“Change is hard and initially I think there was some concern from families about just, well, what does it mean when I can’t access, I can’t connect with my child, or my students and what we say to families is you can always call the principal,” Su said.<\/p>\n
Su, who became superintendent in late 2024, said stabilizing the district’s finances has been a major focus following years of budget challenges.<\/p>\n
“Yes, so…it has been a struggle…” Su said when asked about the district’s financial condition.<\/p>\n
She said the district recently achieved a significant milestone by approving a balanced financial plan.<\/p>\n
“But I am so proud to say that with this board and with our entire school community we were, in June, able to pass a three-year balanced budget with a very healthy reserve,” Su said.<\/p>\n
Even with that progress, declining enrollment remains a concern because state funding is tied largely to student attendance.<\/p>\n
The issue has generated questions about the district’s decision to open a new school in the growing Mission Bay neighborhood despite enrollment declines elsewhere.<\/p>\n
MORE: SF Unified says layoffs ‘likely’ in the future to tackle $113M budget deficit<\/a><\/p>\n Su said the school fulfills a commitment made to the community as the neighborhood developed.<\/p>\n “We made a promise, we, the larger city we, made a promise to that neighborhood that as they were growing that we were going to ensure that there was a public education institution available for the families that were going to move into that neighborhood,” she said.<\/p>\n The land for the school was donated by UCSF with the condition that a school be constructed on the site.<\/p>\n School consolidation remains a sensitive topic within the district.<\/p>\n A previous proposal to close and merge schools generated significant controversy before the departure of the district’s former superintendent.<\/p>\n Su said any future discussions about campus consolidations should follow reforms to the district’s enrollment system, which families have criticized as overly complex.<\/p>\n “We’ve heard from families that our enrollment process needs to be easier, it has to be simple and I’ve said this before, the front door has to be really wide open and easy for families to come into our district,” Su said.<\/p>\n
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