While walking into a 2 p.m. Saturday negotiation session at the Veterans Building on Van Ness Ave. with members of her leadership team, Superintendent Maria Su was noncommittal as to whether the district was prepared to concede anything to the United Educators of San Francisco.<\/p>\n
\u201cI\u2019m just excited to get the conversation going,\u201d Su told The Standard, declining to address any changes to the district\u2019s proposal. \u201cI look forward to getting to an agreement that supports our students.\u201d<\/p>\n
The union told the Standard around 4 p.m. that there was no scheduled end time for negotiations on Saturday afternoon, and suggested that all parties could work late into the night, and possibly into Sunday.<\/p>\n
Whether the strike takes place or not, all SFUSD schools and district offices will remain closed on Monday Feb. 9, according to an email that went out on Saturday from Su\u2019s office.<\/p>\n
In addition to Su, Deputy Superintendent Chris Mount-Benites and Amy Baer, the Associate Superintendent of Human Resources, are part of the SFUSD negotiating team. President Cassondra Curiel and Executive Vice President Frank Lara, among others, comprise the UESF side.<\/p>\n
The two entities are looking for a middle ground around pay and healthcare benefits, along with other issues including special education staffing and artificial intelligence. If successful, a new deal would end a year\u2019s worth of bargaining over a new contract for teachers. <\/p>\n
SFUSD has offered a 6% wage increase over the next three years for both certificated and classified employees. But the union is seeking a 9% increase over two years for certificated employees and a 14% increase over that same period for classified employees, which include custodians and paraprofessionals.<\/p>\n
On Saturday, while negotiations were ongoing the UESF put out messages on Facebook (opens in new tab)<\/a>, suggesting that a strike was likely.<\/p>\n \u201cThis isn\u2019t just about us, it\u2019s about every student who needs consistent special ed support, every family facing housing insecurity, every educator who can\u2019t afford to live in the city they serve,\u201d the union wrote on Saturday morning.<\/p>\n \u201cSFUSD needs to prioritize today\u2019s dollars on today\u2019s students and settle a fair contract. Until then, we\u2019re ready to strike on Monday, Feb. 9.\u201d<\/p>\n While the district claimed last week it had offered the district fully-funded healthcare, the proposal presented at Thursday\u2019s negotiations had offered two different options: 75% of family healthcare or an annual health benefits allowance of $24,000 for each educator, using Proposition A parcel tax funds to pay for the cost in a separate memorandum of understanding, or MOU.\u00a0<\/p>\n The union is also seeking a commitment to implement a workload model, instead of a caseload model. A workload model corresponds to paying teachers based on time and effort with students, rather than a number of assigned students. The district has proposed implementing a pilot at five schools, while the union seeks a commitment to implement this model at all locations.<\/p>\n On Friday, after administrators announced they would be striking in solidarity with teachers \u2014 further complicating the potential of opening schools. <\/p>\n The district released a list of free lunch and breakfast sites (opens in new tab)<\/a> and childcare programs (opens in new tab)<\/a> around the city. The district said parents should not expect that there will be enough availability, and advised families to contact each childcare provider.<\/p>\n On Feb. 3, the school board gave the superintendent authorization to enact measures which extend beyond the dictates of typical district policy, including the ability to close school sites and change staffing assignments.<\/p>\n