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Substitute teachers and unions press SFUSD over Red Rover system, sick leave and staffing
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Summary
Multiple substitute teachers, union officials and principals told the San Francisco Board of Education that the district's new substitute management system, Red Rover, is not functioning for longtime substitutes, has blocked legally required sick-leave access and contributed to loss of health coverage and job instability.
A string of substitute teachers, union leaders and school-site administrators told the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education that the district's Red Rover substitute management system has not worked for months and that the district must fix sick-leave access, benefits accounting and staffing practices.
The public comments came during the meeting's public-comment period. Substitutes described the system as a "hunger games" for assignments and said many veteran substitutes were being crowded out by large new hiring efforts. "Some mornings, we stay up until 3 a.m. or wake up at 5 refreshing Red Rover over and over for jobs," said a substitute who testified that the work had become a lottery and made it harder to maintain health insurance.
Union leaders and site administrators amplified the complaints. Natalie Rizzi, vice president of substitutes for United Educators of San Francisco, said substitutes are legally entitled to sick time that is rolling under California law but that Red Rover does not allow substitutes to access the leave. "The law is being broken every single day," she said, and called for immediate remedies including restoring access to sick leave, fixing health-benefits hour counts, and improving the hiring and assignment model.
Principals and administrators also told the board of heightened workloads and deteriorating working conditions. Several principals, including Diane Maillie of Stevenson Elementary and Myra Quadros, vice president of the United Administrators of San Francisco, described heavier duties, eliminated roles and the need for a raise and better conditions. Quadros said principals were not included in staffing and budget conversations and cited a need to honor the board's resource-transparency guardrail when making operational changes.
comments described three distinct problems the board may need to address: technical failures in Red Rover that affect day-to-day substitute access and sick leave; operational decisions about massive substitute hiring and the effect on veteran substitutes; and broader concerns about administrator workloads, rising health costs and bargaining with district labor units.
Several speakers also mentioned an upcoming labor action: the United Administrators of San Francisco announced a boycott of an all-administrator meeting on Oct. 29 in pursuit of contract raises. Paraeducators and classified employees also told the board about a strike-ready petition and asked the district to act quickly.
The comments did not generate a formal board vote at this meeting, but the board's leadership and superintendent acknowledged the concerns and said staff would respond through the agenda Q&A and follow-up. Board members asked several budget and staffing questions later in the meeting while the deputy superintendent presented the unaudited financial report.
Speakers urged the board to direct staff to resolve the Red Rover access and to provide clear, transparent updates to site leaders and unions about how substitute hiring and benefits hours will be counted moving forward.
