San Francisco Unified board approves emergency authorization for superintendent ahead of possible strike

The San Francisco Unified School District Board of Education voted 4–3 on Feb. 3 to approve a resolution authorizing Superintendent Dr. Hsu to take specified operational actions to maintain district services and ensure student safety in the event of a strike.

Superintendent Dr. Hsu introduced the updated resolution as a preparedness measure the board would hope never to use, saying she wanted to "come back to the table" with union leaders and that she did not want a strike. She told commissioners the authority would let her renegotiate scopes of services with existing contracted partners, redeploy current staff into emergency roles, and seek state waivers to preserve funding and instructional days—actions the superintendent said could not be implemented responsibly within the 24–48 hour notice window unions would have after a fact-finding report.

The resolution drew extended public comment from teachers, parents and union representatives who urged the board to return to bargaining rather than expand executive authority. "We don't want to strike. We want to continue showing up for our students," Roberto Guzman Rivera said during public comment, urging the district to "close the deal" with UESF. Chris Klaus, SPED department head at Washington High School, said he had spent months on bargaining teams producing written proposals and said district communications had sometimes felt like "spin" instead of concrete offers. Parent Christina Ostlund argued the measure "allows the superintendent to declare an emergency based not only on a strike but on a perceived threat of one, and grants sweeping authority without clear limits or timely board oversight."

Board members debated whether the resolution granted extraordinary new powers or merely provided operational speed. General counsel said the resolution was consistent with existing policy and that any new, substantive contract changes would come back to the board for ratification. Hsu and counsel said the language was revised to remove provisions that would have authorized hiring unknown substitute workers at a specified per-day rate; they said that deletion was intended to avoid bringing unfamiliar people into classrooms during a disruption.

Commissioners also pressed for clarity on fiscal implications. Commissioner Alexander questioned the timing and messaging and noted the district's large fund balance, saying that some portion might reasonably be discussed for settlement purposes. Superintendent Hsu and others warned that the district risks losing $7 million to $10 million per day in state funding and incurring fines for missed instructional days if classrooms are not open; they said that state engagement would be necessary to preserve funding and count alternative instructional packets as instruction.

Student delegate June asked how students would be informed and what the impacts would be on graduation and AP exams if additional instructional days were required; Hsu committed to including students in communications and said she would return to the bargaining table as soon as Thursday after a Wednesday fact-finding report.

Motion and vote: Commissioner (speaker 32) moved the item; Commissioner Wiseman Ward (speaker 3) seconded. The roll-call vote recorded student delegate Mon (no), Commissioner Ray (yes), Commissioner Alexander (no), President Kim (yes), Commissioner Wiseman Ward (yes), Commissioner Gupta (yes), Commissioner Fisher (no). The motion passed 4–3. The board approved the resolution authorizing the superintendent to take the listed operational actions, with the superintendent and counsel saying they would report back to the board as promptly as possible and seek ratification for substantively new contracts.

The board adjourned at 6:41 p.m. and said staff would continue efforts to reconvene bargaining and to keep families and students informed about next steps.