But ahead of the strike announcement, San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su said she believed the parties were close to a deal.
“We are at the table; we want to continue and finish this conversation,” she said Tuesday. “I know that we will be able to get to an agreement.”
Barring an eleventh-hour intervention, the shutdown would be the city’s first since September 1979, when teachers went on strike for more than six weeks, delaying the start of the school year. That strike was concurrent with a BART employees walkout, leaving the city in chaos. After a dispute over pay and job protections, a deal was reached after the school district agreed to give teachers $6 million in raises and rehired hundreds of laid off teachers.
SFUSD did not immediately respond to a request for comment Thursday.
San Francisco Supervisor Alan Wong, who said that SFUSD is the largest employer in his Sunset District neighborhood, called for both parties to return to the table.
“As a strike looms, I worry for the families who rely on schools for food security and stability,” Wong said in a statement. “Everyone has a stake in finding a path forward that keeps classrooms open and learning on track.”
This is a developing story and will be updated.