SF school district to mail final layoff notices after conceptual UESF agreement reduces cuts

Superintendent Carlos Garcia announced that San Francisco Unified School District negotiators reached a "joint conceptual agreement" with the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) shortly before the board meeting and said the deal would allow the district to substantially reduce planned certificated layoffs.

Garcia told the board that the district had earlier issued 701 notices recommending non-reelection for certificated personnel and that staff and the board would move tonight to reduce the number of final notices to about 348.72 full‑time equivalent positions. "We negotiated till 2 in the morning last night with UESF," Garcia said, and "we're gonna bring that number down to 349 people." He added the district's longer-term goal — conditioned on ratification by UESF — is to lower layoffs to "a little bit under 200" teachers.

Why it matters: The district is facing a roughly $113 million budget shortfall and officials said personnel reductions remain the principal lever to balance the budget. District staff and board members framed the action as an attempt to preserve as many classroom positions as possible while avoiding state receivership, which they said would remove local control.

What the board did: The board adopted the Office of Administrative Hearings proposed decision with a modification to reduce the number of certificated positions to be eliminated to 348.72 FTEs and authorized staff to mail final notices (staff indicated mailings would be completed around May 15). The resolution notes staff updated central and site budgets and accounted for attrition and vacancies in reaching the reduced figure. The motion passed on roll call (recorded in the meeting as 5 ayes).

Staff explained next steps and legal constraints: Human Resources staff said the district will publish the seniority-based recall list and begin recall as vacancies arise. Garcia said that if the conceptual agreement is ratified by UESF members, the district intends to rescind additional notices for a subset of affected employees so that the ultimate number could fall to about 195 FTEs. "Pending your approval, we'll mail final notices on May 15," HR leadership told the board; they added that employees who receive final notices will retain statutory recall rights.

Public reaction and equity questions: Dozens of teachers, parents and students urged the board to rescind notices entirely, describing program disruption at hard-to-staff sites and asking the board to protect bilingual and specialized staff. Board members expressed regret at the necessity of the action while reiterating their goal to minimize layoffs. Commissioners also discussed the equity impact report and the legal constraints of Education Code rules on seniority-based layoffs; staff said they are tracking related litigation (an ACLU suit targeting LAUSD practices) and will compile evidence about turnover and student outcomes.

The record: Staff cited Education Code provisions governing layoffs and the administrative law judge's proposed decision as the legal basis for the action; the board's resolution adopted the proposed decision with the change to 348.72 FTEs and authorized the superintendent to issue required notices.

Where this goes next: District officials said they will continue bargaining with UESF and pursue further reductions to the number of final layoffs if the union ratifies the conceptual agreement. The board and staff signaled intent to revisit budget options and to aim for a two‑year contract to stabilize staffing in future years.