San Francisco’s public school leaders have revealed details of a dramatic downsizing plan to cut personnel costs by $113 million.
According to documents released Friday, ahead of Tuesday’s regular board meeting, the San Francisco Unified School District plans to lay off hundreds of staff members — 395 teachers, social workers, and counselors, 164 teacher aides, and 278 administrators — across school sites and the central office.
That’s 837 positions in all.
The district late last year shifted its cost-cutting strategy from school closures to staff reductions. Friday’s announcement marks the beginning of the layoff process. The district needs to identify approximately 500 positions for elimination, pending a buyout offer that would give one-time payments to encourage early retirement of senior staff.
SFUSD spokesperson Laura Dudnick didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment.
Under state oversight for financial decisions, Superintendent Maria Su must present a budget proposal for review in mid-March. Meanwhile, the district may face cuts in state funding that is being redirected to recovery efforts following the L.A. fires.
While the district may soon issue pink slips, the notices could be rescinded. Final layoff decisions will be made in May.
Cassondra Curiel of United Educators of San Francisco called the layoff numbers excessive, inflated, and out of line with “the actual needs of our students or the budget for hiring staff.” The union boss also asserted that the district’s preliminary figures don’t account for some $100 million in yearly funding from the city.
However, the SFUSD Board of Education is determined to move forward; a vote on the downsizing proposal is set for Tuesday. Board President Phil Kim said the top priority is producing a budget that meets state requirements — while maintaining respectful dialogue with staff and educators.
“We are focusing on getting our budget right,” Kim said. “Our goal is clear — regain our control of the budget.”