San Francisco schools superintendent to outline $113M budget cut plan

SAN FRANCISCO - San Francisco Unified School District Supt. Maria Su will present a plan Tuesday night to cut nearly $113 million from the district’s budget, as SFUSD grapples with financial challenges and declining enrollment.

Su, who took on the role just four months ago, has pledged not to close any district schools for the 2025-26 school year. However, balancing the budget will require significant cuts.

"The cuts are going to come from all areas of the district," Su said. "What I want to do is keep those cuts as far away from the students as possible."

To achieve that, Su said the district will first reduce spending on consultant contracts and central office administrative staff, which could include positions in the technology, budgeting and communications departments.

"The other tranche of layoffs is school-facing layoffs, which could include teachers and assistant principals," she said. 

Instructional coaches, counselors, social workers and security aides could also be cut. 

SFUSD must eliminate 535 positions to meet its budget goals. The district plans to do this through early retirement buyouts and layoffs. 

Su said she does not know exactly how many SFUSD employees may take the buyout option but that their retirement department has been "very busy" with employees who've made appointments to discuss option. 

"Eighty percent of our budget goes toward staff," Su said. "It means we have no choice but to reduce our workforce."

The cuts are aimed at preventing a state takeover of the district. Because of its previous budget problems, SFUSD has a state-appointed fiscal advisor from the California Department of Education. 

The CDE advisor has veto and approval power over all of SFUSD's budget decisions.

Meredith Dodson, executive director of the SF Parent Coalition, which has about 7,000 parent members, said parents are relieved that school closures are not currently part of the plan but acknowledged the difficult choices ahead.

"To retain full local control of our district, we have to make deep cuts," Dodson said. "But that doesn't make it any easier to swallow."

The SFUSD school board meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, with a public comment period for community feedback on the budget plan.