She Stops School Fights Before They Start. Oakland May Cut Her Job
Oakland Schools in Turmoil After 2 Key Officials Depart Over Budget Crisis
As Teacher Strike Looms, San Francisco’s School Board Set to Review Proposed Funding Cuts
SFUSD Has Overspent for Years. Major Cuts Could Have It on the Path to Stability
San Francisco Teachers Take Key Step Toward Strike
West Contra Costa Teachers Are Near a Pivotal Moment in Their Potential Strike
SF School Board Could Put School Closures Back on the Table
Oakland's School District Must Cut $100 Million. Its Proposed Plan Doesn't Get Close
Parents Say Lunch, Recess Changes at San José School Leave Kids Hungry, Confused
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"content": "\u003cp>At Castlemont High School in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/deep-east-oakland\">Deep East Oakland\u003c/a>, Phelisha Saffold stands in the sunshine surveying the courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is a good day out,” she says as students sit in clusters, talking and eating lunch. “Drama-free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She points out the cheerleaders. “They’re not hyphy about nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few yards away, the boys are doing their thing. The courtyard is filled with lively chatter; there are no raised voices, which would signal that things could go sideways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s when your antennas come on, and you want to put your ear to it,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over two years working as a school-based violence interrupter at Castlemont, Saffold, 54, has learned to decipher the signs that can precipitate a fight. Yelling is obvious, but sometimes they’re more subtle: A student just seems different one day. Maybe they’re quiet or grumpy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s duty is to get ahead of conflicts before they boil over into brawls — or worse. It’s a job that took on renewed urgency after a student was shot and injured at the city’s Skyline High School last month, but with Oakland schools \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">facing a crippling budget shortfall\u003c/a>, the future of that work is in doubt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Someone for students to turn to\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The term “violence interrupter” doesn’t mean much to Saffold’s students. To them, she’s a mediator, mentor and confidant. She’s got a dozen “school daughters” who call her “mom,” but her vibe is more cool auntie than nagging parent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This work is a long game — less about swooping in right before a squabble breaks out than it is about building relationships far ahead of time, when there’s no sign of trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066519\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066519\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students Realidy (left), 16, and Nevaeh, 16, talk in the hallway at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My goal is to get them to understand that they could trust me and they could count on me,” she says. “A lot of the students are not used to that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She buys gift cards to celebrate good grades and takes students out to eat, or to a food pantry, if they don’t have groceries at home. For her, that’s part of preventing violence: addressing conditions like neglect and hunger that can give rise to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She checks in on kids, like, ‘Hey, why are you not in class? Are you feeling good today?’ Like, anything and everything,” says 16-year-old junior Nevaeh, who asked to be identified by only her first name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold spends most of her time listening to students. All day, they approach her with updates about their minor beefs or major family troubles. They vent and ask for advice, and in between, they keep her keyed into conflicts brewing out of her view on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You hear that somebody’s about to get into a fight, but she already knows, so she’s stopping both of the girls,” Nevaeh says. “She’ll let other staff members know. She’s like, ‘Watch out for them.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At lunchtime one day in early December, instead of going outside to eat and talk with friends, Nevaeh and a handful of other students seat themselves at desks circled around Saffold, who greets them with, “There go my girls!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re here to discuss gossip and rumors, one of the biggest sources of campus drama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about how to navigate around he-say she-say and how to solve your own issues without it escalating,” Saffold says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with the two other members of the school’s violence prevention team, Saffold created this twice-monthly group to focus on building students’ communication skills. It’s voluntary and open to anyone, but it usually ends up being a group of mostly girls who work closely with them.[aside postID=news_11861142 hero='https://ww2.kqed.org/app/uploads/sites/10/2021/02/RS47159_032_Oakland_SkylineHSFootballPractice_02032021-qut-1020x679.jpg']Today, Saffold asks 15-year-old sophomore Kay’Lonnie Jackson to talk about a conflict she’d just worked through. Jackson and two other girls in the group had been clashing over some gossip all week, and that morning they’d finally put it to rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our beef was over some he-say she-say stuff, and both of us was in the wrong for listening and dragging on the beef,” Kay’Lonnie says. “So as a young lady, I went up to her and addressed myself where I was wrong, and she addressed herself where she was wrong and we apologized to each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is Saffold’s goal: to teach students the skills to defuse arguments and think before they react to provocation. Progress is hard won. In this case, Saffold had met with the girls several times over three days to mediate the dispute before they eventually ended it themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Y’all was driving me crazy this week,” she says. “I felt like I wasn’t getting nowhere. So for you guys to call me today and y’all pretty much fixed it on y’all own, it just made me super proud. It let me know that you guys are listening to what I’m saying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Saffold dispenses advice, it comes from someone who’s been there: She was once a student at Castlemont — and a self-described hothead who got into her share of fights and ended up in continuation school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066523\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066523\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with students during lunch at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things have changed since her high school days. She recognizes the rumor mill that drives conflict, but technology has supercharged it. There’s social media, with its ability to broadcast a slight campus-wide in a second, and the way smartphones have turned students into amateur PIs. “They’ll record a conversation and take it to another student and say, ‘I got proof that this has been said,’” she explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Saffold knows this community because it’s hers. She grew up in East Oakland, “so nine times out of ten if something is going on, I might know your mother, your grandmother, your uncle, your cousin,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this work, that is as important as the training violence interrupters receive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They use that credibility, they use that experience, to gain trust with the individuals that they’re working with,” said David Muhammad, executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, which works to reduce violence and incarceration. “They serve as an example for these young people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s connections help when she needs to involve students’ families to end a conflict — which sometimes means persuading a dad, aunt or cousin not to take things into their own hands and retaliate on behalf of their student.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Vital work at risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, most large urban districts in the country have some kind of violence intervention specialists on campus, said Muhammad, who has helped lead gun violence prevention strategies in cities nationwide, including Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, Saffold is part of a violence prevention ecosystem developed after the district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\">dissolved its school police department\u003c/a> in the wake of the George Floyd protests and committed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11989638/how-oakland-schools-strive-to-defuse-conflict-without-police-intervention\">overhauling its approach to safety\u003c/a>. She works with the former school security officers, now called “culture keepers,” who are focused on de-escalation and trauma-informed restorative practices, along with counselors and social workers, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066522\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066522\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with Tierra Rogers (left), a gender violence specialist, and Ebony Gray, a case manager, at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two of her closest allies on campus are the gender-based-violence specialist, who focuses on dating violence, sexual assault and exploitation, and the life coach, something between a mentor and a case manager who works intensively with students. The trio are part of a pilot program rolled out at seven high schools across the district beginning in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These three-person School Violence Intervention and Prevention Program teams are paid for by the city’s Department of Violence Prevention using money voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/Government/City-Council-Leadership/Measures/Measure-Z-Reports-and-Evaluations\">allocated for improving public safety\u003c/a> through 2014’s Measure Z. The department funds community-based organizations like Saffold’s employer, the nonprofit Youth Alive, to carry out the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/city-administrator/documents/measure-z/final-interim-eval-school-vip-12.10.24.pdf\">A city-funded evaluation of the program\u003c/a> by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that from its start in 2022-23 through the end of the 2023-24 school year, violence interrupters held 681 mediations. Almost 60% were proactive, while 11% were aimed at preventing retaliation. Overall, evaluators called the pilot program “promising,” though they noted that it was understaffed and underresourced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064018/oakland-violence-prevention-program-at-risk-as-skyline-high-shooting-renews-urgency\">funding is set to sunset\u003c/a> at the end of the school year, and the district is in no position to pick up the tab — the Oakland school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/12/11/ousd-oakland-public-school-board-vote-102-million-cuts/\">just approved a plan to cut $100 million\u003c/a> from next year’s budget amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">leadership turmoil\u003c/a> as it looks to avoid another state takeover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson Alegria, the district’s newly minted executive director of safety, said administrators parsing data to try to streamline the program might pare away positions at some schools and staff up at others. But the program as a whole, he said, would stay largely intact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066524\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066524\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold, a school-based violence interrupter, sits at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Safety is a top priority,” he said. “We want to make sure everybody understands that safety is not one of those things that we’re putting on the table to be cut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School board director Mike Hutchinson, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, has doubts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an extreme financial crisis of the likes we’ve never seen,” he said, noting that it could be a struggle for the district to fund even its core educational programming. “I’m concerned about a lot of our programs, from our culture keepers on campus to our restorative justice programs to definitely our violence interruption teams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hutchinson said he plans to sit down with the head of the Department of Violence Prevention to discuss alternative funding sources, citing the Skyline High shooting as proof the district needs to double down on violence interrupters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Castlemont’s principal, Joseph Blasher, their work is essential. “You can’t learn if you don’t feel safe,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits campus violence prevention efforts for helping to \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/ChronicAbsence_0/Comparison?%3Aembed=y&%3Adisplay_count=no&%3Arender=false#40\">boost\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/AbsenceDasboardPublic/AbsenceAnalysisSnapshot?%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y\">attendance\u003c/a> and cohort \u003ca href=\"https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/CohRate.aspx?cds=01612590125161&agglevel=school&year=2024-25&initrow=&ro=y\">graduation rates\u003c/a> and get families more engaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t imagine all of us just having to leave the campus. That would just be traumatizing,” Saffold said. “Not just for the students — I think for us as well, because we build these bonds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than just a job\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Bonding with teenagers and getting them to open up, even those Saffold has grown closest to, is a skill that takes constant upkeep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s is on display when she spots junior Tamiya Easley, 17, at lunch one afternoon. “You know we need to talk, right?” Saffold says. “About yesterday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya tries to dodge her. “What did I do yesterday?” she asks. “I didn’t even do nothing yesterday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068134\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (right), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with a student at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about it,” Saffold says with a laugh. She gives Tamiya a sly smile and another warm “We’ll talk about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That disarms Tamiya. “Oh, when I was upstairs tripping?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, you of all people,” Saffold says with a tone that lets Tamiya know she expected better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mom! It’s because I don’t like disrespect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya explains that she heard some students had been talking about her. She got heated and they got defensive. But she ended up apologizing and it blew over.[aside postID=news_12064511 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/20251118_SKYLINE_WALKOUT_GH-18-KQED.jpg']Saffold applauds. “That’s what I’m talking about!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My anger got the best of me. I know that,” Tamiya says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold often reminds her students that this isn’t just a job for her. She loves it, but it’s more than that. It’s deeply personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say it’s what saved my life, but it’s what helps me get through the loss of my son,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s son was shot and killed four years ago, when he was 28. And her son’s father died the same way 32 years ago. She said neither of them was in a gang or violent. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She tells students their stories to drive home a point: “If you’re kicking off violence, you’re not going to always be the winner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She keeps it real,” 16-year-old sophomore Kamarion Warner says, sitting across from Saffold during the lunchtime group meeting. Saffold proved to him how much she cares about students when he briefly moved to Stockton in ninth grade and she enlisted her granddaughter, who lives there, to take him under her wing at school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She wants you to succeed,” Kamarion says. “You just have to be willing to listen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying to change lives. You guys know my story,” she tells the group. “If I could just save one of y’all, then I feel like I’ve succeeded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "A recent shooting at Skyline High School brought renewed urgency to the job done by “violence interrupters,” who play a big role in keeping students safe. But OUSD’s budget shortfall means the future of that work is in doubt. ",
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"title": "She Stops School Fights Before They Start. Oakland May Cut Her Job | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>At Castlemont High School in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/deep-east-oakland\">Deep East Oakland\u003c/a>, Phelisha Saffold stands in the sunshine surveying the courtyard.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Today is a good day out,” she says as students sit in clusters, talking and eating lunch. “Drama-free.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She points out the cheerleaders. “They’re not hyphy about nothing.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A few yards away, the boys are doing their thing. The courtyard is filled with lively chatter; there are no raised voices, which would signal that things could go sideways.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“That’s when your antennas come on, and you want to put your ear to it,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Over two years working as a school-based violence interrupter at Castlemont, Saffold, 54, has learned to decipher the signs that can precipitate a fight. Yelling is obvious, but sometimes they’re more subtle: A student just seems different one day. Maybe they’re quiet or grumpy.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s duty is to get ahead of conflicts before they boil over into brawls — or worse. It’s a job that took on renewed urgency after a student was shot and injured at the city’s Skyline High School last month, but with Oakland schools \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">facing a crippling budget shortfall\u003c/a>, the future of that work is in doubt.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Someone for students to turn to\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>The term “violence interrupter” doesn’t mean much to Saffold’s students. To them, she’s a mediator, mentor and confidant. She’s got a dozen “school daughters” who call her “mom,” but her vibe is more cool auntie than nagging parent.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This work is a long game — less about swooping in right before a squabble breaks out than it is about building relationships far ahead of time, when there’s no sign of trouble.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066519\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066519\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-04-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students Realidy (left), 16, and Nevaeh, 16, talk in the hallway at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“My goal is to get them to understand that they could trust me and they could count on me,” she says. “A lot of the students are not used to that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She buys gift cards to celebrate good grades and takes students out to eat, or to a food pantry, if they don’t have groceries at home. For her, that’s part of preventing violence: addressing conditions like neglect and hunger that can give rise to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She checks in on kids, like, ‘Hey, why are you not in class? Are you feeling good today?’ Like, anything and everything,” says 16-year-old junior Nevaeh, who asked to be identified by only her first name.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold spends most of her time listening to students. All day, they approach her with updates about their minor beefs or major family troubles. They vent and ask for advice, and in between, they keep her keyed into conflicts brewing out of her view on social media.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You hear that somebody’s about to get into a fight, but she already knows, so she’s stopping both of the girls,” Nevaeh says. “She’ll let other staff members know. She’s like, ‘Watch out for them.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066525\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066525\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-37-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>At lunchtime one day in early December, instead of going outside to eat and talk with friends, Nevaeh and a handful of other students seat themselves at desks circled around Saffold, who greets them with, “There go my girls!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>They’re here to discuss gossip and rumors, one of the biggest sources of campus drama.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about how to navigate around he-say she-say and how to solve your own issues without it escalating,” Saffold says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Along with the two other members of the school’s violence prevention team, Saffold created this twice-monthly group to focus on building students’ communication skills. It’s voluntary and open to anyone, but it usually ends up being a group of mostly girls who work closely with them.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Today, Saffold asks 15-year-old sophomore Kay’Lonnie Jackson to talk about a conflict she’d just worked through. Jackson and two other girls in the group had been clashing over some gossip all week, and that morning they’d finally put it to rest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our beef was over some he-say she-say stuff, and both of us was in the wrong for listening and dragging on the beef,” Kay’Lonnie says. “So as a young lady, I went up to her and addressed myself where I was wrong, and she addressed herself where she was wrong and we apologized to each other.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>This is Saffold’s goal: to teach students the skills to defuse arguments and think before they react to provocation. Progress is hard won. In this case, Saffold had met with the girls several times over three days to mediate the dispute before they eventually ended it themselves.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Y’all was driving me crazy this week,” she says. “I felt like I wasn’t getting nowhere. So for you guys to call me today and y’all pretty much fixed it on y’all own, it just made me super proud. It let me know that you guys are listening to what I’m saying.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Saffold dispenses advice, it comes from someone who’s been there: She was once a student at Castlemont — and a self-described hothead who got into her share of fights and ended up in continuation school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066523\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066523\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-32-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with students during lunch at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Things have changed since her high school days. She recognizes the rumor mill that drives conflict, but technology has supercharged it. There’s social media, with its ability to broadcast a slight campus-wide in a second, and the way smartphones have turned students into amateur PIs. “They’ll record a conversation and take it to another student and say, ‘I got proof that this has been said,’” she explains.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Still, Saffold knows this community because it’s hers. She grew up in East Oakland, “so nine times out of ten if something is going on, I might know your mother, your grandmother, your uncle, your cousin,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In this work, that is as important as the training violence interrupters receive.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“They use that credibility, they use that experience, to gain trust with the individuals that they’re working with,” said David Muhammad, executive director of the National Institute for Criminal Justice Reform, which works to reduce violence and incarceration. “They serve as an example for these young people.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s connections help when she needs to involve students’ families to end a conflict — which sometimes means persuading a dad, aunt or cousin not to take things into their own hands and retaliate on behalf of their student.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Vital work at risk\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Today, most large urban districts in the country have some kind of violence intervention specialists on campus, said Muhammad, who has helped lead gun violence prevention strategies in cities nationwide, including Oakland.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Here, Saffold is part of a violence prevention ecosystem developed after the district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/arts/13893831/oakland-eliminated-its-school-police-force-so-what-happens-now\">dissolved its school police department\u003c/a> in the wake of the George Floyd protests and committed to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/11989638/how-oakland-schools-strive-to-defuse-conflict-without-police-intervention\">overhauling its approach to safety\u003c/a>. She works with the former school security officers, now called “culture keepers,” who are focused on de-escalation and trauma-informed restorative practices, along with counselors and social workers, among others.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066522\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066522\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-27-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (center), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with Tierra Rogers (left), a gender violence specialist, and Ebony Gray, a case manager, at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Two of her closest allies on campus are the gender-based-violence specialist, who focuses on dating violence, sexual assault and exploitation, and the life coach, something between a mentor and a case manager who works intensively with students. The trio are part of a pilot program rolled out at seven high schools across the district beginning in 2022.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>These three-person School Violence Intervention and Prevention Program teams are paid for by the city’s Department of Violence Prevention using money voters \u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/Government/City-Council-Leadership/Measures/Measure-Z-Reports-and-Evaluations\">allocated for improving public safety\u003c/a> through 2014’s Measure Z. The department funds community-based organizations like Saffold’s employer, the nonprofit Youth Alive, to carry out the work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.oaklandca.gov/files/assets/city/v/1/city-administrator/documents/measure-z/final-interim-eval-school-vip-12.10.24.pdf\">A city-funded evaluation of the program\u003c/a> by the Urban Institute, a nonprofit research organization, found that from its start in 2022-23 through the end of the 2023-24 school year, violence interrupters held 681 mediations. Almost 60% were proactive, while 11% were aimed at preventing retaliation. Overall, evaluators called the pilot program “promising,” though they noted that it was understaffed and underresourced.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064018/oakland-violence-prevention-program-at-risk-as-skyline-high-shooting-renews-urgency\">funding is set to sunset\u003c/a> at the end of the school year, and the district is in no position to pick up the tab — the Oakland school board \u003ca href=\"https://oaklandside.org/2025/12/11/ousd-oakland-public-school-board-vote-102-million-cuts/\">just approved a plan to cut $100 million\u003c/a> from next year’s budget amid \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12067547/oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis\">leadership turmoil\u003c/a> as it looks to avoid another state takeover.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Nelson Alegria, the district’s newly minted executive director of safety, said administrators parsing data to try to streamline the program might pare away positions at some schools and staff up at others. But the program as a whole, he said, would stay largely intact.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12066524\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12066524\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDVIOLENCEINTERRUPTER-34-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold, a school-based violence interrupter, sits at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“Safety is a top priority,” he said. “We want to make sure everybody understands that safety is not one of those things that we’re putting on the table to be cut.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>School board director Mike Hutchinson, who chairs the Budget and Finance Committee, has doubts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This is an extreme financial crisis of the likes we’ve never seen,” he said, noting that it could be a struggle for the district to fund even its core educational programming. “I’m concerned about a lot of our programs, from our culture keepers on campus to our restorative justice programs to definitely our violence interruption teams.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Hutchinson said he plans to sit down with the head of the Department of Violence Prevention to discuss alternative funding sources, citing the Skyline High shooting as proof the district needs to double down on violence interrupters.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>For Castlemont’s principal, Joseph Blasher, their work is essential. “You can’t learn if you don’t feel safe,” he said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>He credits campus violence prevention efforts for helping to \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/ChronicAbsence_0/Comparison?%3Aembed=y&%3Adisplay_count=no&%3Arender=false#40\">boost\u003c/a> \u003ca href=\"https://dashboards.ousd.org/views/AbsenceDasboardPublic/AbsenceAnalysisSnapshot?%3AshowAppBanner=false&%3Adisplay_count=n&%3Aembed=y\">attendance\u003c/a> and cohort \u003ca href=\"https://dq.cde.ca.gov/dataquest/dqcensus/CohRate.aspx?cds=01612590125161&agglevel=school&year=2024-25&initrow=&ro=y\">graduation rates\u003c/a> and get families more engaged.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I couldn’t imagine all of us just having to leave the campus. That would just be traumatizing,” Saffold said. “Not just for the students — I think for us as well, because we build these bonds.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>More than just a job\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Bonding with teenagers and getting them to open up, even those Saffold has grown closest to, is a skill that takes constant upkeep.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s is on display when she spots junior Tamiya Easley, 17, at lunch one afternoon. “You know we need to talk, right?” Saffold says. “About yesterday.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya tries to dodge her. “What did I do yesterday?” she asks. “I didn’t even do nothing yesterday!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12068134\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12068134\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/12/251205-OUSDViolenceInterrupter-18-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Phelisha Saffold (right), a school-based violence interrupter, talks with a student at Castlemont High School in Oakland on Dec. 5, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to talk about it,” Saffold says with a laugh. She gives Tamiya a sly smile and another warm “We’ll talk about it.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That disarms Tamiya. “Oh, when I was upstairs tripping?” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Yes, you of all people,” Saffold says with a tone that lets Tamiya know she expected better.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Mom! It’s because I don’t like disrespect.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Tamiya explains that she heard some students had been talking about her. She got heated and they got defensive. But she ended up apologizing and it blew over.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Saffold applauds. “That’s what I’m talking about!”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My anger got the best of me. I know that,” Tamiya says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold often reminds her students that this isn’t just a job for her. She loves it, but it’s more than that. It’s deeply personal.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I don’t want to say it’s what saved my life, but it’s what helps me get through the loss of my son,” she says.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Saffold’s son was shot and killed four years ago, when he was 28. And her son’s father died the same way 32 years ago. She said neither of them was in a gang or violent. They were in the wrong place at the wrong time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She tells students their stories to drive home a point: “If you’re kicking off violence, you’re not going to always be the winner.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She keeps it real,” 16-year-old sophomore Kamarion Warner says, sitting across from Saffold during the lunchtime group meeting. Saffold proved to him how much she cares about students when he briefly moved to Stockton in ninth grade and she enlisted her granddaughter, who lives there, to take him under her wing at school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“She wants you to succeed,” Kamarion says. “You just have to be willing to listen.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I’m trying to change lives. You guys know my story,” she tells the group. “If I could just save one of y’all, then I feel like I’ve succeeded.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "oakland-schools-in-turmoil-after-two-key-officials-depart-over-budget-crisis",
"title": "Oakland Schools in Turmoil After 2 Key Officials Depart Over Budget Crisis",
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"headTitle": "Oakland Schools in Turmoil After 2 Key Officials Depart Over Budget Crisis | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055977/ousd-just-got-control-of-its-finances-back-from-the-state-its-already-in-major-trouble\">tensions in Oakland’s school district\u003c/a> over how to stave off a massive budget shortfall came to a head when the district’s top financial officer abruptly resigned, and its chief of staff was terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Grant-Dawson, who was brought into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district\">Oakland Unified School District\u003c/a> in 2020 to lead it out of two decades under state oversight, submitted her resignation on Friday, she told KQED. That same day, Chief of Staff Dan Bellino, who’s been with the district since July, was released by interim Superintendent Denise Saddler without warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Bellino confirmed he’d not been given cause for the termination, Grant-Dawson said her decision to leave came after she and Bellino, with other colleagues, led a weekslong budget planning effort to right a $102 million budget deficit projected next year, and planned to present last Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two days before the presentation, she said, Saddler revealed a different plan, crafted without the budget chief’s knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I learned on Monday morning that the superintendent sought to lead in a different direction with the budget scenarios that were ultimately presented to the board. And opted to not inform me and other colleagues in advance of her decision,” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I don’t participate in is side-swiping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12029339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One parent comforts another as she becomes emotional while making a public comment to the Oakland Unified School District Board about a proposed merger during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement shared with OUSD families, Saddler said she planned to bring on a team of external fiscal experts as the district prepares next year’s budget. Former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette McElhaney will take over as chief of staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As superintendent, it is my job to ensure the district has the right leadership structure, alignment and urgency to meet the work that lies ahead of us,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on social media, Board Vice President Valarie Bachelor said she supported Saddler’s decision, and “her need to develop a Senior Leadership Team that can support our district through the next phase of the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major leadership shakeup comes after months of tension between Oakland’s school leaders.[aside postID=news_12064579 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241009-OAKLAND-YOUTH-VOTE-MD-11-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Earlier this year, a teachers union-backed board majority overrode adopted budget cuts in favor of a proposal that was ultimately reversed after it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">threatened to cancel some after-school programs\u003c/a>. In April, the same cohort \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">ousted longtime Superintendent\u003c/a> Kyla Johnson-Trammel. And throughout the year, the board majority has sparred with district staff about how to address a structural funding shortfall and years of declining enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That conflict \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">escalated in October\u003c/a>, when the board requested staff bring forward two budget proposals to cut $100 million in ongoing expenditures without closing or merging schools, or directly affecting students at school sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An initial proposal presented by Grant-Dawson last month identified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064579/oaklands-school-district-must-cut-100-million-its-proposed-plan-doesnt-get-close\">$21 million in cuts\u003c/a> within those bounds. To reach the $100 million figure, though, she said campuses would need to be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Grant-Dawson said at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since that initial proposal, Grant-Dawson said the senior leadership team had spent many long days developing two plans to realize the other $80 million in cuts necessary to stay solvent next year. She and Bellino had been the main editors of those documents, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and supporters attend a board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We submitted the version we were working on. The whole team saw it and knew it was being submitted,” she told KQED. “I was notified that there was a change made the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal that Saddler ultimately presented on Wednesday promises $102 million in cuts through major school site and administrative reductions. But Grant-Dawson said it lacks a roadmap that proves it can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no math or evidence behind it,” she said, adding that she believes ultimately, the superintendent presented a plan that “she felt the board wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It accounts for a $20 million boost in revenue from growing attendance in each of the next two years. While the district has seen a 1.8% growth this year so far, it can’t guarantee efforts to recruit students will yield those results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the $21 million in administrative cuts laid out last month, the proposal also recommends slashing another 15-20% of central office spending, and between 7.5-10% from each campus budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056738 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified students and parents make signs to support teachers at a ‘solidarity school’ in Diamond Park, Oakland, on May 11, 2023, during an Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make such large reductions at school sites would likely require cutting programs or staff funded by restricted sources earmarked for specific purposes, which wouldn’t yield savings that can be reappropriated wherever the district sees fit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another line item reduces special education funding by “restructuring and reducing outside contracts, management, and programmatic elements,” but there is no description of what services and contracts OUSD could reduce while meeting its legal mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality,” Grant-Dawson said, is “you don’t have a list of $100 million that’s legit[imate].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make such large cuts to school site budgets, both Saddler and Grant-Dawson have said the district will have to rethink how many schools it operates.[aside postID=news_12040189 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/11/Photo3_qed-1020x680.jpg']“From where I sit, there is no feasible or reasonable alternative,” Saddler wrote in her proposal. “The District must be restructured — schools and central offices. If the Board makes a commitment to truly restructure OUSD, it must see it through this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not clear that savings from that effort could be realized by next fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t just flip a switch, especially when you’re trying to drive that magnitude of the change, in one year,” Grant-Dawson said. “We’ve said that if we’re going to do any restructuring work, it takes at least a year to even plan, engage and all those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal Grant-Dawson said her team had submitted, which was not presented on Wednesday, but was included in the documents given to the board ahead of the vote, suggested that the district might need to borrow money from an external source to bridge the gap as it does that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also remains to be seen whether the school board will follow through on a plan to close schools. In recent years, OUSD’s board has made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017719/oaklands-school-merger-plan-stalled-districts-huge-deficit-remains\">multiple commitments to do so\u003c/a> that haven’t come to fruition. In 2022, the board approved 11 campus consolidations, but reversed them before they took effect the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said she doesn’t believe the board has the appetite to take up that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reading the tea leaves, what I said to the district was, ‘You asked me to help support leading you out of receivership, but I don’t lead people back in,’” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>Last week, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12055977/ousd-just-got-control-of-its-finances-back-from-the-state-its-already-in-major-trouble\">tensions in Oakland’s school district\u003c/a> over how to stave off a massive budget shortfall came to a head when the district’s top financial officer abruptly resigned, and its chief of staff was terminated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Lisa Grant-Dawson, who was brought into the \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district\">Oakland Unified School District\u003c/a> in 2020 to lead it out of two decades under state oversight, submitted her resignation on Friday, she told KQED. That same day, Chief of Staff Dan Bellino, who’s been with the district since July, was released by interim Superintendent Denise Saddler without warning.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While Bellino confirmed he’d not been given cause for the termination, Grant-Dawson said her decision to leave came after she and Bellino, with other colleagues, led a weekslong budget planning effort to right a $102 million budget deficit projected next year, and planned to present last Wednesday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But two days before the presentation, she said, Saddler revealed a different plan, crafted without the budget chief’s knowledge.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“I learned on Monday morning that the superintendent sought to lead in a different direction with the budget scenarios that were ultimately presented to the board. And opted to not inform me and other colleagues in advance of her decision,” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“What I don’t participate in is side-swiping.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029339\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12029339 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-013_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">One parent comforts another as she becomes emotional while making a public comment to the Oakland Unified School District Board about a proposed merger during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>In a statement shared with OUSD families, Saddler said she planned to bring on a team of external fiscal experts as the district prepares next year’s budget. Former Oakland City Councilmember Lynette McElhaney will take over as chief of staff.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“As superintendent, it is my job to ensure the district has the right leadership structure, alignment and urgency to meet the work that lies ahead of us,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In a statement on social media, Board Vice President Valarie Bachelor said she supported Saddler’s decision, and “her need to develop a Senior Leadership Team that can support our district through the next phase of the work.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The major leadership shakeup comes after months of tension between Oakland’s school leaders.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Earlier this year, a teachers union-backed board majority overrode adopted budget cuts in favor of a proposal that was ultimately reversed after it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">threatened to cancel some after-school programs\u003c/a>. In April, the same cohort \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">ousted longtime Superintendent\u003c/a> Kyla Johnson-Trammel. And throughout the year, the board majority has sparred with district staff about how to address a structural funding shortfall and years of declining enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That conflict \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">escalated in October\u003c/a>, when the board requested staff bring forward two budget proposals to cut $100 million in ongoing expenditures without closing or merging schools, or directly affecting students at school sites.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>An initial proposal presented by Grant-Dawson last month identified \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12064579/oaklands-school-district-must-cut-100-million-its-proposed-plan-doesnt-get-close\">$21 million in cuts\u003c/a> within those bounds. To reach the $100 million figure, though, she said campuses would need to be impacted.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Grant-Dawson said at the time.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Since that initial proposal, Grant-Dawson said the senior leadership team had spent many long days developing two plans to realize the other $80 million in cuts necessary to stay solvent next year. She and Bellino had been the main editors of those documents, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12037460\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12037460\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/04/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-17_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and supporters attend a board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We submitted the version we were working on. The whole team saw it and knew it was being submitted,” she told KQED. “I was notified that there was a change made the next day.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal that Saddler ultimately presented on Wednesday promises $102 million in cuts through major school site and administrative reductions. But Grant-Dawson said it lacks a roadmap that proves it can be implemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s no math or evidence behind it,” she said, adding that she believes ultimately, the superintendent presented a plan that “she felt the board wanted.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It accounts for a $20 million boost in revenue from growing attendance in each of the next two years. While the district has seen a 1.8% growth this year so far, it can’t guarantee efforts to recruit students will yield those results.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to the $21 million in administrative cuts laid out last month, the proposal also recommends slashing another 15-20% of central office spending, and between 7.5-10% from each campus budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056738\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056738 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/007_KQED_OUSDSolidaritySchool_05112023_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified students and parents make signs to support teachers at a ‘solidarity school’ in Diamond Park, Oakland, on May 11, 2023, during an Oakland Unified School District teachers’ strike. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>To make such large reductions at school sites would likely require cutting programs or staff funded by restricted sources earmarked for specific purposes, which wouldn’t yield savings that can be reappropriated wherever the district sees fit.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another line item reduces special education funding by “restructuring and reducing outside contracts, management, and programmatic elements,” but there is no description of what services and contracts OUSD could reduce while meeting its legal mandate.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The reality,” Grant-Dawson said, is “you don’t have a list of $100 million that’s legit[imate].”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>To make such large cuts to school site budgets, both Saddler and Grant-Dawson have said the district will have to rethink how many schools it operates.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“From where I sit, there is no feasible or reasonable alternative,” Saddler wrote in her proposal. “The District must be restructured — schools and central offices. If the Board makes a commitment to truly restructure OUSD, it must see it through this time.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But it’s not clear that savings from that effort could be realized by next fall.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“You can’t just flip a switch, especially when you’re trying to drive that magnitude of the change, in one year,” Grant-Dawson said. “We’ve said that if we’re going to do any restructuring work, it takes at least a year to even plan, engage and all those things.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal Grant-Dawson said her team had submitted, which was not presented on Wednesday, but was included in the documents given to the board ahead of the vote, suggested that the district might need to borrow money from an external source to bridge the gap as it does that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It also remains to be seen whether the school board will follow through on a plan to close schools. In recent years, OUSD’s board has made \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017719/oaklands-school-merger-plan-stalled-districts-huge-deficit-remains\">multiple commitments to do so\u003c/a> that haven’t come to fruition. In 2022, the board approved 11 campus consolidations, but reversed them before they took effect the following year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said she doesn’t believe the board has the appetite to take up that work.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Reading the tea leaves, what I said to the district was, ‘You asked me to help support leading you out of receivership, but I don’t lead people back in,’” Grant-Dawson told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "as-teacher-strike-looms-san-franciscos-school-board-set-to-review-proposed-funding-cuts",
"title": "As Teacher Strike Looms, San Francisco’s School Board Set to Review Proposed Funding Cuts",
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"headTitle": "As Teacher Strike Looms, San Francisco’s School Board Set to Review Proposed Funding Cuts | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-board-of-education\">school board\u003c/a> on Tuesday will get a first look at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066271/sfusd-has-overspent-for-years-major-cuts-could-have-it-on-the-path-to-stability\">district leaders’ plan to slash spending\u003c/a> by more than $100 million for the second year in a row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed cuts include deeper staffing reductions, changes to middle school schedules and school consolidations as soon as 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su said earlier this month that the reductions aim to pull the district out of state oversight, but parents and teachers are worried about the impact further classroom reductions could have, especially on already vulnerable students and schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is definitely some misalignment … in the sense that … our recommendations are calling out for sustainability in staffing, for mental health, and we’re cutting significant apportionments of positions,” said Vanessa Marrero, who heads Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, SFUSD cut $114 million in ongoing expenses through hundreds of early retirement buy-outs, a strict staffing model and administrative cuts. This year, it needs to identify another $102 million to cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The superintendent’s draft plan — which won’t be finalized until the spring — totals about $70 million in savings by 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046126\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046126\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under an updated staffing model, only Title I eligible schools will be allocated a social worker. Previously, non-Title I campuses that met specific enrollment criteria were eligible for at least a half-time position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal cuts 45 full-time roles, which could be spread across as many as 90 campuses. The district said it was looking to identify other restricted funding sources to pay for these roles, and to provide flexibility in schools’ discretionary spending to “prioritize investments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other major personnel reductions will come from a change to middle school schedules: campuses will transition from a seven-period block schedule rolled out over the last few years back to six-period school days.[aside postID=news_12066271 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250421-SFUSDCentralCuts-06-BL_qed-1.jpg']In 2018, the district introduced its “\u003ca href=\"https://mgredesign.sfusd.edu/\">Middle Grades Redesign\u003c/a>” initiative, which created longer class periods and aimed to add elective course opportunities for students. Presidio Middle School transitioned to the seven-period schedule in 2022, and allows students to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/school/presidio-middle-school/departments/electives#:~:text=Presidio%2022%2D23%20Electives,%2C%20Dance%2C%20Music%2C%20Computers)\">choose\u003c/a> four quarter-long arts, computer science, language, health or other advanced courses throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the district, returning to a standard six-period day will prioritize core classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new schedule would cut 56 classroom teaching positions, and another eight in health. That course material would be folded into other classes, like physical education or science, according to the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security aide roles across campuses would also be cut in half, as well as 18 assistant principal jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminating transportation for 2,500 non-special education students would save another $5 million. Marrero said the current funding serves students in neighborhoods with historically lower average test scores who attend schools further from their homes. Cutting that service could create an additional barrier for some to go to a school of their choice, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039959 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meredith Willa Dodson speaks during a rally to reopen San Francisco Unified Schools at City Hall in San Francisco on March 13, 2021, on the first anniversary of school buildings being closed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another $14.6 million could come from central office personnel and service reductions, an area that the teachers’ union has long said keeps funds away from students. The district made significant reductions by restructuring the office last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We understand that [the district] needs to make cuts, but we don’t yet understand, are these really the best cuts for our students or is there some other way?” said Meredith Dodson, who runs the advocacy group SF Parents. She said families want to know what other cuts were considered and how the ones identified in the fiscal stabilization plan were determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just looking for that information from the district to understand that that level of analysis was done [to determine] that these are the solutions that bring the minimal amount of harm to kids. I just don’t see it yet,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in the fall of 2027, the district is also suggesting savings of more than $3 million thanks to a “consolidation of [its] educational program portfolio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD leadership has begun to discuss reconsidering school closures, after a controversial plan to shutter 11 schools was shelved last fall. Su took over in the wake of the closure crisis, and has prioritized the district’s budget before addressing its footprint, but she said last month that after the fiscal stabilization plan is complete this year, it would be time to take back up the initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064757\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064757 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, K-5 students, and their families at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy rally at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco on Oct. 9, 2024, to protest against the potential closure of the school. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SFUSD, like many districts in the state, faces declining enrollment, and campuses across the city have hundreds of empty seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While shuttering schools alone won’t save the district significant amounts of money, the district has said that having fewer schools could allow for more robust staffing and make room for more specialized programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dodson said showing families those potential benefits will be key to garnering community support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a parent to be told that their school is going to be closed, and to be okay with it, I think they would have to believe that there’s better education on the other side of that for their kid,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reductions planned so far are still about $30 million shy of what the district will need to cut to avoid deficit spending. And, SFUSD currently faces an escalating threat of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066097/sfusd-teachers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-authorize-the-first-strike-in-49-years\">teacher strike after months\u003c/a> of halting negotiations over a new two-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While SFUSD has said it cannot meet the educators’ demands due to the budget crisis, the union has signaled that members are prepared to strike over wages, staffing demands and more subsidized health care benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco’s \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco-board-of-education\">school board\u003c/a> on Tuesday will get a first look at \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066271/sfusd-has-overspent-for-years-major-cuts-could-have-it-on-the-path-to-stability\">district leaders’ plan to slash spending\u003c/a> by more than $100 million for the second year in a row.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposed cuts include deeper staffing reductions, changes to middle school schedules and school consolidations as soon as 2027.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Maria Su said earlier this month that the reductions aim to pull the district out of state oversight, but parents and teachers are worried about the impact further classroom reductions could have, especially on already vulnerable students and schools.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There is definitely some misalignment … in the sense that … our recommendations are calling out for sustainability in staffing, for mental health, and we’re cutting significant apportionments of positions,” said Vanessa Marrero, who heads Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last year, SFUSD cut $114 million in ongoing expenses through hundreds of early retirement buy-outs, a strict staffing model and administrative cuts. This year, it needs to identify another $102 million to cut.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The superintendent’s draft plan — which won’t be finalized until the spring — totals about $70 million in savings by 2028.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12046126\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12046126\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250418-SFUSD-01-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Under an updated staffing model, only Title I eligible schools will be allocated a social worker. Previously, non-Title I campuses that met specific enrollment criteria were eligible for at least a half-time position.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The proposal cuts 45 full-time roles, which could be spread across as many as 90 campuses. The district said it was looking to identify other restricted funding sources to pay for these roles, and to provide flexibility in schools’ discretionary spending to “prioritize investments.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The other major personnel reductions will come from a change to middle school schedules: campuses will transition from a seven-period block schedule rolled out over the last few years back to six-period school days.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In 2018, the district introduced its “\u003ca href=\"https://mgredesign.sfusd.edu/\">Middle Grades Redesign\u003c/a>” initiative, which created longer class periods and aimed to add elective course opportunities for students. Presidio Middle School transitioned to the seven-period schedule in 2022, and allows students to \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/school/presidio-middle-school/departments/electives#:~:text=Presidio%2022%2D23%20Electives,%2C%20Dance%2C%20Music%2C%20Computers)\">choose\u003c/a> four quarter-long arts, computer science, language, health or other advanced courses throughout the year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>According to the district, returning to a standard six-period day will prioritize core classes.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The new schedule would cut 56 classroom teaching positions, and another eight in health. That course material would be folded into other classes, like physical education or science, according to the plan.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Security aide roles across campuses would also be cut in half, as well as 18 assistant principal jobs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Eliminating transportation for 2,500 non-special education students would save another $5 million. Marrero said the current funding serves students in neighborhoods with historically lower average test scores who attend schools further from their homes. Cutting that service could create an additional barrier for some to go to a school of their choice, she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12039959\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12039959 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1331\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-800x532.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1020x679.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-160x106.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1536x1022.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/052_SanFrancisco_ReopenSchoolsMarch_03132021_qed-1920x1278.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Meredith Willa Dodson speaks during a rally to reopen San Francisco Unified Schools at City Hall in San Francisco on March 13, 2021, on the first anniversary of school buildings being closed. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Another $14.6 million could come from central office personnel and service reductions, an area that the teachers’ union has long said keeps funds away from students. The district made significant reductions by restructuring the office last year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We understand that [the district] needs to make cuts, but we don’t yet understand, are these really the best cuts for our students or is there some other way?” said Meredith Dodson, who runs the advocacy group SF Parents. She said families want to know what other cuts were considered and how the ones identified in the fiscal stabilization plan were determined.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re just looking for that information from the district to understand that that level of analysis was done [to determine] that these are the solutions that bring the minimal amount of harm to kids. I just don’t see it yet,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Beginning in the fall of 2027, the district is also suggesting savings of more than $3 million thanks to a “consolidation of [its] educational program portfolio.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In recent weeks, SFUSD leadership has begun to discuss reconsidering school closures, after a controversial plan to shutter 11 schools was shelved last fall. Su took over in the wake of the closure crisis, and has prioritized the district’s budget before addressing its footprint, but she said last month that after the fiscal stabilization plan is complete this year, it would be time to take back up the initiative.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12064757\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12064757 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teachers, K-5 students, and their families at Harvey Milk Civil Rights Academy rally at Harvey Milk Plaza in the Castro neighborhood of San Francisco on Oct. 9, 2024, to protest against the potential closure of the school. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>SFUSD, like many districts in the state, faces declining enrollment, and campuses across the city have hundreds of empty seats.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While shuttering schools alone won’t save the district significant amounts of money, the district has said that having fewer schools could allow for more robust staffing and make room for more specialized programs.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Dodson said showing families those potential benefits will be key to garnering community support.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“For a parent to be told that their school is going to be closed, and to be okay with it, I think they would have to believe that there’s better education on the other side of that for their kid,” she told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The reductions planned so far are still about $30 million shy of what the district will need to cut to avoid deficit spending. And, SFUSD currently faces an escalating threat of a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066097/sfusd-teachers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-authorize-the-first-strike-in-49-years\">teacher strike after months\u003c/a> of halting negotiations over a new two-year contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While SFUSD has said it cannot meet the educators’ demands due to the budget crisis, the union has signaled that members are prepared to strike over wages, staffing demands and more subsidized health care benefits.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"slug": "sfusd-has-overspent-for-years-major-cuts-could-have-it-on-the-path-to-stability",
"title": "SFUSD Has Overspent for Years. Major Cuts Could Have It on the Path to Stability",
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"headTitle": "SFUSD Has Overspent for Years. Major Cuts Could Have It on the Path to Stability | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco’s school district plans to make \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">more than $100 million in budget cuts\u003c/a> for the second year in a row to stave off a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">massive deficit\u003c/a> and aim to end a yearslong pattern of overspending, district officials said Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move, however, won’t come without pain for families and staff, and it could be threatened by ongoing labor negotiations with district teachers, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066097/sfusd-teachers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-authorize-the-first-strike-in-49-years\">escalated their threat to strike\u003c/a> this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our fiscal stabilization plan is working, and we are moving towards stability for our school district,” Superintendent Maria Su said Friday. “However, we are still struggling in really tough times. We still need to make additional reductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These reductions will not be taken lightly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Unified School District plans to present $102 million in budget cuts this year, as it faces projected funding shortfalls of $51 million for next year, and $32 million and $19 million for the following two years, Su said. Insight into where those cuts will focus could come as soon as Dec. 16, when staff will present an update to their multi-year fiscal stabilization plan to the school board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first year of the plan, which was implemented for the current school year, included $114 million in ongoing expenditure reductions through an employee buyout initiative for hundreds of late-career educators, a strict campus staffing model and layoffs of administrative employees in the central office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053776\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco arrive for their first day of the school year on Aug. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Su has warned that making more cuts on top of those could be harder, but she said her team heard a resounding message from families at town halls across the district this fall: End the cycle of cutting services year after year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a strong desire for us to be stable,” Su told KQED. “It’s not fair to students, it’s not fair to parents, [and] certainly not fair to our staff, where we cannot even guarantee the basic stability of a job or the basic stability of a student knowing that their teacher is going to be in their school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making these budget reductions, she said, is necessary to achieve stability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district’s cuts last year put it in a position to move out of a “negative” budget certification from the state, which indicates that financial advisors don’t believe it will be able to pay its bills over the coming two years. Now, the district expects a “qualified” certification, which indicates that it might be able to meet its financial obligations.[aside postID=news_12066097 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/10/20240827_SFUSDProtest_GC-5_qed.jpg']“Today is good news. Achieving qualified certification is a critical step towards exiting state oversight and fully regaining local control,” school board president Phil Kim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under that certification, the district would still be subject to financial oversight, but Su said it’s a step toward a “positive” certification, which would allow it to operate independent of the state for the \u003ca href=\"https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board.nsf/files/C7JF2N82A0CD/%24file/21%20-%2009.15%20CDE%20Letter%20re%20San%20Francisco%20COE%20%26%20USD%202021-22%20Budget.pdf\">first time since 2021\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Su said the district hopes to reach that level as soon as March, but by the end of the academic year at the latest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That plan could be threatened, though, by ongoing labor tensions between SFUSD and United Educators of San Francisco, which represents 6,500 district educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A strike authorization vote held by UESF overwhelmingly passed on Wednesday, the first of two votes needed to authorize a work stoppage, after nine months of unfruitful negotiations over their 2025-2027 contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union can now call for a strike vote at any time, but it will have to complete a two-step mediation process before teachers are legally allowed to walk off the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The parties declared an impasse in October and are now in the second mediated negotiation phase, called “fact-finding.” They’ll present arguments to a panel of state-appointed mediators later this month, and that panel will issue non-binding compromise recommendations. SFUSD will be able to make a final offer to the union before educators can legally go on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051869\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the union is demanding a raise, fully paid health care coverage for dependents and a new special education staffing model, the board said it isn’t in a position to offer the union more money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The board truly wants to honor all of the hard work and meaningful work that our educators are doing to serve our students every single day. We just cannot give them money that we do not have,” school board vice president Jaime Huling said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will and have offered them everything that we can afford,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, SFUSD offered UESF a 2% raise in exchange for concessions on its other demands, and at the expense of some existing contract provisions, including a sabbatical program for veteran educators and extra preparation periods for advanced placement teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders said the results of this week’s vote — which was passed by 99.3% of members who voted — indicate that they’re willing to strike if their demands aren’t met.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If teachers strike, it would be the first in nearly 50 years in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, we hope district management is really looking at where they’re at in negotiations and preparing to bring us things that could be a potential agreement,” said Nathalie Hrizi, one of UESF’s bargaining coordinators. “No one wants to strike, but we are willing to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco’s school district plans to make \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">more than $100 million in budget cuts\u003c/a> for the second year in a row to stave off a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">massive deficit\u003c/a> and aim to end a yearslong pattern of overspending, district officials said Friday.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The move, however, won’t come without pain for families and staff, and it could be threatened by ongoing labor negotiations with district teachers, who \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12066097/sfusd-teachers-overwhelmingly-vote-to-authorize-the-first-strike-in-49-years\">escalated their threat to strike\u003c/a> this week.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our fiscal stabilization plan is working, and we are moving towards stability for our school district,” Superintendent Maria Su said Friday. “However, we are still struggling in really tough times. We still need to make additional reductions.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“These reductions will not be taken lightly,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The San Francisco Unified School District plans to present $102 million in budget cuts this year, as it faces projected funding shortfalls of $51 million for next year, and $32 million and $19 million for the following two years, Su said. Insight into where those cuts will focus could come as soon as Dec. 16, when staff will present an update to their multi-year fiscal stabilization plan to the school board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The first year of the plan, which was implemented for the current school year, included $114 million in ongoing expenditure reductions through an employee buyout initiative for hundreds of late-career educators, a strict campus staffing model and layoffs of administrative employees in the central office.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12053776\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1999px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12053776\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1999\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed.jpg 1999w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFirstDay-01_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1999px) 100vw, 1999px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students at Sanchez Elementary School in San Francisco arrive for their first day of the school year on Aug. 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Su has warned that making more cuts on top of those could be harder, but she said her team heard a resounding message from families at town halls across the district this fall: End the cycle of cutting services year after year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“There’s a strong desire for us to be stable,” Su told KQED. “It’s not fair to students, it’s not fair to parents, [and] certainly not fair to our staff, where we cannot even guarantee the basic stability of a job or the basic stability of a student knowing that their teacher is going to be in their school.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Making these budget reductions, she said, is necessary to achieve stability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district’s cuts last year put it in a position to move out of a “negative” budget certification from the state, which indicates that financial advisors don’t believe it will be able to pay its bills over the coming two years. Now, the district expects a “qualified” certification, which indicates that it might be able to meet its financial obligations.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“Today is good news. Achieving qualified certification is a critical step towards exiting state oversight and fully regaining local control,” school board president Phil Kim said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Under that certification, the district would still be subject to financial oversight, but Su said it’s a step toward a “positive” certification, which would allow it to operate independent of the state for the \u003ca href=\"https://go.boarddocs.com/ca/sfusd/Board.nsf/files/C7JF2N82A0CD/%24file/21%20-%2009.15%20CDE%20Letter%20re%20San%20Francisco%20COE%20%26%20USD%202021-22%20Budget.pdf\">first time since 2021\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Su said the district hopes to reach that level as soon as March, but by the end of the academic year at the latest.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That plan could be threatened, though, by ongoing labor tensions between SFUSD and United Educators of San Francisco, which represents 6,500 district educators.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A strike authorization vote held by UESF overwhelmingly passed on Wednesday, the first of two votes needed to authorize a work stoppage, after nine months of unfruitful negotiations over their 2025-2027 contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union can now call for a strike vote at any time, but it will have to complete a two-step mediation process before teachers are legally allowed to walk off the job.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The parties declared an impasse in October and are now in the second mediated negotiation phase, called “fact-finding.” They’ll present arguments to a panel of state-appointed mediators later this month, and that panel will issue non-binding compromise recommendations. SFUSD will be able to make a final offer to the union before educators can legally go on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12051869\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12051869\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250418-SFUSD-04-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The San Francisco Unified School District Administrative Offices in San Francisco on April 18, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>While the union is demanding a raise, fully paid health care coverage for dependents and a new special education staffing model, the board said it isn’t in a position to offer the union more money.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The board truly wants to honor all of the hard work and meaningful work that our educators are doing to serve our students every single day. We just cannot give them money that we do not have,” school board vice president Jaime Huling said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We will and have offered them everything that we can afford,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, SFUSD offered UESF a 2% raise in exchange for concessions on its other demands, and at the expense of some existing contract provisions, including a sabbatical program for veteran educators and extra preparation periods for advanced placement teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union leaders said the results of this week’s vote — which was passed by 99.3% of members who voted — indicate that they’re willing to strike if their demands aren’t met.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If teachers strike, it would be the first in nearly 50 years in the city.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, we hope district management is really looking at where they’re at in negotiations and preparing to bring us things that could be a potential agreement,” said Nathalie Hrizi, one of UESF’s bargaining coordinators. “No one wants to strike, but we are willing to.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>San Francisco’s teachers union plans to take a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">significant step toward a strike\u003c/a> next week, after eight months of bargaining with the San Francisco Unified School District have failed to yield a contract agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Educators of San Francisco will hold a strike authorization vote — the first of two the union’s rules require to officially call a work stoppage — on Dec. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union president Cassondra Curiel said that since UESF and SFUSD declared an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">impasse and entered third-party mediation\u003c/a> in October, the district has not made concessions on proposed raises and expanded health care coverage, among other issues, prompting the union to take a step toward striking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We did not get a signal from the district that they were going to change routes at all,” she said. The union and district’s bargaining teams attended a full day of mediation earlier this month, which Curiel said yielded no progress. “That really made it clear to our bargaining team that the district has every intention to maintain a status quo in our contract,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD said in a statement on Wednesday that it was continuing to bargain in good faith “to achieve a fair agreement that avoids disruption to student services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12008537\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12008537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teanna Tillery (center), a Para Educator, listens to Cassondra Curiel, President of United Educators of San Francisco, during a press conference outside San Francisco Unified School District offices on Sept. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UESF and SFUSD \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025440/schools-face-cuts-california-teachers-unions-band-together-demands\">began bargaining\u003c/a> over a new two-year contract for educators in March. Their current contract expired in June, but mostly remains in place until a new deal is reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, UESF rejected SFUSD’s contract offer, which would have given educators a 2% raise, saying it would have required more concessions than gains from its members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal would have undone existing agreements that give high school teachers who take on extra work — as department heads or teachers of Advanced Placement courses that enroll a certain number of students — an additional “prep” period, and cut stipends awarded to schools based on the number of AP exams their students take.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would also have ended a program that allows educators to apply for semester-to-year-long sabbaticals after serving in the district for a minimum number of years and increased class sizes on some campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF’s initial proposal for the pay increase in March was 14% for classified employees and 9% for certificated employees over two years. In the months since, there’s been no back-and-forth negotiations bringing that percentage down, Curiel told KQED in October. She said the 2% offer was the first from SFUSD that included a raise.[aside postID=news_12064746 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/11/241009-SFUSDClosuresMarch-30-BL_qed.jpg']The wage hike is important, especially for paraeducator positions, which are some of the district’s lowest-paid and hardest-to-staff roles, according to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has indicated that its budget to increase compensation is tight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD is currently in the second of a two-year budgeting process to curb a massive ongoing deficit. Last year, it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">slashed $114 million\u003c/a> in annual expenses through hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017631/embattled-sf-school-district-offer-hundreds-buyouts-potential-layoffs\">early retirement buyouts\u003c/a>, the implementation of a strict staffing model in schools and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">administrative position reductions\u003c/a>. This year, it will need to make another $48 million in cuts, which Superintendent Maria Su has indicated could be even more challenging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the district said it was committed to a budget process that benefits students while ensuring long-term financial stability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the state of California holds the authority to override any decision by the San Francisco Board of Education if it believes that decision could compromise the district’s financial stability,” the district said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, SFUSD said that “any proposal for raises must be approved by the CDE and must be financially sustainable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The request for a wage hike comes just two years after SFUSD gave \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-10-20-sfusd-uesf-announce-9000-salary-raise-teachers-2023-24\">historic $9,000 raises\u003c/a> to educators, along with a 5% salary increase the following year. Under that deal, classified educators also received a significant bump to a minimum wage of $30 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said that higher pay matters to members, but the two primary focuses of negotiations have not been about compensation. UESF is requesting an agreement that the district will cover health care for educators’ dependents and development of a workload model aimed at improving working conditions for special education teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are 36 days away from a massive increase to our health care for the second or third year in a row for our dependents,” Curiel said Tuesday. She said that educators pay about $650 per pay cycle for coverage for one child. In January, coverage for two will be more than $1500, she said.[aside postID=news_12064366 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-04-KQED.jpg']While any health care or workload model deal would likely incur costs, the union’s final two major demands are “low-to-no-cost.” They’re asking to add language to the educators contract that echoes the district’s sanctuary status and commits to using district resources to provide shelter for the most vulnerable students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district already has that language and employs it in school policy, but Curiel said members feel it’s necessary to add it to their contracts because it makes it much more difficult to reverse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see what happened to our nation during the last election cycle … when folks changed an administration that then changed policy entirely,” Curiel said. “If it’s in our contract, they absolutely cannot do that without the entire union agreeing to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 6,000 members of UESF hold these values very deeply and want to maintain them. The district insists it doesn’t want to put it in the contract, and we know they can and they absolutely should,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment regarding the language demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF has requested to be released from mediation. If that request is granted, the district and union would enter a final third-party-led “fact-finding” period to try to reach an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike authorization vote will happen in parallel. If it passes, it gives the union’s bargaining team permission to call a vote to officially authorize a strike in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>San Francisco’s teachers union plans to take a \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">significant step toward a strike\u003c/a> next week, after eight months of bargaining with the San Francisco Unified School District have failed to yield a contract agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>United Educators of San Francisco will hold a strike authorization vote — the first of two the union’s rules require to officially call a work stoppage — on Dec. 3.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Union president Cassondra Curiel said that since UESF and SFUSD declared an \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059537/as-deficit-looms-sf-public-school-teachers-threaten-strike-over-fair-contracts\">impasse and entered third-party mediation\u003c/a> in October, the district has not made concessions on proposed raises and expanded health care coverage, among other issues, prompting the union to take a step toward striking.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We did not get a signal from the district that they were going to change routes at all,” she said. The union and district’s bargaining teams attended a full day of mediation earlier this month, which Curiel said yielded no progress. “That really made it clear to our bargaining team that the district has every intention to maintain a status quo in our contract,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD said in a statement on Wednesday that it was continuing to bargain in good faith “to achieve a fair agreement that avoids disruption to student services.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12008537\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12008537\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/240916-UnionSFSchoolClosures-38-BL_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Teanna Tillery (center), a Para Educator, listens to Cassondra Curiel, President of United Educators of San Francisco, during a press conference outside San Francisco Unified School District offices on Sept. 16, 2025. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UESF and SFUSD \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12025440/schools-face-cuts-california-teachers-unions-band-together-demands\">began bargaining\u003c/a> over a new two-year contract for educators in March. Their current contract expired in June, but mostly remains in place until a new deal is reached.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, UESF rejected SFUSD’s contract offer, which would have given educators a 2% raise, saying it would have required more concessions than gains from its members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The deal would have undone existing agreements that give high school teachers who take on extra work — as department heads or teachers of Advanced Placement courses that enroll a certain number of students — an additional “prep” period, and cut stipends awarded to schools based on the number of AP exams their students take.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It would also have ended a program that allows educators to apply for semester-to-year-long sabbaticals after serving in the district for a minimum number of years and increased class sizes on some campuses.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF’s initial proposal for the pay increase in March was 14% for classified employees and 9% for certificated employees over two years. In the months since, there’s been no back-and-forth negotiations bringing that percentage down, Curiel told KQED in October. She said the 2% offer was the first from SFUSD that included a raise.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>The wage hike is important, especially for paraeducator positions, which are some of the district’s lowest-paid and hardest-to-staff roles, according to the union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has indicated that its budget to increase compensation is tight.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>SFUSD is currently in the second of a two-year budgeting process to curb a massive ongoing deficit. Last year, it \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">slashed $114 million\u003c/a> in annual expenses through hundreds of \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12017631/embattled-sf-school-district-offer-hundreds-buyouts-potential-layoffs\">early retirement buyouts\u003c/a>, the implementation of a strict staffing model in schools and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12044768/sf-school-district-unveils-balanced-budget-after-cutting-over-110-million-in-spending\">administrative position reductions\u003c/a>. This year, it will need to make another $48 million in cuts, which Superintendent Maria Su has indicated could be even more challenging.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, the district said it was committed to a budget process that benefits students while ensuring long-term financial stability.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Right now, the state of California holds the authority to override any decision by the San Francisco Board of Education if it believes that decision could compromise the district’s financial stability,” the district said in a statement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In October, SFUSD said that “any proposal for raises must be approved by the CDE and must be financially sustainable.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The request for a wage hike comes just two years after SFUSD gave \u003ca href=\"https://www.sfusd.edu/about-sfusd/sfusd-news/press-releases/2023-10-20-sfusd-uesf-announce-9000-salary-raise-teachers-2023-24\">historic $9,000 raises\u003c/a> to educators, along with a 5% salary increase the following year. Under that deal, classified educators also received a significant bump to a minimum wage of $30 an hour.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Curiel said that higher pay matters to members, but the two primary focuses of negotiations have not been about compensation. UESF is requesting an agreement that the district will cover health care for educators’ dependents and development of a workload model aimed at improving working conditions for special education teachers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are 36 days away from a massive increase to our health care for the second or third year in a row for our dependents,” Curiel said Tuesday. She said that educators pay about $650 per pay cycle for coverage for one child. In January, coverage for two will be more than $1500, she said.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>While any health care or workload model deal would likely incur costs, the union’s final two major demands are “low-to-no-cost.” They’re asking to add language to the educators contract that echoes the district’s sanctuary status and commits to using district resources to provide shelter for the most vulnerable students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district already has that language and employs it in school policy, but Curiel said members feel it’s necessary to add it to their contracts because it makes it much more difficult to reverse.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We see what happened to our nation during the last election cycle … when folks changed an administration that then changed policy entirely,” Curiel said. “If it’s in our contract, they absolutely cannot do that without the entire union agreeing to it.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The 6,000 members of UESF hold these values very deeply and want to maintain them. The district insists it doesn’t want to put it in the contract, and we know they can and they absolutely should,” she continued.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment regarding the language demands.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>UESF has requested to be released from mediation. If that request is granted, the district and union would enter a final third-party-led “fact-finding” period to try to reach an agreement.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The strike authorization vote will happen in parallel. If it passes, it gives the union’s bargaining team permission to call a vote to officially authorize a strike in the future.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"slug": "west-contra-costa-teachers-are-near-a-pivotal-moment-in-their-potential-strike",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa Unified School District\u003c/a> educators are days away from receiving a report that could put to rest the threat of a strike — or make it official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mediator appointed by the California Public Employment Relations Board is expected to issue recommendations to the district and its teachers union by Friday in an effort to resolve the months-long contract negotiations that could push more than 1,500 educators to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the two sides can’t come to an agreement after the recommendations are issued, United Teachers of Richmond can then go on strike after a 48-hour notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiations between the district and the union have been stalled for months over pay, health coverage, class sizes and services for students with disabilities. That led the union to declare an impasse in August, which kicked off a required process through PERB before the union could legally begin a work stoppage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re fighting because we love our students, because we refuse to let another generation of our kiddos experience a system that’s crumbling all around them,” union president Francisco Ortiz told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022073\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-800x478.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-1020x610.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-160x96.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified’s Stege Elementary School in Richmond. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UTR has proposed a 10% pay raise over the next two years and full health coverage. The district’s most recent counterproposal included a 2% pay raise for the 2025-26 school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union argues that an increase in compensation will attract and maintain quality educators to help the district address its staffing shortage. For this year alone in special education services, Ortiz said more than 255 students have gone without a speech-language pathologist assigned to them for five weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has said that it can only afford to do so much. District officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030935/our-education-matters-richmond-high-schoolers-rally-against-teacher-layoffs\">cut millions of dollars\u003c/a> from their budget to stay solvent this year, and they still face additional cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment from KQED, but in a Monday night letter to community members, it said that its representatives on the state fact-finding panel have been meeting with the chairperson since the last hearings on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are committed to continuing these discussions into next week and through the break — whatever it takes — to try to reach a fair resolution and avert a strike that would only hurt our students,” wrote Raechelle Forrest, director of district communications.[aside postID=news_12030935 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/03/240312-RICHMOND-WALKOUT-MD-01-KQED-1-1020x680.jpg']Officials have also begun preparing for a potential strike, saying that the district is “committed to keeping our schools open.” WCCUSD’s school board \u003ca href=\"https://ccpulse.org/2025/10/16/wccusd-prepares-for-potential-strikes-by-upping-temporary-educators-pay/\">voted to increase pay\u003c/a> for substitute teachers last month, bumping the usual daily pay from $280 to up to $550 if the union goes on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to UTR’s members, more than a thousand other district staff members were set to strike soon after the teachers union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If UTR does go on strike, it could trigger a sympathy strike by IFPTE Local 21, which represents school supervisors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teamsters Local 856, which includes paraprofessionals and clerical staff, came to a tentative agreement with the district on Wednesday after \u003ca href=\"https://teamster.org/2025/10/teamsters-at-west-contra-costa-unified-school-district-authorize-strike/\">authorizing a strike\u003c/a> only days after UTR’s authorization. Local 856 also cited staffing and pay concerns as reasons for a potential strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gains achieved by UTR and Teamsters Local 856 directly affect the compensation of our unit through our ‘me too’ clause. When they secure a higher wage increase, we will also benefit if the increase they secure is more than what we secured,” IFPTE \u003ca href=\"https://ifpte21.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Sympathy-Strike-FAQ-WCCUSD-102725.pdf\">said \u003c/a>when recommending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mediator’s report this week isn’t binding, so the district isn’t required to offer the union a new proposal after its release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the district is unwilling to [accept those recommendations], then we’re also ready to take that next step,” Ortiz said. “We’re ready to do our part, and the district needs to do theirs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/west-contra-costa-unified-school-district\">West Contra Costa Unified School District\u003c/a> educators are days away from receiving a report that could put to rest the threat of a strike — or make it official.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A mediator appointed by the California Public Employment Relations Board is expected to issue recommendations to the district and its teachers union by Friday in an effort to resolve the months-long contract negotiations that could push more than 1,500 educators to strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the two sides can’t come to an agreement after the recommendations are issued, United Teachers of Richmond can then go on strike after a 48-hour notice.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Negotiations between the district and the union have been stalled for months over pay, health coverage, class sizes and services for students with disabilities. That led the union to declare an impasse in August, which kicked off a required process through PERB before the union could legally begin a work stoppage.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re fighting because we love our students, because we refuse to let another generation of our kiddos experience a system that’s crumbling all around them,” union president Francisco Ortiz told KQED.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12022073\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1280px\">\u003ca href=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12022073\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1280\" height=\"765\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1.jpg 1280w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-800x478.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-1020x610.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/01/Stege-Elementary34-1280x765-1-160x96.jpg 160w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1280px) 100vw, 1280px\">\u003c/a>\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">West Contra Costa Unified’s Stege Elementary School in Richmond. \u003ccite>(Andrew Reed/EdSource)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>UTR has proposed a 10% pay raise over the next two years and full health coverage. The district’s most recent counterproposal included a 2% pay raise for the 2025-26 school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The union argues that an increase in compensation will attract and maintain quality educators to help the district address its staffing shortage. For this year alone in special education services, Ortiz said more than 255 students have gone without a speech-language pathologist assigned to them for five weeks.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But the district has said that it can only afford to do so much. District officials \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12030935/our-education-matters-richmond-high-schoolers-rally-against-teacher-layoffs\">cut millions of dollars\u003c/a> from their budget to stay solvent this year, and they still face additional cuts.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district did not respond to a request for comment from KQED, but in a Monday night letter to community members, it said that its representatives on the state fact-finding panel have been meeting with the chairperson since the last hearings on Nov. 17 and Nov. 18.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We are committed to continuing these discussions into next week and through the break — whatever it takes — to try to reach a fair resolution and avert a strike that would only hurt our students,” wrote Raechelle Forrest, director of district communications.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Officials have also begun preparing for a potential strike, saying that the district is “committed to keeping our schools open.” WCCUSD’s school board \u003ca href=\"https://ccpulse.org/2025/10/16/wccusd-prepares-for-potential-strikes-by-upping-temporary-educators-pay/\">voted to increase pay\u003c/a> for substitute teachers last month, bumping the usual daily pay from $280 to up to $550 if the union goes on strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In addition to UTR’s members, more than a thousand other district staff members were set to strike soon after the teachers union.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If UTR does go on strike, it could trigger a sympathy strike by IFPTE Local 21, which represents school supervisors.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Teamsters Local 856, which includes paraprofessionals and clerical staff, came to a tentative agreement with the district on Wednesday after \u003ca href=\"https://teamster.org/2025/10/teamsters-at-west-contra-costa-unified-school-district-authorize-strike/\">authorizing a strike\u003c/a> only days after UTR’s authorization. Local 856 also cited staffing and pay concerns as reasons for a potential strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“The gains achieved by UTR and Teamsters Local 856 directly affect the compensation of our unit through our ‘me too’ clause. When they secure a higher wage increase, we will also benefit if the increase they secure is more than what we secured,” IFPTE \u003ca href=\"https://ifpte21.org/wp-content/uploads/2025/10/Sympathy-Strike-FAQ-WCCUSD-102725.pdf\">said \u003c/a>when recommending the strike.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The mediator’s report this week isn’t binding, so the district isn’t required to offer the union a new proposal after its release.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“If the district is unwilling to [accept those recommendations], then we’re also ready to take that next step,” Ortiz said. “We’re ready to do our part, and the district needs to do theirs.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s school board could set a timeline on a plan to close schools, a year after a botched push to shutter up to 11 campuses left staff and district families reeling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a meeting earlier this week, members discussed a new resolution that would require Superintendent Maria Su to put forward proposals to reorganize schools and implement a new geography-based school assignment system, as soon as August 2026, and by the next fall’s enrollment fair at the latest. If passed, these changes would go into effect ahead of the 2027-2028 school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While still in early stages, the conversation foreshadows an uphill battle to get either the school reorganization or the assignment system to the finish line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Su was appointed superintendent by then-Mayor London Breed last October, she shelved a plan \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">to close up to three schools and merge up to 16\u003c/a>, which had been plagued with delays, data issues and equity and transparency concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She turned to addressing SFUSD’s massive budget crisis, and is now in the second of a two-year plan to eliminate a structural deficit by slashing more than $150 million in district spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “Strong Schools Resolution,” introduced Tuesday, appears to outline her next directives from the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010831\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12010831 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Then-Mayor London Breed and Superintendent Maria Su speak with students at Yick Wo Alternative Elementary School in San Francisco on Oct. 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It details the district’s continuing enrollment decline and unequal demand for classroom seats across San Francisco neighborhoods and programs. While some schools, especially those with language immersion tracks, have long waitlists, others are half-empty and stand to lose more students in the coming years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Expanding some schools and consolidating others will ultimately allow all of our schools to be stronger by reinvesting in teachers, programs, and facilities and making the best use of our real estate portfolio, so that we can continue to improve academics while maintaining our financial stability long term to better serve students,” the draft resolution reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It echoes the district’s reasoning for pursuing closures last year, which failed to garner community support and ultimately led to Superintendent Matt Wayne’s resignation under fire.[aside postID=news_12064366 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/250818-SFUSDFIRSTDAY-04-KQED.jpg']Families, the teachers’ union and some board members accused the district of not communicating effectively why closures were necessary, using the budget crisis as an excuse despite determining that the closures themselves wouldn’t yield significant savings. SFUSD was also criticized for not engaging schools in the process, a lack of transparency in determining which should shutter and trying to push the plan through on a tight timeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing also put board members up for reelection in a tough position: discussing the potential closure of voters’ schools weeks before election day. Tuesday’s resolution would set up a similar timeline, putting a vote on any closure plan Su brings forward next fall, around November’s general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overhauling the district’s enrollment strategy is likely to be more popular, since there’s broad alignment that the current system is dysfunctional, stressful and bad for stabilizing enrollment. But there doesn’t appear to be consensus that a zone-based system approved in 2020 is the right solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That December, SFUSD passed legislation that would transition from a school assignment lottery, which allows families to request any campus across the city, to a system that assigns students to one of a few schools closest to their homes. It was meant to go into effect for students entering elementary schools in the fall of 2023, but has been put off for years due to the pandemic, possible school closures and the ongoing budget crisis — and because the district has found it nearly impossible to implement equitably.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11931650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1620px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11931650\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF.jpg\" alt=\"A white woman with a grey suit over a blue sweater speaks into a microphone at an event\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF.jpg 1620w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Then-San Francisco Unified School District board candidate, Alida Fisher, speaks at an election night event at El Rio in San Francisco on Nov. 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Board member Alida Fisher said Tuesday that the plan was opposed by community advisory committees, which warned at the time that the assignments would disadvantage children in the Southeast part of the city, where schools faced years of underinvestment, ailing facilities and less robust staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district also ran into issues creating maps that ensured access to language immersion and special education programs, and balancing three key factors laid out in the legislation — predictability, proximity and diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board member Matt Alexander said he wanted to see more concrete steps from the superintendent, like asking the board to pick two of those three factors to prioritize. He questioned why the resolution was necessary and why the superintendent didn’t just bring forward a proposal for a vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late-night discussion yielded little concrete progress toward either goal and more questions than answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fisher posed chief among them: “What is going to be different this time?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>\u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-francisco\">San Francisco\u003c/a>’s school board could set a timeline on a plan to close schools, a year after a botched push to shutter up to 11 campuses left staff and district families reeling.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>At a meeting earlier this week, members discussed a new resolution that would require Superintendent Maria Su to put forward proposals to reorganize schools and implement a new geography-based school assignment system, as soon as August 2026, and by the next fall’s enrollment fair at the latest. If passed, these changes would go into effect ahead of the 2027-2028 school year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>While still in early stages, the conversation foreshadows an uphill battle to get either the school reorganization or the assignment system to the finish line.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>When Su was appointed superintendent by then-Mayor London Breed last October, she shelved a plan \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12010008/sf-schools-crisis-is-spiraling-with-top-official-to-resign-heres-all-thats-happened\">to close up to three schools and merge up to 16\u003c/a>, which had been plagued with delays, data issues and equity and transparency concerns.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She turned to addressing SFUSD’s massive budget crisis, and is now in the second of a two-year plan to eliminate a structural deficit by slashing more than $150 million in district spending.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The “Strong Schools Resolution,” introduced Tuesday, appears to outline her next directives from the board.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12010831\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12010831 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2024/10/241023-SFUSDSUPERINTENDENT-49-BL-KQED-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Then-Mayor London Breed and Superintendent Maria Su speak with students at Yick Wo Alternative Elementary School in San Francisco on Oct. 23, 2024. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>It details the district’s continuing enrollment decline and unequal demand for classroom seats across San Francisco neighborhoods and programs. While some schools, especially those with language immersion tracks, have long waitlists, others are half-empty and stand to lose more students in the coming years.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Expanding some schools and consolidating others will ultimately allow all of our schools to be stronger by reinvesting in teachers, programs, and facilities and making the best use of our real estate portfolio, so that we can continue to improve academics while maintaining our financial stability long term to better serve students,” the draft resolution reads.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>It echoes the district’s reasoning for pursuing closures last year, which failed to garner community support and ultimately led to Superintendent Matt Wayne’s resignation under fire.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Families, the teachers’ union and some board members accused the district of not communicating effectively why closures were necessary, using the budget crisis as an excuse despite determining that the closures themselves wouldn’t yield significant savings. SFUSD was also criticized for not engaging schools in the process, a lack of transparency in determining which should shutter and trying to push the plan through on a tight timeline.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The timing also put board members up for reelection in a tough position: discussing the potential closure of voters’ schools weeks before election day. Tuesday’s resolution would set up a similar timeline, putting a vote on any closure plan Su brings forward next fall, around November’s general election.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Overhauling the district’s enrollment strategy is likely to be more popular, since there’s broad alignment that the current system is dysfunctional, stressful and bad for stabilizing enrollment. But there doesn’t appear to be consensus that a zone-based system approved in 2020 is the right solution.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That December, SFUSD passed legislation that would transition from a school assignment lottery, which allows families to request any campus across the city, to a system that assigns students to one of a few schools closest to their homes. It was meant to go into effect for students entering elementary schools in the fall of 2023, but has been put off for years due to the pandemic, possible school closures and the ongoing budget crisis — and because the district has found it nearly impossible to implement equitably.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11931650\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1620px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11931650\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF.jpg\" alt=\"A white woman with a grey suit over a blue sweater speaks into a microphone at an event\" width=\"1620\" height=\"1080\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF.jpg 1620w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/11/1AFBACD6-E56E-4A4A-8624-783F1286C3AF-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1620px) 100vw, 1620px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Then-San Francisco Unified School District board candidate, Alida Fisher, speaks at an election night event at El Rio in San Francisco on Nov. 8, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Board member Alida Fisher said Tuesday that the plan was opposed by community advisory committees, which warned at the time that the assignments would disadvantage children in the Southeast part of the city, where schools faced years of underinvestment, ailing facilities and less robust staffing.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The district also ran into issues creating maps that ensured access to language immersion and special education programs, and balancing three key factors laid out in the legislation — predictability, proximity and diversity.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board member Matt Alexander said he wanted to see more concrete steps from the superintendent, like asking the board to pick two of those three factors to prioritize. He questioned why the resolution was necessary and why the superintendent didn’t just bring forward a proposal for a vote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The late-night discussion yielded little concrete progress toward either goal and more questions than answers.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Fisher posed chief among them: “What is going to be different this time?”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results,” she said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003c/div>\u003c/p>",
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"content": "\u003cp>As Oakland’s school district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062643/oakland-unified-wins-budget-approval-but-faces-dire-warning-on-financial-future\">faces fiscal insolvency\u003c/a>, its top budget official is warning that the school board’s unwillingness to cut services could make it impossible to balance a budget next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district\">Oakland Unified School District\u003c/a>’s board directed staff to prepare two plans that cut $100 million from the 2026–27 budget to stay afloat. That demand came with broad parameters: no school closures or mergers, maintaining school resources and student-facing roles and reducing the district’s administrative arm — the “central office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Chief Business Officer Lisa Grant-Dawson said. “There’s not $100 million in the central office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two budget scenarios staff plan to present to the school board on Wednesday would cut far less than their goal. The more scant version would total $21.8 million in savings and recommends cutting 53 roles across administrative offices, with the greatest reductions in communications and the Superintendent’s office, a department which trains and supports new employees, fiscal services and academics. The other would only cut six roles and save the district $16.8 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board President Jennifer Brouhard, who co-authored the resolution directing staff to propose the cuts, said it was an “initial direction,” but that she and other board members “understood from the start that further discussions with the Superintendent would be necessary to identify additional cuts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041367\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12041367 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1316\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-800x526.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-1020x671.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-1536x1011.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-1920x1263.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District board president Jennifer Brouhard speaks during a meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She said the board also asked staff to consider other elements of the district’s spending, including a potential restructuring of its school “networks,” or groups of schools that are under the purview of a network superintendent, and plans to increase revenue through enrollment and identification of services that the district can deliver in-house instead of contracting out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At our next special meeting on Dec. 3, I am excited to see plans for the remaining components of the resolution,” Brouhard said via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget crisis comes after years of warnings from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027158/how-oakland-and-sf-ended-up-among-7-ca-school-districts-who-cant-pay-their-bills\">state watchdogs\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">county and district officials\u003c/a> that OUSD is outspending its revenue, setting it on the path toward bankruptcy. The district did declare bankruptcy in 2003 and was bailed out by a loan from the state that came with decades of intense oversight, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043062/as-ousd-gets-closer-to-controlling-its-finances-new-budget-challenges-loom\">made its final loan payment over the summer\u003c/a>.[aside postID=news_12059238 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/06/250603-OUSD-MD-01-KQED-1020x680.jpg']Even so, the past few years have been rocky — OUSD has outspent its revenue by up to $4 million per month, forcing service cuts and spending down a strong reserve fund built up during the pandemic, when schools received hefty relief payments from the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some board members and the teachers’ union have long blamed OUSD’s central office for the overspending problem, calling it bloated and pointing to the high salaries of top officials. But Grant-Dawson said recent cuts have already relied heavily on shrinking the administration, making deeper reductions to non-student services difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the board accepts a proposed reduction in its number of cleaning staff, Grant-Dawson said the district will ask school sites to utilize fewer classrooms and buildings on their campuses. Likewise, laying off employees in the budget office means school sites will have less flexibility in how they spend their site-specific funding, since there won’t be a district staff member to help implement those changes in the larger budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to be able to do less,” Grant-Dawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A slim, four-member board majority led by Brouhard passed the resolution calling for the reduction plans last month, after hours of circling debate over how to address OUSD’s dire budget situation, while maintaining student and school resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11912882\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11912882\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Kids play outside at school.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students play a game during recess at Grass Valley Elementary School in Oakland on April 28, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The same contingent, which is backed by the teachers’ union, has pushed through a number of controversial proposals since January, including amendments to last year’s budget reduction plan that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">unintentionally cut after-school programs\u003c/a> and had to be reversed and a shocking deal to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">part with longtime Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell\u003c/a> before the end of her contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the year, the board’s already tense relationship with district staff, and each other, has grown increasingly tenuous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spring, Grant-Dawson said she warned the board that their budget-balancing amendments could have unintended consequences, like the after-school program funding snafu, before it passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we did do that, it was like, ‘The staff is trying to keep us from [doing what we want],’” Grant-Dawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029337\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Oakland Unified School District Board takes public comment during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Having to present the plan that made the cuts, then later reverse them, created more work for her team. So has developing budget-balancing plans year after year at the board’s direction, then watching as many go unimplemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“OUSD’s history reveals an undeniable pattern: requesting plans, then disregarding them; rejecting staff recommendations; changing direction and directions, and, when difficult decisions are finally made, rescinding them shortly thereafter,” Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro said in a letter to OUSD last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She told KQED that balancing the budget under the current circumstances “is absolutely 100% possible, but it would require a really significant change of pattern and action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our business team has been alerting the Board and the community about these oncoming financial challenges for several years,” Interim Superintendent Denise Saddler, who took over this summer while the district searches for a new permanent leader, wrote in a letter to families earlier this month. “We could see the need to take measures to mitigate the financial drop off on the horizon, and we have made clear the need to make hard choices long before now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056737\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056737 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and community leaders rally in support of improved schools, ahead of an OUSD board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Saddler said it would be impossible to make the massive budget reduction — which equals about 20% of the district’s unrestricted funding — without impacting students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People we know and care about will lose their jobs. Programs our students love will be reduced or eliminated. Services our families depend on will change,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not all of the staff reductions in either budget scenario would necessarily come through layoffs. The district plans to offer employees who are over the age of 55 and have served in OUSD for at least five years an early retirement buy-out in June, and the school board directed the superintendent to implement a hiring freeze last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board is supposed to vote on its budget cut plan next month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said prior to Wednesday’s meeting, she hadn’t discussed the partial proposals with board members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not in that place,” she said. “They haven’t reached out. They don’t reach out like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>As Oakland’s school district \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12062643/oakland-unified-wins-budget-approval-but-faces-dire-warning-on-financial-future\">faces fiscal insolvency\u003c/a>, its top budget official is warning that the school board’s unwillingness to cut services could make it impossible to balance a budget next year.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Last month, \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/oakland-unified-school-district\">Oakland Unified School District\u003c/a>’s board directed staff to prepare two plans that cut $100 million from the 2026–27 budget to stay afloat. That demand came with broad parameters: no school closures or mergers, maintaining school resources and student-facing roles and reducing the district’s administrative arm — the “central office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re a school district. And a school district’s majority of its funds are in schools,” Chief Business Officer Lisa Grant-Dawson said. “There’s not $100 million in the central office.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The two budget scenarios staff plan to present to the school board on Wednesday would cut far less than their goal. The more scant version would total $21.8 million in savings and recommends cutting 53 roles across administrative offices, with the greatest reductions in communications and the Superintendent’s office, a department which trains and supports new employees, fiscal services and academics. The other would only cut six roles and save the district $16.8 million.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Board President Jennifer Brouhard, who co-authored the resolution directing staff to propose the cuts, said it was an “initial direction,” but that she and other board members “understood from the start that further discussions with the Superintendent would be necessary to identify additional cuts.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12041367\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12041367 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1316\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-800x526.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-1020x671.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-160x105.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-1536x1011.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-18_qed-1920x1263.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District board president Jennifer Brouhard speaks during a meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>She said the board also asked staff to consider other elements of the district’s spending, including a potential restructuring of its school “networks,” or groups of schools that are under the purview of a network superintendent, and plans to increase revenue through enrollment and identification of services that the district can deliver in-house instead of contracting out.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“At our next special meeting on Dec. 3, I am excited to see plans for the remaining components of the resolution,” Brouhard said via email.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The budget crisis comes after years of warnings from \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12027158/how-oakland-and-sf-ended-up-among-7-ca-school-districts-who-cant-pay-their-bills\">state watchdogs\u003c/a> and \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12059238/alameda-county-to-oakland-schools-reduce-costs-or-lose-financial-independence-again\">county and district officials\u003c/a> that OUSD is outspending its revenue, setting it on the path toward bankruptcy. The district did declare bankruptcy in 2003 and was bailed out by a loan from the state that came with decades of intense oversight, but \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12043062/as-ousd-gets-closer-to-controlling-its-finances-new-budget-challenges-loom\">made its final loan payment over the summer\u003c/a>.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>Even so, the past few years have been rocky — OUSD has outspent its revenue by up to $4 million per month, forcing service cuts and spending down a strong reserve fund built up during the pandemic, when schools received hefty relief payments from the federal government.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Some board members and the teachers’ union have long blamed OUSD’s central office for the overspending problem, calling it bloated and pointing to the high salaries of top officials. But Grant-Dawson said recent cuts have already relied heavily on shrinking the administration, making deeper reductions to non-student services difficult.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>If the board accepts a proposed reduction in its number of cleaning staff, Grant-Dawson said the district will ask school sites to utilize fewer classrooms and buildings on their campuses. Likewise, laying off employees in the budget office means school sites will have less flexibility in how they spend their site-specific funding, since there won’t be a district staff member to help implement those changes in the larger budget.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re going to be able to do less,” Grant-Dawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A slim, four-member board majority led by Brouhard passed the resolution calling for the reduction plans last month, after hours of circling debate over how to address OUSD’s dire budget situation, while maintaining student and school resources.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_11912882\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 1920px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-11912882\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut.jpg\" alt=\"Kids play outside at school.\" width=\"1920\" height=\"1280\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut.jpg 1920w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2022/05/RS55654_027_KQED_GrassValleyElementarySchoolOakland_04282022-qut-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Students play a game during recess at Grass Valley Elementary School in Oakland on April 28, 2022. \u003ccite>(Beth LaBerge/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>The same contingent, which is backed by the teachers’ union, has pushed through a number of controversial proposals since January, including amendments to last year’s budget reduction plan that \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041279/ousd-cancels-controversial-after-school-cuts-but-deep-divisions-within-school-board-remain\">unintentionally cut after-school programs\u003c/a> and had to be reversed and a shocking deal to \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12037315/oakland-school-board-votes-remove-superintendent-sparking-worries-instability\">part with longtime Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell\u003c/a> before the end of her contract.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Throughout the year, the board’s already tense relationship with district staff, and each other, has grown increasingly tenuous.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the spring, Grant-Dawson said she warned the board that their budget-balancing amendments could have unintended consequences, like the after-school program funding snafu, before it passed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“When we did do that, it was like, ‘The staff is trying to keep us from [doing what we want],’” Grant-Dawson said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12029337\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12029337\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-800x533.jpg 800w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-1020x680.jpg 1020w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-1536x1024.jpg 1536w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/02/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-022_qed-1920x1280.jpg 1920w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Oakland Unified School District Board takes public comment during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. \u003ccite>(Juliana Yamada/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Having to present the plan that made the cuts, then later reverse them, created more work for her team. So has developing budget-balancing plans year after year at the board’s direction, then watching as many go unimplemented.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“OUSD’s history reveals an undeniable pattern: requesting plans, then disregarding them; rejecting staff recommendations; changing direction and directions, and, when difficult decisions are finally made, rescinding them shortly thereafter,” Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro said in a letter to OUSD last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>She told KQED that balancing the budget under the current circumstances “is absolutely 100% possible, but it would require a really significant change of pattern and action.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Our business team has been alerting the Board and the community about these oncoming financial challenges for several years,” Interim Superintendent Denise Saddler, who took over this summer while the district searches for a new permanent leader, wrote in a letter to families earlier this month. “We could see the need to take measures to mitigate the financial drop off on the horizon, and we have made clear the need to make hard choices long before now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12056737\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12056737 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/20250423_OUSDSupe_GC-2_qed-1-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Oakland Unified School District parents, students and community leaders rally in support of improved schools, ahead of an OUSD board meeting at Metwest High School in Oakland on April 23, 2025. \u003ccite>(Gina Castro/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>Saddler said it would be impossible to make the massive budget reduction — which equals about 20% of the district’s unrestricted funding — without impacting students.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“People we know and care about will lose their jobs. Programs our students love will be reduced or eliminated. Services our families depend on will change,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not all of the staff reductions in either budget scenario would necessarily come through layoffs. The district plans to offer employees who are over the age of 55 and have served in OUSD for at least five years an early retirement buy-out in June, and the school board directed the superintendent to implement a hiring freeze last month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The board is supposed to vote on its budget cut plan next month.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Grant-Dawson said prior to Wednesday’s meeting, she hadn’t discussed the partial proposals with board members.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We’re not in that place,” she said. “They haven’t reached out. They don’t reach out like that.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"title": "Parents Say Lunch, Recess Changes at San José School Leave Kids Hungry, Confused",
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"headTitle": "Parents Say Lunch, Recess Changes at San José School Leave Kids Hungry, Confused | KQED",
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"content": "\u003cp>When the school year began at Ruskin Elementary School in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> last month, students returned to a changed campus. Enrollment nearly doubled, from about 370 to more than 700, after a nearby elementary school closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Cherrywood Elementary students — from one of three Berryessa Union schools shuttered amid declining enrollment — transferred to Ruskin. Cherrywood’s principal, its Dual Immersion Mandarin Program and its teachers also relocated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now parents and their children are adjusting to what several describe as a chaotic, confusing transformation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad fullwidth]\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My concern was trial and error, which is what they’re doing this year with our kids,” said Tina De Vera, a Ruskin parent for more than a decade who now has two children at the school. “There wasn’t a contingency, proactive plan put in place. So now they’re just going to try and go each day and see what works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new principal for the larger student body has introduced new routines and protocols. Some of the changes have upset parents who never wanted the closures. Several said their children have been rushed through lunch to accommodate the additional students, and many worry about safety as traffic worsens during drop-off and pick-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055486\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12055486 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children play at Ruskin Elementary School in San José on Sept. 9, 2025. Parents at Ruskin Elementary School in San José say school consolidations have caused chaos on campus, leading to unsafe traffic and hurried school lunches. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’ve seen three students over the course of the beginning of the school year almost get run over at crosswalks,” De Vera said. Parents are making dangerous U-turns, she added. “Cars are just illegally blocking traffic so that they can let their kids run out of their cars onto the campus. There is no order.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District spokesperson Perla Rodriguez said officials remain committed to promoting safe routes to schools. As a “Walk n’ Roll District,” Rodriguez said Berryessa Union partners with San José to teach safe walking and biking skills. San José will also conduct a formal traffic study this month at the district’s request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to listening with care, learning from one another, and working side by side with all of our Ruskin families,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Together, we will build a united community that honors the strengths of both schools and ensures the very best for our students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>School lunches and growing pains\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several parents are also concerned about the allotted time for school lunches. They said their children have felt pressure to finish meals in less than 15 minutes after sitting down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justin Chaudoin, another Ruskin parent, said during the first week of school, his third-grade daughter came home hungry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Justin Chaudoin, a parent who is vocal about the impact of school district changes on his child, poses for a portrait at Ruskin Elementary School in San José on Sept. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“She was like, ‘I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry.’ Usually, that’s her ploy to get me to take her to McDonald’s or something,” Chaudoin said. But his daughter told him she didn’t have enough time to eat, and that the staff urged students to hurry. “She said, ‘It made me nervous and angry because I wanted to eat my food, and I couldn’t. And I didn’t know what was happening. They were just telling us to leave.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Education recommends students \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/timetoeat.asp\">have at least 20 minutes to eat\u003c/a> lunch once seated.[aside postID=news_12053938 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/08/20230608_ksuzuki_adelanteschool-172_qed.jpg']In the school’s newsletter, Principal Tina Tong Choy wrote that Ruskin is now feeding more than 700 students in under two hours, and students who need more time may stay to finish their meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another practice unsettling some parents is a recess protocol where students are told to “freeze” when the bell rings. Some children thought they were supposed to sit, squat or kneel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything that is not a norm for Ruskin and is a norm now should have been communicated ahead of time, especially things like this,” parent Jessica Bustos said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez, the district spokesperson, said routines for recess and lunch breaks are still new and evolving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the school newsletter, Tong Choy acknowledged “growing pains,” adding that what worked last year “may or may not work for our school community now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This isn’t an overnight change, but one that gets better and smoother day by day,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bringing Mandarin Immersion to a new home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before Cherrywood Elementary closed, parents pushed to keep it open and preserve its \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/dual-immersion-programs-show-promise-in-fighting-enrollment-declines/677296\">Mandarin Immersion program\u003c/a>, built from the ground up since 2018. Parent Karen Khasymska joined the push to keep Cherrywood open, collaborating with others on a paper arguing enrollment was strong and moving the program would disrupt its success and future district funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when Cherrywood closed, she prepared to enroll her daughter at Ruskin for the second grade, encouraged that many classmates would transfer too. Her optimism faded when she learned her daughter would be placed in a “combination class” with first graders because other second-grade classes were full. She transferred her daughter to a private school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055490\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055490\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ruskin Elementary School stands on 1401 Turlock Lane in San José on Sept. 9, 2025. Parents at Ruskin Elementary School in San José say school consolidations have caused chaos on campus, leading to unsafe traffic and hurried school lunches. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We wanted our public school to work out for us,” Khasymska said. “It was disappointing and certainly a lot of scrambling that first week. We had to consider a Plan B that we hadn’t thought we’d have to consider.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Khasymska said she knows other Cherrywood families who turned to private schools. “Things are happening at such an accelerated rate or they’re not giving the teachers or school administration the chance to plan or think things through or look at their numbers,” Khasymska said. “I think there was just so much happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not all parents describe the same disruption. Former Cherrywood parent Chandan Bhat said the school year at Ruskin has been “so far, so good” for his third-grade son.[aside postID=news_12040597 hero='https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/05/02172023_ksuzuki_tkprogress-010_qed-1-1020x679.jpg']“He’s still in the Mandarin Immersion program. His teachers haven’t changed, his classmates haven’t changed, even the principal for Ruskin [was] the principal at Cherrywood,” Bhat said. “So in some sense, some things have changed, but a lot of the things are the same.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to the program, both his daughter and son are learning Mandarin, achieving success in competitions and making him proud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His main concern is the traffic, which he hopes will be addressed soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez said Berryessa Union is now on a stronger financial footing and the budget has stabilized after closures and other fiscal measures. She said funding can fluctuate with state allocations and enrollment trends, but there are “currently no plans for additional closures in the near future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across California, public school enrollment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041122/california-public-school-enrollment-continues-post-pandemic-decline\">continues to decline\u003c/a> due to lower birth rates, families moving out of state and rising private and home school enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means more school districts will face the challenge of closing and consolidating schools — and doing so without breaking parents’ trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>[ad floatright]\u003c/p>\n",
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"excerpt": "After Cherrywood Elementary in San José closed, families at Ruskin Elementary say the consolidation brought traffic hazards and abrupt policy shifts that disrupted daily routines. ",
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"title": "Parents Say Lunch, Recess Changes at San José School Leave Kids Hungry, Confused | KQED",
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"headline": "Parents Say Lunch, Recess Changes at San José School Leave Kids Hungry, Confused",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003cp>When the school year began at Ruskin Elementary School in \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/tag/san-jose\">San José\u003c/a> last month, students returned to a changed campus. Enrollment nearly doubled, from about 370 to more than 700, after a nearby elementary school closed.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Many Cherrywood Elementary students — from one of three Berryessa Union schools shuttered amid declining enrollment — transferred to Ruskin. Cherrywood’s principal, its Dual Immersion Mandarin Program and its teachers also relocated.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Now parents and their children are adjusting to what several describe as a chaotic, confusing transformation.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“My concern was trial and error, which is what they’re doing this year with our kids,” said Tina De Vera, a Ruskin parent for more than a decade who now has two children at the school. “There wasn’t a contingency, proactive plan put in place. So now they’re just going to try and go each day and see what works.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>A new principal for the larger student body has introduced new routines and protocols. Some of the changes have upset parents who never wanted the closures. Several said their children have been rushed through lunch to accommodate the additional students, and many worry about safety as traffic worsens during drop-off and pick-up.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055486\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"wp-image-12055486 size-full\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03241_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Children play at Ruskin Elementary School in San José on Sept. 9, 2025. Parents at Ruskin Elementary School in San José say school consolidations have caused chaos on campus, leading to unsafe traffic and hurried school lunches. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“I’ve seen three students over the course of the beginning of the school year almost get run over at crosswalks,” De Vera said. Parents are making dangerous U-turns, she added. “Cars are just illegally blocking traffic so that they can let their kids run out of their cars onto the campus. There is no order.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>District spokesperson Perla Rodriguez said officials remain committed to promoting safe routes to schools. As a “Walk n’ Roll District,” Rodriguez said Berryessa Union partners with San José to teach safe walking and biking skills. San José will also conduct a formal traffic study this month at the district’s request.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“We remain committed to listening with care, learning from one another, and working side by side with all of our Ruskin families,” Rodriguez said in a statement. “Together, we will build a united community that honors the strengths of both schools and ensures the very best for our students.”\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>School lunches and growing pains\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Several parents are also concerned about the allotted time for school lunches. They said their children have felt pressure to finish meals in less than 15 minutes after sitting down.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Justin Chaudoin, another Ruskin parent, said during the first week of school, his third-grade daughter came home hungry.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055485\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055485\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03238_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Justin Chaudoin, a parent who is vocal about the impact of school district changes on his child, poses for a portrait at Ruskin Elementary School in San José on Sept. 9, 2025. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“She was like, ‘I’m hungry, I’m hungry, I’m hungry.’ Usually, that’s her ploy to get me to take her to McDonald’s or something,” Chaudoin said. But his daughter told him she didn’t have enough time to eat, and that the staff urged students to hurry. “She said, ‘It made me nervous and angry because I wanted to eat my food, and I couldn’t. And I didn’t know what was happening. They were just telling us to leave.’”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>The California Department of Education recommends students \u003ca href=\"https://www.cde.ca.gov/ls/nu/sn/timetoeat.asp\">have at least 20 minutes to eat\u003c/a> lunch once seated.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>In the school’s newsletter, Principal Tina Tong Choy wrote that Ruskin is now feeding more than 700 students in under two hours, and students who need more time may stay to finish their meals.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Another practice unsettling some parents is a recess protocol where students are told to “freeze” when the bell rings. Some children thought they were supposed to sit, squat or kneel.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“Anything that is not a norm for Ruskin and is a norm now should have been communicated ahead of time, especially things like this,” parent Jessica Bustos said.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez, the district spokesperson, said routines for recess and lunch breaks are still new and evolving.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>In the school newsletter, Tong Choy acknowledged “growing pains,” adding that what worked last year “may or may not work for our school community now.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>“This isn’t an overnight change, but one that gets better and smoother day by day,” she wrote.\u003c/p>\n\u003ch2>Bringing Mandarin Immersion to a new home\u003c/h2>\n\u003cp>Before Cherrywood Elementary closed, parents pushed to keep it open and preserve its \u003ca href=\"https://edsource.org/2022/dual-immersion-programs-show-promise-in-fighting-enrollment-declines/677296\">Mandarin Immersion program\u003c/a>, built from the ground up since 2018. Parent Karen Khasymska joined the push to keep Cherrywood open, collaborating with others on a paper arguing enrollment was strong and moving the program would disrupt its success and future district funding.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>But when Cherrywood closed, she prepared to enroll her daughter at Ruskin for the second grade, encouraged that many classmates would transfer too. Her optimism faded when she learned her daughter would be placed in a “combination class” with first graders because other second-grade classes were full. She transferred her daughter to a private school.\u003c/p>\n\u003cfigure id=\"attachment_12055490\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\" style=\"max-width: 2000px\">\u003cimg loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-12055490\" src=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"2000\" height=\"1333\" srcset=\"https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED.jpg 2000w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED-160x107.jpg 160w, https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/10/2025/09/250909-BERRYESSAUNIONCLOSURES_03267_TV-KQED-1536x1024.jpg 1536w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 2000px) 100vw, 2000px\">\u003cfigcaption class=\"wp-caption-text\">Ruskin Elementary School stands on 1401 Turlock Lane in San José on Sept. 9, 2025. Parents at Ruskin Elementary School in San José say school consolidations have caused chaos on campus, leading to unsafe traffic and hurried school lunches. \u003ccite>(Tâm Vũ/KQED)\u003c/cite>\u003c/figcaption>\u003c/figure>\n\u003cp>“We wanted our public school to work out for us,” Khasymska said. “It was disappointing and certainly a lot of scrambling that first week. We had to consider a Plan B that we hadn’t thought we’d have to consider.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Khasymska said she knows other Cherrywood families who turned to private schools. “Things are happening at such an accelerated rate or they’re not giving the teachers or school administration the chance to plan or think things through or look at their numbers,” Khasymska said. “I think there was just so much happening.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Not all parents describe the same disruption. Former Cherrywood parent Chandan Bhat said the school year at Ruskin has been “so far, so good” for his third-grade son.\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"content": "\u003cdiv class=\"post-body\">\u003cp>“He’s still in the Mandarin Immersion program. His teachers haven’t changed, his classmates haven’t changed, even the principal for Ruskin [was] the principal at Cherrywood,” Bhat said. “So in some sense, some things have changed, but a lot of the things are the same.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Thanks to the program, both his daughter and son are learning Mandarin, achieving success in competitions and making him proud.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>His main concern is the traffic, which he hopes will be addressed soon.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Rodriguez said Berryessa Union is now on a stronger financial footing and the budget has stabilized after closures and other fiscal measures. She said funding can fluctuate with state allocations and enrollment trends, but there are “currently no plans for additional closures in the near future.”\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>Across California, public school enrollment \u003ca href=\"https://www.kqed.org/news/12041122/california-public-school-enrollment-continues-post-pandemic-decline\">continues to decline\u003c/a> due to lower birth rates, families moving out of state and rising private and home school enrollment.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>That means more school districts will face the challenge of closing and consolidating schools — and doing so without breaking parents’ trust.\u003c/p>\n\u003cp>\u003c/p>\u003c/div>",
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"info": "What kind of no sabo word is Hyphenación? For us, it’s about living within a hyphenation. Like being a third-gen Mexican-American from the Texas border now living that Bay Area Chicano life. Like Xorje! Each week we bring together a couple of hyphenated Latinos to talk all about personal life choices: family, careers, relationships, belonging … everything is on the table. ",
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"info": "The Political Mind of Jerry Brown brings listeners the wisdom of the former Governor, Mayor, and presidential candidate. Scott Shafer interviewed Brown for more than 40 hours, covering the former governor's life and half-century in the political game – and Brown has some lessons he'd like to share. ",
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"info": "Our flagship program, helmed by Kai Ryssdal, examines what the day in money delivered, through stories, conversations, newsworthy numbers and more. Updated Monday through Friday at about 3:30 p.m. PT.",
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},
"mindshift": {
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"info": "The MindShift podcast explores the innovations in education that are shaping how kids learn. Hosts Ki Sung and Katrina Schwartz introduce listeners to educators, researchers, parents and students who are developing effective ways to improve how kids learn. We cover topics like how fed-up administrators are developing surprising tactics to deal with classroom disruptions; how listening to podcasts are helping kids develop reading skills; the consequences of overparenting; and why interdisciplinary learning can engage students on all ends of the traditional achievement spectrum. This podcast is part of the MindShift education site, a division of KQED News. KQED is an NPR/PBS member station based in San Francisco. You can also visit the MindShift website for episodes and supplemental blog posts or tweet us \u003ca href=\"https://twitter.com/MindShiftKQED\">@MindShiftKQED\u003c/a> or visit us at \u003ca href=\"/mindshift\">MindShift.KQED.org\u003c/a>",
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"order": 12
},
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM1NzY0NjAwNDI5",
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"onourwatch": {
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"title": "On Our Watch",
"tagline": "Deeply-reported investigative journalism",
"info": "For decades, the process for how police police themselves has been inconsistent – if not opaque. In some states, like California, these proceedings were completely hidden. After a new police transparency law unsealed scores of internal affairs files, our reporters set out to examine these cases and the shadow world of police discipline. On Our Watch brings listeners into the rooms where officers are questioned and witnesses are interrogated to find out who this system is really protecting. Is it the officers, or the public they've sworn to serve?",
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"on-the-media": {
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"info": "Our weekly podcast explores how the media 'sausage' is made, casts an incisive eye on fluctuations in the marketplace of ideas, and examines threats to the freedom of information and expression in America and abroad. For one hour a week, the show tries to lift the veil from the process of \"making media,\" especially news media, because it's through that lens that we see the world and the world sees us",
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"link": "/radio/program/on-the-media",
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},
"perspectives": {
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"order": 14
},
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"info": "The economy explained. Imagine you could call up a friend and say, Meet me at the bar and tell me what's going on with the economy. Now imagine that's actually a fun evening.",
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"link": "/radio/program/planet-money",
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"apple": "https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/planet-money/id290783428?mt=2",
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},
"politicalbreakdown": {
"id": "politicalbreakdown",
"title": "Political Breakdown",
"tagline": "Politics from a personal perspective",
"info": "Political Breakdown is a new series that explores the political intersection of California and the nation. Each week hosts Scott Shafer and Marisa Lagos are joined with a new special guest to unpack politics -- with personality — and offer an insider’s glimpse at how politics happens.",
"airtime": "THU 6:30pm-7pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Political-Breakdown-2024-Podcast-Tile-703x703-1.jpg",
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"order": 5
},
"link": "/podcasts/politicalbreakdown",
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"google": "https://podcasts.google.com/feed/aHR0cHM6Ly9mZWVkcy5tZWdhcGhvbmUuZm0vS1FJTkM5Nzk2MzI2MTEx",
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"possible": {
"id": "possible",
"title": "Possible",
"info": "Possible is hosted by entrepreneur Reid Hoffman and writer Aria Finger. Together in Possible, Hoffman and Finger lead enlightening discussions about building a brighter collective future. The show features interviews with visionary guests like Trevor Noah, Sam Altman and Janette Sadik-Khan. Possible paints an optimistic portrait of the world we can create through science, policy, business, art and our shared humanity. It asks: What if everything goes right for once? How can we get there? Each episode also includes a short fiction story generated by advanced AI GPT-4, serving as a thought-provoking springboard to speculate how humanity could leverage technology for good.",
"airtime": "SUN 2pm",
"imageSrc": "https://cdn.kqed.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/Possible-Podcast-Tile-360x360-1.jpg",
"officialWebsiteLink": "https://www.possible.fm/",
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"source": "Possible"
},
"link": "/radio/program/possible",
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"spotify": "https://open.spotify.com/show/730YpdUSNlMyPQwNnyjp4k"
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},
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