Just seven days after teachers and the San Francisco Unified School District came to a labor agreement — ending a historic four-day strike — the superintendent announced that she would be asking the board to approve preliminary layoff notices for 42 employees and staff.
In an email (opens in new tab) sent to families and staff on Friday evening, Superintendent Maria Su wrote that over the last five years, public school enrollment has dropped 6%, and as such, layoffs are warranted.
“We may have even fewer students next year,” she wrote. “Final numbers will be confirmed in March, but we must plan now using current estimates. We cannot keep staffing at past levels if we are serving fewer students.”
SFUSD noted on its website (opens in new tab) that a formal preliminary layoff notice does not necessarily mean that someone will lose their job.
“Final decisions are made in May after enrollment and budget information are confirmed,” the district wrote. “In some cases, employees may be able to move into existing vacancies.”
The item is scheduled to be discussed at an upcoming Feb. 24 board meeting.
According to an agenda document (opens in new tab) also posted Friday evening on the SFUSD website, numerous campus security staff and instructional aides with foreign language expertise may be affected, including speakers of Cantonese, Mandarin, Arabic, Filipino (Tagalog), and Spanish.
Cassondra Curiel, president of United Educators of San Francisco, the teachers’ union, lambasted the announcement in a statement sent by text message to the Standard.
“Every year, the District threatens to layoff educators while classrooms are understaffed with vacancies particularly high in special education,” she wrote.
“District management’s time and energy would be better spent ensuring that all classrooms and school sites have dedicated educators ready to meet the needs of our students than issuing destabilizing preliminary layoff notices for positions they then need to fill come August. We are committed to all efforts to retain and recruit quality educators, and we hope the District will join us in working toward the schools our students deserve.”
Still, SFUSD warned that these layoffs will not resolve its longstanding fiscal crisis.
“While we have made significant progress in stabilizing our finances, a structural deficit remains,” it wrote. “Continued responsible decision-making is necessary to protect classrooms and ensure long-term fiscal stability.”