SF School Layoffs Are Coming, But the Total Is Far From Board’s Worst-Case Plan

Updated 10:40 a.m. Friday

The San Francisco Unified School District announced Thursday evening that it will issue about 170 preliminary layoff notices as it works to close a massive budget deficit by year’s end.

Pink slips will be sent to 34 counselors and 143 paraeducators — a sharp reduction from the hundreds of potential notices the school board approved in February — but the smaller list does not guarantee that staff reductions won’t be more significant next year.

Superintendent Maria Su has said the district spends about 80% of its $1.3 billion budget on staffing and faces about a $113 million shortfall.

“While it is very painful, it is very necessary for us to reduce our existing workforce in both our central office as well as throughout our schools,” she told reporters in February.

Other teachers, social workers, counselors and paraeducators will leave the district through an early retirement buyout, which more than 300 agreed to in February.

“Due to the overwhelming popularity of the supplemental early retirement plan, I am really grateful to say that we do not have to issue any preliminary layoff notices to our teachers across the district,” Su said at a budget town hall Thursday night. “This is really great news for us because we were hoping and trying to find a way to preserve consistency of our [classroom] teaching staff.”

United Educators of San Francisco Vice President Frank Lara said the district is also cross-referencing about 280 sunsetting temporary contracts and could opt not to replace some educators who leave the district voluntarily in the spring.

The district has already sent 57 assistant principals preliminary letters of release or reassignment, some of whom could be moved into classroom positions.

SFUSD shared a baseline staffing formula last month stating that classroom teachers, principals, clerks and janitors will be funded at its schools.

According to the district’s new supplementary staffing guide, schools will only be able to hire new social workers, nurses, librarians and counselors after those roles are covered at their campus. Schools with supplemental funding can also hire assistant principals. Hiring for some additional roles, such as English language and intervention specialists, will be on hold until 92% of classroom teaching positions across the district are filled.

The new guide also disallows hiring class size reduction teachers, angering some parent-teacher associations, which have traditionally funded these roles — such as two positions at Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila — at their children’s schools.

“For many years in San Francisco, PTAs have stepped up to fill budget gaps for a variety of operating costs,” reads a petition signed by more than 500 parents opposing the new policy. “These PTA-funded resources have allowed schools to continue performing well academically despite inadequate funding and continued uncertainty.”

The district said the notices being sent are preliminary and that it is “hopeful” final notices won’t be necessary.

“As site budgets are finalized, we will gain a clearer understanding of which positions schools will choose to fund,” an SFUSD spokesperson said in a statement.