San Francisco's Board of Education will consider laying off hundreds of San Francisco Unified School District teachers and other staff on Thursday after an error forced the board to cancel Tuesday's meeting.
The board was set on Tuesday to vote on a series of measures to approve the layoffs after the district recently sent over 400 preliminary layoff notices to teachers, paraeducators, social workers, family liaisons, and community school coordinators, among other staff.
During the public comment portion of Tuesday's meeting, several teachers, parents, and students called in to urge the board to vote against the layoff measures.
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One caller, however, pointed out that an agenda for the meeting hadn't been properly posted on the district's website prior to the meeting, which is a violation of the state's Ralph M. Brown Act. The law requires transparency for government meetings, including that agendas be posted 72 hours prior for regular meetings.
Board President Gabriella Lopez acknowledged the discussion around layoffs "is a really important topic," but in light of the error, Lopez moved to adjourn the meeting and postpone the discussion to a Thursday special meeting. The Thursday meeting is set for 3 p.m.
Earlier on Tuesday, labor union leaders with United Educators of San Francisco held a rally outside SFUSD headquarters to denounce the layoff plan.
"These positions should not be on the cutting block to balance the school district's budget on the backs of what is essentially the students. The students are the central purpose for which we come to work every single day," UESF president Cassondra Curiel said at the rally.
If the board ultimately approves the layoffs, the total number of employees laid off could still be decreased based on analysis from a consultant. Once finalized, official layoff notices would be given to staff no later than by May 13, according to SFUSD officials.
The layoffs come as the district faces a projected $125 million budget shortfall.
In addition to the current budget crisis, Tuesday's meeting was the first since voters overwhelmingly approved last week's recall election, ousting Lopez, vice president Faauuga Moliga, and commissioner Alison Collins. Moliga has already resigned from his position, while both Collins and Lopez are expected to vacate their seats in the coming weeks and will be replaced with new commissioners appointed by Mayor London Breed.
In a separate matter back in December, a San Francisco Judge ruled the board violated the Brown Act by failing to properly notify the public about a measure to change the admissions process for Lowell High School from a merit-based system to a choice-based one during a February 2021 meeting. As a result, the judge deemed the board's original decision null and void.
