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Students and parents urge SFUSD to spare teachers, counselors and programs amid budget cuts
Summary
More than 100 in-person commenters, many students, told the San Francisco Board of Education that proposed reductions would disproportionately harm vulnerable students, naming reading intervention teachers, counselors and after-school programs.
Hundreds of members of the San Francisco school community filled the board chamber Wednesday and made an hour of public comment about proposed reductions that could affect teachers, counselors and student support programs.
Many commenters were students. Students from Mission High School, Dr. William L. Cobb Elementary and other campuses told the board that cuts to reading interventionists, counselors, after-school supports and elective courses would harm students who rely on them.
Varo Yanes, a tenth-grader at Mission High School, told the board, "These cuts hits the most vulnerable the hardest. Students who rely on after-school programs and special education services are often the first to feel the burn of budget cuts." The meeting also included multiple elementary students who asked the board not to remove reading specialists and intervention teachers from their campuses.
Nut graf: Public commenters emphasized the practical impact of staff reductions on students’ daily learning and mental health, and repeatedly asked the board to seek alternatives to layoffs. Parents and PTA representatives also urged the board to allow site-level funding solutions to continue where PTAs have used local funds to keep positions in place.
Several speakers asked the board to preserve particular programs and positions: reading intervention teachers at Dr. William L. Cobb Elementary, the McKinley Elementary class-size reduction teacher funded by PTA dollars, peer resources at Lincoln High School, and school wellness centers and counselors. Students and parents also warned that reductions could accelerate enrollment decline as families seek alternatives if services are reduced.
Board President Kim told the public the board had received "over a hundred comment cards" and would continue to take written comments by email. The board did not take action during public comment and is expected to consider specific reductions as part of the district’s fiscal stabilization implementation.
Ending: Speakers said they would continue to press the board and district staff to find alternatives to cuts and to prioritize classroom supports during the budget process.
