SFUSD Authorizes Notices as District Confronts $113M Shortfall; Unions Urge Pause

School district staff told the San Francisco Board of Education on Feb. 23 that the district faces a projected $113 million budget gap over the next two years and outlined a package of cuts and savings to close the deficit. The board approved a set of resolutions authorizing preliminary layoff notices for certificated staff and paraprofessionals so the district retains flexibility while final budgets and negotiations continue.

Staff presented a breakdown of proposed savings that included $45.5 million from centralized budget reductions, $15 million in Prop 8 carryover revenues, $4.6 million in summer school reductions, approximately $2.5 million in transportation savings, and the balance from negotiations and other measures. Administrators said a remaining ~$44.3 million would need to come from labor‑related contract adjustments and other unspecified sources.

Because state law requires certificated layoff notices by March 15 to preserve the district’s options for 2010–11, staff asked the board to authorize notice mailings and to adopt rules governing seniority order and competency used during any reduction in particular kinds of service (PKS). The packet and staff presentation identified the scale of preliminary notices: hundreds of certificated FTEs and roughly 277 paraprofessionals potentially affected (the district said 96 of those represent one‑hour reductions in the workday).

Union leaders and dozens of teachers, paraprofessionals and parents urged the board to delay authorizing notices until the district exhausted non‑classroom reductions and completed negotiations. Linda Plack, UESF executive vice president, told the board that issuing notices now risks irretrievable staffing losses, warning that laid‑off educators often leave for other districts and that openings created later are difficult to fill.

Board members debated timing and legal constraints. Some members said state budget decisions and agreed projections left little choice but to preserve legal flexibility; others said the board should continue to press for external revenue measures and labor negotiations to reduce the number of notices. In roll‑call votes the board approved the paraprofessional reduction resolution (vote recorded as 5 ayes), the certificated PKS notice (majority approval), and companion resolutions establishing seniority and competency rules for any reductions.

District staff said the notices are procedural — not immediate terminations — and that rescissions will be mailed if funding or negotiated agreements change. The board directed staff to continue negotiating with labor partners and to present refined budget figures and implementation plans as sites finalize budgets and as bargaining progresses.