SF Schools Will Close if Teachers Strike. Here’s How City Hall Plans to Step In

San Francisco schools will not be able to open if teachers strike as planned, the district said Friday, as Mayor Daniel Lurie prepared for the chaos of tens of thousands of families waking up Monday morning without access to schools.

If the strike goes forward, Lurie said, city departments will offer free meals and some extended child care services. Meanwhile, negotiations between the teachers union and the San Francisco Unified School District continue, but both sides appear to be far from a deal.

“The best outcome for our city is schools staying open and students continuing to learn in their classrooms. That remains my hope,” Lurie said in a social media video late Thursday. “But families deserve to know that their city is planning ahead.”

Without the 6,000 teachers, paraeducators, social workers and counselors represented by United Educators of San Francisco — and the possibility that administrators and other campus workers will refuse to cross picket lines — Superintendent Maria Su said schools will not be able to open.

That means families of the 50,000 students normally sent to 110 district schools would be left without child care, and some children without reliable meals or places to go.

Lurie said on day one, his office is prepared to stand up meal distribution centers where students can receive a grab-and-go lunch on a first-come, first-served basis. Some sites will also offer breakfast.

The centers will be in partnership with the Department of Children, Youth and Their Families; the San Francisco Public Library; the Recreation and Parks Department; and other community-based organizations. Families will receive information about the locations, hours and meal availability at sites directly, he said.

Students who already participate in the district’s after-school programs could also have access to extended services.

The district said earlier this week that it was working with the community-based organizations and nonprofits that provide that programming on the possibility of all-day care, but many are limited by space and capacity. Su has said the district would prioritize the lowest-income and unhoused children, as well as special education students.

Lurie said parents should reach out to their after-school care providers directly for information on their options.

Public libraries will remain open, Lurie noted, and children older than 8 are able to access the facilities without a parent or guardian.

The strike set for Monday comes after nearly a year of unsuccessful contract negotiations between the union and district leaders. Currently, educators are working under a deal that expired in June.

It’s not yet clear how the city plans to support families should the strike extend beyond Monday. Lurie said he’s still hopeful an agreement can be reached, and that he was grateful that UESF and SFUSD had returned to the bargaining table on Thursday night.

“Even though there are details to work out, I know that everyone at the table, including every hardworking educator, shares a dedication to our students,” he wrote.

But UESF President Cassondra Curiel said in a statement after Thursday’s bargaining session that the union was disappointed by an apparent “lack of urgency” from district negotiators.

Su had said Thursday that the district planned to make a proposal to the union that met its top demand — fully funded health care for educators with families — and offered wage increases within its means, but Curiel said no such proposal was made that night.

“All week we have been bombarded with the message that the district was prepared to come to the table and give us a serious proposal — and our members were ready to negotiate tonight,” Curiel said. “We aren’t sure what happened tonight when the district’s team — minus Dr. Su — came to the table without such an offer.”

The union has said it will not accept a contract that doesn’t cover health care costs, which rose this year. Educators with families on their health care pay about $1,500 per month — up to 40% of some of their paychecks, according to Curiel.

UESF has also requested raises of 9% and 14% over two years for different members, and to transition special education staff from a caseload to a workload model, to alleviate overloading the hard-to-staff positions.

SFUSD has said repeatedly that it can’t meet the union’s demands because of its budget shortfall. Su said that Thursday night, the district maintained its offer for 6% raises over three years, with concessions from educators, which it made in October. She said the district is also offering two health care benefit options: one to cover 75% of premiums, and another to give educators a $24,000 annual stipend for health care costs.

A neutral mediator earlier this week found that that wage offer — which fails to match the state’s cost-of-living adjustment — is too low, and recommended a 6% raise over two years, along with fully funded health care for the next three years, using parcel tax funding.

The district suggested resuming negotiations on Friday morning. The union has agreed to bargain on Saturday at 2 p.m., saying that would “allow the district time to make preparations on an offer.”