The threat of a San Francisco teachers’ strike has rekindled the trauma parents and kids experienced during the COVID lockdowns, when families were stuck at home and adults tried to maintain their jobs and sanity while being responsible for their kids all day, every day.
This weekend, parents of SFUSD students received email updates from Superintendent Dr. Maria Su. Su wrote in response to United Educators of San Francisco’s unsurprising news that 98 percent of its members voted in favor of a strike. While a possible walkout is likely at least another week away, each passing day without an agreement points to hardened positions, not a detente.
Su offered a less than reassuring takeaway: “Schools remain open unless families are notified otherwise.”
It’s the “otherwise” parents are worried about.
Keeping a watchful eye on the developments from Jurupa Valley is Elliott Duchon. As a result of SFUSD’s budget deficit, Duchon, 74, was appointed by the California Department of Education in 2021 as a financial advisor for the district. Since 2024, as an agent of CDE, he has the power to overrule any expense that the state determines might put SFUSD at financial risk. A retired teacher and former Superintendent at Jurupa Unified School District in Riverside County for 17 years, Duchon thinks most parents haven’t studied the finances of San Francisco’s school district.
“I don’t think parents are attuned to the cost of educating their children, and I don’t think they need to be. I mean, that’s not part of the job,” Duchon told Gazetteer SF. “They want to know they have a great teacher in the classroom, a school that’s safe, that their kids are progressing, and that’s what parenting is all about. It’s not about the school district budget. So when something comes along that might disturb that — and the strike would — that’s when they get concerned.”
In May 2024, SFUSD earned a “negative” rating from the CDE, tagging it as unable to meet its financial obligations for that year and the next two. In December, the district certified its budget as “qualified,” meaning it may be able to meet its financial obligations for the next two years. SFUSD trumpeted the upgrade as a “major milestone.” Achieving a positive mark would allow the district to finally wrest control of its finances from the CDE.
All of this is important for at least two reasons.
First, to get its new status, SFUSD had to cut $114 million from its 2025-2026 budget. SFUSD is budgeted money per student from the state. As enrollment, and therefore revenue, continue to fall, the district will have to continue cutting costs.
Second, SFUSD only truly achieves an upgraded qualified status if the CDE agrees. Until it does, SFUSD is still officially rated “negative.” SFUSD’s budget, according to Duchon, is “improved with the qualifier that they need to not spend more money.”
SFUSD must continue to cut costs as it negotiates with a teachers union seeking raises, fully funded family healthcare, and improved working conditions for special education teachers, among other demands. The opposing forces would seem to require an impossible balancing act.
UESF conducted strike school training Saturday for teachers and families. In an email Monday to its members, the union provided information to strike leaders, or captains, sheets explaining chants and for taking attendance, and fliers for parents. Previously, the union said 900 members have signed up to support a picket as it awaits a written proposal from SFUSD that “aren’t relying on take backs from our students and educators.”
Duchon said the district is likely preparing for the strike by trying to hire substitutes. Asked about that possibility, SFUSD referred Gazetteer SF to its FAQ, which doesn’t answer the question. Dr. Su has indicated SFUSD can’t safely open its schools with too few teachers, and that it will fulfill its obligation to provide 180 days of school even if it means extending the school year into the summer. The impasse continues to foment uncertainty.
Duchon said he isn’t at the negotiating table. He can, however, advise the district in its discussions with union.
“I will tell you this: The district, when it makes a proposal, has to be able to sign a certification to the state that it can afford it,” Duchon said.
“Nothing is uncomplicated in San Francisco,” he added. “And there’s not too much that’s uncomplicated in school finance.”
