SF’s New School Superintendent Is on the Job. Little About It Is Business as Usual

San Francisco’s new superintendent is officially on the job — and already fielding questions from some tough critics: grade school students.

Maria Su, who has been co-leading a team of city administrators sent to help stabilize the San Francisco Unified School District, was appointed its new superintendent of schools on Tuesday night when the board approved her contract in a 6–1 vote. She joins at a tumultuous time for the district, which has paused its chaotic school closure process as it looks to close a massive budget deficit.

On Wednesday at Yick Wo Elementary School in North Beach, which was on the district’s list of schools that could have closed this spring, fourth- and fifth-graders gathered for a visit by the superintendent were pleased when Su, accompanied by Mayor London Breed, assured them their school would remain open. But they also asked hard questions — like had Su been to their school before, and why were closures being considered in the first place?

The answers? No, and there are some financial troubles in the district.

“There were some people who were working for the school district who were looking at school closures as an option, but they didn’t have all the information to make an informed decision,” Breed told the class, likening it to solving a math equation without doing or showing your work.

“One of the reasons why we pulled back on that plan is because we needed to have clear communication, and we needed to make sure we understood what was actually going on and what we need to do,” Breed said. “We’re not sure what we need to do until we get to the bottom of it and get to the facts.”

At Tuesday night’s school board meeting, only Commissioner Kevine Boggess voted against Su’s appointment, but many speakers raised concerns about the quick timeline of her selection and her lack of public education experience.

Su has headed the city’s Department of Children, Youth and Their Families for 19 years — and though she became the district’s chief officer on Tuesday, she’ll remain a city employee through an agreement between the city and district through June 2026. The city will also have the authority to fire or replace Su, breaking from the normal chain of command, in which the superintendent is responsible to the Board of Education.

Parents at the board meeting weren’t all pleased with the city’s heightened influence over San Francisco Unified’s matters.

“When one of the mayor’s direct reports is appointed as superintendent two weeks before an election, this creates the appearance of and potential for favoritism, corruption and political patronage,” parent Noah Sloss said.

To appoint Su, the board also had to approve that she serve without the regular requirements of a teaching and administrative credential and five years of experience in California schools.

However, the board members, along with California’s state superintendent and local government leaders, have thrown their support behind Su, saying she’s the kind of leader who will meet the district’s tough moment.

“What I can promise to the community, as well as to the school community here, is that I’m going to focus really hard to balance a budget, present a budget that makes sense, that is acceptable to the state of California so that we can continue to maintain and retain our local control,” Su said after the classroom visit.

She said she’s meeting with the district’s chief business officer on Wednesday and would be looking at the “gaps and deficiencies” in operational systems where changes could be made. Su will also be focused on “re-establishing a relationship” with California Department of Education fiscal advisors, who were assigned to the district in 2022 and given elevated veto power after SFUSD received a negative budget report in March.

Repairing relationships with school communities will also be a top priority.

“We need more clear communication,” Yick Wo parent Hee Seung Kim said while hanging a “Panda Pride” banner outside the school. “The composite score the last superintendent did was very unclear. If the new superintendent is willing to communicate with parents, that would be great so we can support.”

Whether schools could close or merge in the future — and what schools will look like next year after significant budget cuts — is still unclear.