In the wee hours on Tuesday morning, principals and administrators negotiating past the witching hour at the San Francisco Unified School District’s downtown headquarters breathed a sigh of relief: At 12:33 a.m., they reached a tentative deal with the district.
Following a marathon 16 hours of negotiating, SFUSD principals burdened by staff shortages and depressed resources walked away with a $7,500 bump for every United Administrators of San Francisco-covered worker, followed by a two percent raise over each of the next three years . The principals also received a “me too” clause requiring them to receive a raise when other district unions receive one.
The principals and administrators had planned to stage a walkout following Wednesday’s quarterly administrative meeting, and rally outside 555 Franklin St. That action has been called off in favor of a party, along with likely plans to strike in the near future.
Anna Klafter, the longtime principal at Independence High School and the president of the principals’ union, is pleasantly surprised. Regarding the negotiating session that ended this morning, she said that “The process didn’t really go like I thought it would.” Notably, she did not expect to walk out of the session with a deal.
Both the union and the district made their cases before a three-person “fact-finding” panel. Neutral panel member Donald Raczka, co-elected by SFUSD and the principals’ union, purportedly surprised everyone by stating that he didn’t feel like hearing both sides and then writing up a 30-page report. Rather, Klafter recalled him saying “I’m going to get you guys to reach a settlement.”
“I was like, ‘No, you’re not,’” Klafter recalled. “But he did.”
Notably, Elliot Duchon, the state-appointed fiscal monitor for the district, was present throughout the negotiations — meaning the tentative deal will not run afoul of the state.
At 12:44 a.m. this morning, Klafter, along with other members of the union and labor negotiators, was pictured smiling next to SFUSD Superintendent Dr. Maria Su, who monitored the progress of the negotiations throughout the process.
The district has not yet returned requests for comment.
From left: UASF Co-executive Director Ellen Wong, Lead Negotiator Jolie Wineroth, VP Dr. Myra Quadros, Executive Director of Labor Relations Apolinar Quesada, UASF President Anna Klafter, and Superintendent Maria Su pose for a photo after reaching an agreement at 12:44 a.m. on Tuesday. Photo courtesy of UASF.
The agreement comes on the heels of significant pushback administrators received from the school district when they announced their plans to walk out of Wednesday’s meeting. Mission Local yesterday reported that multiple principals were told by Su herself that if they walked out of the meeting, they could face legal consequences.
Klafter says that she’s getting “good vibes” from her colleagues about the proposed deal — though, she says, “not everyone will be happy with everything.” She hopes to set up a ratification vote as quickly as possible.
The most important win in the union’s view is the “me too” clause, which guarantees that if another union within SFUSD secures a higher raise, principals and administrators within the United Administrators of San Francisco will receive an equivalent raise.
The district and the teachers’ union are also in the midst of contentious negotiations.
While the proposed Wednesday rally has been repurposed into a party, Klafter says she and her colleagues walked away with the best agreement they could achieve. “We have all these freaking signs,” Klafter laments. But she’s pleased to stow them until some later time.
“I think we were able to get a fair deal that recognizes the work we do,” said Klafter, “and also works within this sort of dim fiscal reality we’re living in.”