{"id":169886,"date":"2026-02-09T02:36:16","date_gmt":"2026-02-09T02:36:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/169886\/"},"modified":"2026-02-09T02:36:16","modified_gmt":"2026-02-09T02:36:16","slug":"public-schools-to-close-monday-as-teachers-prepare-to-hit-picket-lines","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/169886\/","title":{"rendered":"Public schools to close Monday as teachers prepare to hit picket lines"},"content":{"rendered":"

After shrugging off responsibility for a looming teachers\u2019 strike when he was asked about it two weeks ago<\/a>, Mayor Daniel Lurie has now entered the chat.<\/p>\n

On Sunday, in an Instagram post, Lurie (opens in new tab)<\/a>stepped into center stage (opens in new tab)<\/a>. He requested that the United Educators of San Francisco and the San Francisco Unified School District take a three-day timeout while they continue negotiations and keep schools open this week.<\/p>\n

His remarks, which were echoed in a statement by Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco), suggested that \u201cour students and our parents need certainty ahead of tomorrow.\u201d<\/p>\n

And yet, less than 24 hours before school starts on Monday, there was little certainty being provided on the part of SFUSD. Union representatives have declined to call off the strike.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need to see serious movement from the District,\u201d UESF wrote on Facebook (opens in new tab)<\/a> at about 3:15 p.m. \u201cOur team is working hard today to respond to the proposals we received last night.\u201d<\/p>\n

The district was still saying schools could be open tomorrow if a last-minute agreement is reached as of the afternoon, even after they had been telling parents since Friday, without a caveat, that schools will be closed indefinitely (opens in new tab)<\/a> starting on Monday.<\/p>\n

Throughout Sunday, representatives from both the union and SFUSD dodged questions from The Standard on when negotiations would resume on Sunday or Monday or beyond.<\/p>\n

The union has said both that they were waiting to meet again until they came up with a sufficient proposal for the district, and also that they were waiting to meet again until they got a better proposal from the district.<\/p>\n

By Sunday evening, it was clear that there would be no school on Monday \u2014 with negotiations resuming Monday afternoon.<\/p>\n

At a brief and vague press conference Sunday afternoon, UESF President Cassondra Curiel reiterated that the union \u201cwill be going on strike on Monday, absent a signed tentative agreement with this district.\u201d<\/p>\n

Union representatives disregarded Lurie and Pelosi\u2019s joint \u201ctimeout\u201d suggestion.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know the district is aware of what we are asking for,\u201d Curiel said. \u201cWe need to see there\u2019s serious movement.\u201d<\/p>\n

Negotiations ramped up on Wednesday after the release of a <\/a>neutral fact-finding report<\/a> that gave the district the power to <\/a>announce a strike Thursday morning<\/a>. Since then, the district and union have come to an agreement on increased protections for immigrant students but little else. <\/a><\/p>\n

They remain stuck<\/a> on the union\u2019s demands for higher wages, increased capacity for special education professionals, and fully funded family healthcare.<\/p>\n

After a marathon session dragged on into Saturday night without a new agreement, Superintendent Maria Su said she was \u201cdeeply frustrated and disheartened\u201d that the two sides could not reach an agreement.<\/p>\n