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Parents urge SFUSD to find site for Friends of Potrero Hill preschool facing lease loss
Summary
Dozens of parents and community members told the school board that Friends of Potrero Hill Nursery School faces imminent loss of space after lease negotiations fell through, asking the district for an urgent meeting and a permanent SFUSD site to serve about 30 families.
Dozens of potrero‑hill parents, preschool leaders and neighborhood advocates told the San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education that Friends of Potrero Hill Nursery School is facing an immediate housing crisis and urged the district to convene a meeting to find a permanent site.
Speakers described failed lease negotiations and sudden notice that a previously promised space would not be ratified. Catherine D’Amaney, a founding member of the Potrero Residents Education Fund, told the board the preschool has been negotiating leases since February and that more than 30 families are ‘‘sitting in limbo wondering where we will find childcare and instruction for our children come July.’’
Monica Light, director of Friends of Potrero Hill Preschool, said the program serves a diverse, largely working‑family population and provides scholarships; she warned that the program ‘‘is staring at extinction’’ without a classroom on a district site. Parent speakers said about 83% of preschool attendees go on to public schools in the area and argued that losing the preschool would worsen neighborhood enrollment and child‑care shortages.
Superintendent Carlos Garcia told the speakers the district is itemizing available facility space and expects to have an answer by the 21st of the month; he said staff would examine options that might allow Friends to remain at Star King for another year or identify alternative SFUSD properties. Board members and parents pressed for an expedited meeting and for staff follow‑up on financial-access questions and any additional supports the district can offer.
Board staff and speakers repeatedly requested that any solution consider licensing and space constraints, subsidy needs for low‑income families, and the preschool’s role as a neighborhood feeder into district schools. Parents and community organizers said they would continue advocacy and asked the board to prioritize a prompt, concrete outcome.
