Parents Demand Accountability: Where is the Board’s Progress for Getting SFUSD Back on Track? [PUBLIC LETTER TO THE S.F. BOARD OF EDUCATION]

October 18, 2024

Dear SFUSD Board of Education Commissioners,

I am writing on behalf of SF Parent Coalition, a broad network of SFUSD families from across every neighborhood of San Francisco. In light of the recent turmoil surrounding the Resource Alignment Initiative, proposed school closures, and now Superintendent Wayne’s imminent resignation, our organization and the passionate parents it represents are calling on you to refocus on the task at hand: ensuring SFUSD can provide every learner with a supportive, meaningful education. At this moment, successfully doing so depends on the district reestablishing its fiscal health, immediately.

On September 22, the Board of Education committed to four priorities to get the district’s finances back on track. They were:

• “Balance SFUSD’s budget and eliminate the structural deficit”
• “Rehabilitate SFUSD’s fiscal and operational systems”
• “Extend the longevity of the school bond program”
• “Rightsize SFUSD’s school portfolio with fewer but better schools”

Since September we have not heard any concrete, feasible proposals from you to address any of the first three bullets above. And while the district made moves around the final bullet, the rollout of that school closure identification process has been deeply flawed — and made worse by actions of the members of the Board of Education, for which you have been silent on and still not taken responsibility. 

Since the release of the proposed school closure/merger list, which you were questionably and integrally involved with behind the scenes, city leaders and the Mayor have called for an end to the current school closure plan. We assume this was in response to the loud backlash from the school communities identified for closure. It should have come as no surprise that school communities would be besides themselves. It is incumbent on the district to develop a process that provides families confidence in the Board’s decisions and a clear view to improved services for their own children as well as all students. But the Board has, instead, added to the distrust.

At the same time, there have been closed door meetings and other negotiations, but they appear to parents as more about scapegoating than identifying pathways forward. And just last night, the Board announced a meeting to discuss “school district personnel.” None of these moves inspire confidence from an already shaken and anxious parent and teacher community. 

The lack of action, and the impending December deadline to stave off state takeover, leads us to ask for transparent, concrete, viable plans around each bullet the Board identified in September. Additionally, we have the following questions:

• What, specifically, has the Board done to balance the district’s budget and eliminate the structural deficit?
  • By what date will we be able to preview a plan for balancing the budget? 
  • What measures are you taking to ensure that the balancing plan minimizes negative impacts to student learning and well-being?
• Should the current school closure process end, what would replace it?
  • Would a new process be developed to identify schools for closure or would school closures be off the table entirely? 
  • Without school closures as part of the Resource Alignment efforts, is it possible for the district to find sufficient savings to address the budget deficit, while not leaving our schools void of the adults in buildings that our kids need to learn and thrive?
• What is the plan to replace Superintendent Wayne and move forward the Resource Alignment plans you committed to as a Board of Education, to ensure access to an excellent, equitable education for every SFUSD learner?

We anxiously await your responses and welcome the opportunity to discuss them in person or virtually. It is imperative that this Board of Education not continue to kick the can down the road on difficult budget decisions. Our city’s 49,000 students are relying on you to do what those who came before you were not brave enough to tackle.

Sincerely,

Meredith, on behalf of SF Parent Coalition

CC: SF Parent Coalition Board and Parent Leadership Council