Here’s how many S.F. politicians send their kids to public school

As the San Francisco teachers strike stretches into its fifth day, city officials have voiced strong support for those on the picket line, or at least urged that a deal get done. 

But many of them are not scrambling to find childcare like San Francisco Unified School District parents, because they send their kids to private school. 

Of the 14 San Francisco politicians with school-aged children that Mission Local identified, just six send or sent their kids to only public schools. Five send their kids to private schools, including Mayor Daniel Lurie, his head of housing Ned Segal, and congressional candidate Saikat Chakrabarti.

Four have sent their kids to a combination of public and private schools. That includes SFUSD Superintendent Maria Su, who sent her kids to public school through middle school but to a private high school. 

Which S.F. politicians send their kids to public school?

Graphic by Kelly Waldron. Data: Reporting by Io Yeh Gilman.

Politicians aren’t the only ones opting out of public schools. Citywide, around 30 percent of children go to private schools. That is the largest percentage of any county in the Bay Area and far higher than other large Californian cities like Los Angeles (10 percent) and Sacramento (8 percent). 

San Francisco is also the most childless major city in the country — and elected officials follow that trend. Several, like Board President Rafael Mandelman, District 5 Supervisor Bilal Mahmood and District 8 candidate Manny Yekutiel, have no children.

Declining enrollment in the school district has contributed to SFUSD’s fiscal precarity. Because state and federal funding is largely determined by enrollment, every San Franciscan sent to private school means approximately $21,000 less annually for the district. The district is currently facing a $113 million deficit and has said that it cannot afford the raises and benefits teachers are demanding. 

Lurie, his policy chief Segal, Chakrabarti, and District 4 candidate David Lee send their kids to private school. 

District 1 Supervisor and congressional candidate Connie Chan, District 7 Supervisor Myrna Melgar, and District 4 candidate Jeremy Greco sent their kids to SFUSD and to private school. Superintendent Maria Su sent her kids to public school through middle school but to a private high school. 

District 10 Supervisor Shamann Walton, District 11 Supervisor Chyanne Chen, Sheriff Paul Miyamoto, District 10 candidate Theo Ellington, District 10 candidate J.R. Eppler, and District 4 candidate Albert Chow send or sent their kids to public school. 

City Attorney David Chiu, Public Defender Mano Raju, District Attorney Brooke Jenkins and Mayoral Policy Chief Kunal Modi did not respond to Mission Local’s inquiry. Mayoral Policy Chiefs Alicia John-Baptiste, Paul Yep, and Jessica MacLeod do not appear in San Francisco’s voter rolls.