit a plan showing how to balance our budget by the end of the 2025-26 school year. This plan included $113M in reductions for 2025-26, including eliminating over 500 positions from the district. If we do not follow through on making these reductions, a state takeover is possible. We need to do everything we can to maintain local control. 

Why is local control important, and why should we avoid state takeover?

If SFUSD fails to address its financial challenges adequately, our school district will fall into state receivership. This means that the state of California will take over the district’s governance and its financial, operational, and programmatic decisions for years to come. This would strip parents and school site communities of their important voice and ability to shape their children’s educational experience. It will further deplete resources directed to our schools, erode our collective decision-making power, and likely compound educational disparities for our most vulnerable students.

How does our decline in enrollment contribute to this budget crisis? 

Districts are funded by enrollment and get a certain amount of money per student. As our enrollment goes down, we receive less revenue. Our enrollment has declined by 4,000 students over the past seven years. This means the district receives approximately $80 million less in revenue than it would if it were still fully enrolled. Yet the district has not adjusted our expenditures or the number of schools we have to reflect this decline in enrollment. 

What is an under-enrolled school? 

An under-enrolled school does not have enough students to offer the educational opportunities we want for them in a fiscally responsible way. For example, when an elementary school has at least 260 students, SFUSD can provide at least two classes per grade level from K-5 and a TK class or two special education classes. It enables more efficient use of our educator workforce where teachers who provide enrichment opportunities (e.g., art, library, PE) can focus their time on one or two schools rather than going to multiple schools. This is the same for staff who support teachers and students, such as instructional coaches and social workers. 

At the high school level, a school should have 400-600 students to offer the learning opportunities students need to graduate college and be ready. This number of students allows us to offer all the courses necessary to meet the A-G requirements to be eligible to attend a college or university in California. It also ensures students may take Advanced Placement classes and electives and participate in career pathways. 

At these levels, SFUSD can sustainably deliver on its educational promise across San Francisco.

At the middle school level, our schools are enrolled at an appropriate level. Our middle schools are also going to face budget reductions next year. However, closing middle schools is not a strategy we are considering right now to address our resource limitations. 

The district was going to announce which schools will close on September 18. What happened?

As a district, we value engaging with our community before making a decision. As we have gone through this process, we have learned that there are still a lot of questions about why closing schools is necessary, how it is related to our budget crisis, and what it means for our students, families, and staff. We believe it is important to talk directly with school communities that may be vulnerable to the impacts of budget decisions before making a final recommendation to the Board of Education. 

Which schools will you be meeting with about closing or merging? 

We will be meeting with 13 schools (see here and see below) that meet our criteria for closing or merging to share what happens to their budget next year and our initial thinking about the school's future, including why a closure or merger could result in a better educational experience for students. For schools that meet the criteria to close or merge, we have also identified potential welcoming schools. A welcoming school is the school where students would be assigned if their school closes or merges with another school.  

What are the criteria for closing or merging? 

A school closure is when a school no longer continues to operate, and all of the students are assigned to multiple welcoming schools. A school merger is when all of the students at a closing school are enrolled in one welcoming school, and the two communities merge. The district has established the following criteria for closing or merging elementary and TK-8 schools and will only consider closing schools that meet the criteria:

• Elementary and TK-8 schools that have fewer than 260 students and are in the lowest 50% of our composite scores: 
  • El Dorado Elementary 
  • Harvey Milk Civil Rights Elementary
  • Jean Parker Elementary
  • Malcolm X Academy
  • Redding Elementary
  • San Francisco Community Alternative
  • San Francisco Public Montessori
  • Spring Valley Elementary
  • Sutro Elementary
  • Visitacion Valley Elementary
  • Yick Wo Elementary
• High schools with fewer than 400 students that are not alternative schools:  
  • June Jordan School for Equity
  • The Academy - SF @McAteer

Middle schools are not being considered for closure right now because the facilities are at 90% capacity.  

How will the district decide which schools to recommend closing or merging? 

As we have noted, our small schools are extremely vulnerable to the impact of pending budget reductions. At the heart of our decision is to support students, families, and staff through these changes. Most importantly, we want students to be able to remain with their friends and communities and come together. To do that, we have developed the following three guidelines: 

1. Merge schools where possible and aim to assign students to no more than two welcoming schools
2. The welcome schools(s) are within a 10-minute driving distance from the closing school 
3. The welcoming school(s) can accommodate each student’s language program and/or special education services

Additionally, to meet our commitment to equity, we have partnered with independent researchers to conduct a third-party equity audit of any scenario so that our most historically underserved student groups do not bear the burden of school closures more than anyone else. This equity audit will also inform our final recommendation about closures and mergers. 

Based on these guidelines, every school that meets the criteria for closure or merger will have a unique path forward. We will provide individual information to each school this week (e.g., the welcoming school) that will be the subject of our community conversations. 

After engaging with our communities, we will make a final recommendation to the Board of Education on Nov. 12. 

What is a composite score, and what does it mean for a school?

A composite score is a unique calculation for each SFUSD school that was determined by using three criteria divided into 10 different measures: 

Equity Category Criteria (50%)

1. School access (also an Equity Audit criterion)
2. Program access (also an Equity Audit criterion)
3. Historical inequities (also an Equity Audit criterion)

Excellence Category Criteria (25%)

1. School culture & climate
2. Academic performance
3. Socio-emotional development

Effective Use of Resources Category Criteria (25%)

1. Family choice and demand (also an Equity Audit criterion)
2. Student enrollment (also an Equity Audit criterion)
3. Building condition (also an Equity Audit criterion)
4. Teacher turnover

These metrics are combined to create an overall score, emphasizing equity and reflecting the district's commitment to addressing access and program disparities. Schools with the lowest scores are more likely to be considered for closure. You can access the composite scores here. 

What happens next with the schools that meet the criteria for closure or merger?

Schools that meet the criteria for closure or merger have received a message directly from the district with information about the next steps. We will meet with the schools in the next two weeks.  

What does this mean for enrollment and the enrollment fair? 

Our enrollment season begins for incoming transitional kindergarten, kindergarten, sixth, and ninth-grade students in October. However, applications are not due until the end of January. The Board of Education will be presented with a recommendation on Nov. 12 about the future of any elementary, TK-8, and high schools we meet with. In the meantime, we encourage families to learn about all of our schools.