![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/DanielLurieSFUSDStrike.jpg\")
Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in San Francisco, addressing the San Francisco Unified School District\u2019s newly reached agreement with the teachers union. (Sydney Johnson\/KQED)<\/p>\nIn an email, San Francisco State University labor historian John Logan called the health care coverage a big win for the union, but said that the other two sticking points \u2014 wages and resources for special education services \u2014 \u201ccould perhaps best be described as a \u2018score draw.\u201d<\/p>\n
When bargaining began, the union asked for 14% and 9% raises, respectively.<\/p>\n
The district will give both security guards and paraeducators, who work as school and classroom aides, an 8.5% raise over two years, with hikes of 4% this year and then 4.5% in the year following.<\/p>\n
Special education paraeducators will receive an additional 5% salary increase.<\/p>\n
Security guards will gain an additional floating holiday, as well as eligibility for full-time employment, which improves their benefit coverage options.<\/p>\n
Certificated educators, including teachers, social workers and counselors, will receive 2% raises in each of the next two years.<\/p>\n
The union had also proposed transitioning from a caseload model, which allocates workload by student, to a new model that accounts for varying student needs, reducing the burden on employees.<\/p>\n
Mayor Daniel Lurie speaks at a press conference on Friday, Feb. 13, 2026, in San Francisco, addressing the San Francisco Unified School District\u2019s newly reached agreement with the teachers union. (Sydney Johnson\/KQED)<\/p>\n
Instead, the tentative agreement calls for the district and union to \u201ccollaborate on an educator working group with budget authority to improve special education programs,\u201d and commits to providing \u201cadditional supports\u201d for special educators.<\/p>\n
On Friday morning, Mayor Daniel Lurie called the contract \u201ca win for our city.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a win for our public schools. It\u2019s a win for educators,\u201d he told reporters. \u201cWe talk about affordability in this city, and it is far too out of reach for so many.\u201d<\/p>\n
Intertwined with the excitement surrounding the deal, though, are looming questions of how the district will pay for the deal.<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-40-BL_qed.jpg\")
Teachers, faculty and supporters march from Dolores Park to City Hall during the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n
Throughout negotiations, the district and union had been at odds over how much funding is actually available to cover expenses like raises and benefits. Prior to the deal, the district had already been planning to make more than $100 million in cuts ahead of next fall \u2014 and in November, moved to reopen a conversation about merging or closing schools.<\/p>\n
Su has repeatedly said the district cannot spend outside its means, as it is under state oversight and, according to Su, \u201cinching out\u201d of a fiscal cliff.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are on the right path to fiscal solvency, and so we need to be responsible with the deals,\u201d she told reporters earlier this week.<\/p>\n
When asked about the possibility of layoffs or school closures and mergers on Friday, she said, \u201cThat has always been on the table.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/260210-SFUSDStrikeDay2-31-BL_qed.jpg\")
Roosevelt High School students stand alongside teachers, faculty and supporters during a rally on the second day of an SFUSD teachers strike at Dolores Park in San Francisco on Feb. 10, 2026. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n
The district said it would dip into a \u201crainy day\u201d reserve fund of about $111 million that it set aside in December to help cover health care costs for the duration of the new contract, which expires in June 2027. But it\u2019s still unclear how much reserve funding it will use, or how it plans to continue to pay for the benefits moving forward.<\/p>\n
Speaking with reporters on Friday, Lara said that the district\u2019s budget woes have more to do with management than a lack of funding, citing SFUSD\u2019s significant fund balance, built up after overprojecting how much it would spend in many recent years.<\/p>\n
The district ended last year in a deficit.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat\u2019s a conversation for a different moment,\u201d Lara said. \u201cBut I hope that the power, the energy, the love that we\u2019ve received from our city \u2026 shows this district management or any district management or any board elected that people have hope and people want to see SFUSD succeed.\u201d<\/p>\n