Public commenting is an important opportunity to make your powerful voice heard.
Let the S.F. Board of Education and SFUSD Leadership know how parents and caregivers feel, how the district can do better for our city’s kids, our teachers, and our schools!
Learn more about how to attend a meeting or make a public comment here.
Please note that as SF Parents is focused on our core issues, we only do
the summary/takes on the most pertinent agenda items related to our advocacy campaigns.
If you see that something on the BOE agenda is omitted, it is likely for this reason.
9/1/2026 Regular Meeting at 6:30pm:
- Full meeting agenda on BoardDocs here.
- Zoom link here – Password: 929665.
- Agenda summary from SF Parent Coalition follows below.
SF PARENT’S SUMMARY:
- BUDGET: The Board of Education will review the district’s Fiscal Health Risk Analysis report, which stated that SFUSD was at “high risk” of budget insolvency
- FAMILY ENGAGEMENT: The Board will hear an update on the district’s plans to
launch a Mandarin Immersion TK-8 school in 2027-28
Item H.1 Fiscal Crisis & Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) “Fiscal Health Risk Analysis (FHRA)” of SFUSD, 8/13/2026 (report link here)
SFUSD’s Financial Risk Assessment: Earlier this year, concerns about SFUSD’s finances triggered a state-required review by the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT). In August, FCMAT concluded that SFUSD remains at high risk of financial insolvency, citing concerns including internal financial controls, budget development and monitoring, leadership stability, deficit spending, staffing controls, and long-term financial projections.
Importantly, the assessment was based largely on financial information from March 2026. SFUSD says its financial picture has improved significantly since then: the district ended the year with a “positive” fiscal certification and has made progress addressing the issues identified by FCMAT. The district is not disputing that serious problems existed, but argues that the report does not fully reflect the work completed over the past several months.
Link to SFUSD’s 2025-26 First Interim Financial Report here.
Link to SFUSD’s 2025-26 Second Interim Financial Report here.
Link to SFUSD’s 2025-26 Third Interim Financial Report here.
Our Take: SFUSD has meaningfully improved its financial management controls. But parents need to keep careful watch that the district doesn’t backslide in its budgeting.
We appreciate that SFUSD has addressed key issues that were mentioned in the FHRA. In particular, the district has:
- Sharply reduced deficit spending
- Increased its unrestricted ending fund balance
- Implemented operational improvements in budget forecasting (multi-year projections, or “MYP”) and budget adoption
- Implemented position control
- Maintained compliance with budget reserves
- Filled the district’s Internal Auditor position.
These have been important steps for setting SFUSD on the right budget track. We must continue to ensure that the district’s budget aligns expenditures to revenues, while investing in teaching and learning.
Item H.2 Major Decision Update: TK-8 Mandarin Immersion School (link here)
SFUSD plans to open a new Mandarin Immersion TK-8 school in school year 2027-28. District staff are in the process of finalizing plans for a temporary site for the school and will provide an update on community engagement plans:
Our Take: The Board needs to hear from parents about the rollout of this new TK-8 Mandarin Immersion School.
We are waiting for more information about how this new TK-8 language immersion school will be handled in plans to reform school attendance areas. We are waiting for more information about how the district will identify potential temporary and permanent sites for this new school. We are waiting to see transition plans to ease students moving from the temporary to permanent site.
Parents throughout the district who may be interested in enrolling their children in this new language immersion program should be planning to attend the October and November site engagement opportunities. Parents in potentially affected schools, especially in the southeastern part of the city, should pay particular attention to roll-out plans.
As a reminder – SF Parents’ community continues to demand from SFUSD:
AN INCREASED, DEMONSTRATED FOCUS ON STUDENTS: We want to see the district’s clear plan and commitment to a baseline of excellence and equity across every SFUSD school. Without clarity, analysis, and follow-through on how decisions impact student outcomes, it’s impossible to know if SFUSD is truly prioritizing what matters most—student learning and success. Through our SF Kids Can’t Wait campaign, families continue to call for urgent improvements in literacy and math outcomes for SFUSD.
GREATER TRANSPARENCY AND COMMUNITY ACCESSIBILITY:
Families deserve open, honest communication about how decisions are made and how funds are spent. SFUSD must provide clear data and impact analysis for all major initiatives, including how they support student achievement. The Board should not approve budgets or plans without confidence in their accuracy or their impact on teaching and learning.
REAL ACCOUNTABILITY AND STRONG GOVERNANCE:
SFUSD must move beyond promises to consistent, measurable action. Strong governance from the Board of Education is essential to restoring trust and delivering results for students. Commissioners must remain focused on student outcomes, fiscal responsibility, and transparency, and hold district leadership accountable for following through on commitments and delivering measurable progress.