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School board adopts revised Prop H spending plan after hours of debate and public comment
Summary
After extensive public comment and multiple amendments, the San Francisco Board of Education voted Jan. 23 to adopt a revised Prop H spending plan that balances funding for violence prevention, translation services, peer resources and academic supports including benchmark assessments and coaching.
The San Francisco Board of Education on Jan. 23 adopted a first‑third spending plan for Prop H — the district parcel tax initiative — after an extended session of staff presentations, committee reports, and public testimony from students, parents and community groups.
Superintendent Michelle Chan told the board staff had revised its recommendations to reflect committee deliberations and district priorities. “Academic support is the utmost in terms of our priorities,” Chan said, while also proposing a $1 million violence‑prevention block grant targeted to 10 middle and 10 high schools and a computer replacement fund to support benchmark assessments and teacher technology.
A large public comment turnout emphasized two competing priorities: many youth, parents and community advocates urged strong funding for violence prevention and the peer resources program, saying those services keep students in school and address safety; other teachers, principals and advocates pressed for money for computers, benchmark assessments and reading/math coaches to support classroom instruction.
Board members negotiated multiple amendments on the floor that shifted roughly $335,000 from several line items (including some security and infrastructure sums) into the academic support category so staff could prioritize benchmark assessments and coaching while preserving substantial violence‑prevention and translation allocations. One motion adopted the superintendent’s SLAM (sports, libraries, arts, music) recommendation with a footnote directing staff to seek funding for county community school arts staff.
The board took roll‑call votes on the package and recorded final favorable tallies on key motions; the meeting minutes record the passage of the amended spending plan and related SLAM vote.
What remains: Staff will draft the final spending documents and coordinate with the board and Prop H advisory committee on implementation details, site allocations and the in‑kind services schedule. Several board members pledged to seek outside grants and partners to augment the computer replacement funds and other line items.
