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Teachers, union leaders and parents press SFUSD board to protect paraeducators and school support staff
Summary
During public comment and board questioning, union representatives, teachers and parents urged the board to avoid cuts that would remove paraeducators, nurses and counselors at school sites; staff said no paraprofessional layoffs are included in the immediate budget presentation but acknowledged consolidation costs and legal timelines could affect future staffing.
Dozens of public commenters and several board members used a June 26 special meeting to press the San Francisco Unified School District to protect paraeducators and other school-based support staff as the district addresses a projected $22.3 million FY2021 gap.
Jan, who identified herself as the leader of ProTech Local 21 at SFUSD, asked staff to "find out if the paras are safe" and who else would be protected. Tom, a special education teacher at Dolores Huerta Elementary, said consolidations have left some schools short of critical supports and urged district staff to visit sites and evaluate needs.
Staff told the board there are no paraprofessional layoffs currently proposed for the budget presented at the meeting and that, on net, special education paraeducator FTEs were increasing by about 9 positions. "So in the budget that you're seeing or for the purposes of this discussion, there are no paraprofessional layoffs or paraprofessional cuts listed in the discussion for today," Superintendent Matthews said.
Nut graf: Public speakers remained skeptical that protections would persist through the school year. Commenters warned that consolidations, hiring choices at site level, or later decisions once bargaining timelines reopen could still result in reduced hours or positions at schools.
Several callers and teachers described site-level tradeoffs that make charts in the budget book difficult to interpret: a school might add classroom teachers driven by enrollment while losing part-time counselors or specialists, yielding an overall FTE increase that masks reductions in support services. Board members acknowledged that tension and asked staff for clearer site-level reports that separately display "support staff" positions (nurses, counselors, social workers, paraeducators) versus classroom teacher counts.
Ending: Staff said protections for paraeducators include that layoff actions for paraeducators would require board approval and that no such actions were before the board for this presentation. Board members and staff agreed to follow up with labor partners about outstanding questions and to continue engagement on how site-level choices are represented in the public materials.
