SF campus closures, including Milk, halted by school board as new superintendent named

  • by John Ferrannini, Assistant Editor
  • Monday October 21, 2024
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Maria Su, Ph.D., is the new superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District. Photo: Courtesy DCYF
Maria Su, Ph.D., is the new superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District. Photo: Courtesy DCYF

There won't be any public school closures next year, the San Francisco Board of Education announced, following the resignation of the superintendent who was to preside over them. The new superintendent is Maria Su, Ph.D., who formerly led the city's Department of Children, Youth, and Their Families.

Su had headed up a team of top city officials Mayor London Breed recently dispatched to the school district to help administrators with budget and other matters.

The district's leadership change saves the Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy in the Castro LGBTQ neighborhood, and the June Jordan School for Equity in the Excelsior, alongside nine other campuses — at least for now. Both Milk, a K-5 elementary school, and June Jordan, a high school, had been on the list of possible closures. Milk was the first openly gay man elected to public office in California when he won a seat on the San Francisco Board of Supervisors in 1977. He and then-mayor George Moscone were assassinated in November 1978. Jordan was a queer Black woman who was a poet, essayist, and activist. She died in 2002.

Parents and community leaders have been incensed about the possible school closures or mergers since a list of affected campuses was released October 8. Breed last week criticized the district and Superintendent Matt Wayne.

"Over the last week since the school closures/merger list was released, I've spoken to parents, educators, and staff, and so many in our city who care deeply about our public schools. What I've heard over and over is confusion and concern around the proposed school closures/merger list and how it has been communicated and managed," Breed stated October 15. "This cannot continue."

Wayne submitted his resignation under pressure October 18, which was accepted by the Board of Education in a 6-1 vote. It happened just days after Breed expressed she now longer had faith in his leadership after the list of schools on the chopping block was announced. The lone dissenter, Commissioner Kevine Boggess, felt that Wayne should instead be fired.

The school board approved a separation agreement that will pay Wayne his $325,000 salary and fund his health benefits for 12 months, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

Breed praised the school board's decision to hire Su to oversee the district and its myriad crises.

"Dr. Maria Su has been a champion for families and children in our city and she has my full confidence in this new role leading our public schools," Breed stated. "The most important thing right now is for the school district to close its budget deficit to prevent a state takeover and to instill trust and confidence in the district. I know Maria has what it takes to lead this process with clarity, compassion and a commitment to strong communications with families and educators."

The school district needs to slash $100 million from its budget and is in danger of being taken over by the state.

Tony Thurmond, state superintendent of public instruction, visited San Francisco Monday, October 21, for a rally with Breed and other officials in support of Su and the district.

"My team and I will continue to work closely with Mayor Breed, Maria Su, and the San Francisco Unified board, staff, educators, and families, as we support SFUSD to work successfully through the district's current challenges," Thurmond stated. "We will build on the hundreds of millions of dollars in state funding already provided to support educators' professional development as well as students' academic achievement and mental health. We will also continue to provide fiscal experts to help SFUSD balance its budget and build the fiscal systems needed to support the world-class education system that all San Francisco families deserve."

Gay District 8 Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, who represents the Castro neighborhood on the Board of Supervisors, stated to the B.A.R. October 22 that he has "a lot of confidence in Maria Su."

"She's smart and competent and well-respected by key stakeholders, including in City Hall and state government," he stated. "That said, the road ahead is going to be a challenging one for the District and Superintendent Su; the choices will not be easy and the politics will be hard. The good news is Maria steps into this role with a lot of well-earned good will, which she will need."

Mark Sanchez, a queer man on the school board, and Phil Kim, a gay man on the school board, stated via emails October 21 and 22 respectively that they'd be referring to board president Matt Alexander.

Alexander didn't return a subsequent request for comment.

Students at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy rallied in support of their school remaining open October 16, before the school board's decision to halt the closures. Photo: Rick Gerharter  

District problems
All the schools that had been on the initial closure list had fewer than 300 students. The Milk school has 133 pupils who would have been merged with those at Sanchez Elementary School, a few blocks away at 325 Sanchez Street. The June Jordan campus has 179 students and would have merged with O'Connell High School at 2355 Folsom Street.

The district was also aiming to cut 500 positions from its payroll; the campus closings were expected to result in $22 million in cost savings for the district, which is struggling with declining enrollment. The final list of schools was to be announced at the November 12 meeting of the school board and there was to be a December 10 vote for the closings to be implemented in fall 2025. That has all now been halted by the school board.

Tom Ammiano, a gay longtime educator who served on the Board of Supervisors, as well as on the school board and in the state Assembly, said that there are larger, structural problems the Board of Education faces that need to be fixed.

"The removal of the superintendent is not the panacea to the endemic challenges of the school district," Ammiano said, adding that 1978's Proposition 13 — which limited property taxes that funded public schools and other municipal services — needs to be reformed.

"I underline reformed, not repealed," he said.

Ammiano also thinks that being on the school board should be a full-time position, like in Los Angeles, with each board member having staff. Having it part-time, like it is now, "leaves you vulnerable to [district] staff recommendations," he said.

"Many of them [district staff] have their own self-interest, though there's always good people," he added. "The [February 2022 school board] recall was a total failure because it didn't address these issues."

In that election, three school board members were recalled and replaced with members appointed by Breed. Only one of those appointees, current Vice President Lisa Weissman-Ward, who won election in 2022, remains. Lainie Motamedi, who had won election in 2022, resigned in August, with Breed naming Kim to replace her. The other, Ann Hsu, was ousted by voters in November 2022 as she sought a full term after making racist remarks in a candidate questionnaire. Hsu is running again in the November 5 election.

Ammiano also agreed with Milk school parents the Bay Area Reporter spoke with last week that the closures were part of "a national effort to privatize public education and that has creeped into our district as well.

"The parents are great; they need to be listened to," he concluded.

One of those parents with whom the B.A.R. spoke, Dave Gordon, a straight ally who sends his kindergartener and second grader to the Milk school, stated October 21 that the news of the board halting the closures brought joy to the Milk school community.

"We were enjoying an outdoor 'movie night' at the school when the news broke. We rallied and came together as a collective to have our voices heard, then found out together as a community," he stated in an email. "We are relieved at the reprieve but still cautious (yet optimistic) that Maria Su can put together a new plan that will still balance the budget."

But Gordon, too, said there are larger structural issues that need to be addressed.

"SFUSD needs to balance its budget without targeting schools for closure. They have not proven that they need to close schools or that doing so would yield better staffing and educational outcomes," he stated. "⁠SFUSD needs to address its convoluted lottery system and enrollment processes that drive families away from our schools and do not reflect family demand for our schools."

Updated, 10/21/24: This article has been updated with comment from school board member Mark Sanchez.

Updated, 10/22/24: This article has been updated with comments from Rafael Mandelman.

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