Meet the school board candidates: How would you support educators?
Welcome back to the "Meet the Candidates" series for the school board, where we ask each candidate one question every two weeks. They must answer the question in 100 words or fewer. We will link to longer answers.
Eleven candidates are vying for four seats on the city's seven-person school board. The election will take place on Nov. 5. Non-citizen parents of children living in the city are permitted to vote in school board elections, and can find information on doing so here .
The San Francisco Unified School District kicked off the year with more than 100 educator vacancies. In response to the SFUSD's financial troubles, the state has stepped in to oversee the district's spending, including spending on hiring, which leaders of the teachers union say has delayed the process of filling those vacancies. The process has been hard on educators: some received job offers from the district, only to have them later rescinded .
This week, we asked the candidates:
What would you do to better recruit and support SFUSD educators? Name two specific measures.
The recent hiring fiascos appeared to be top of mind, as many candidates narrowed in on the slow, error-filled recruitment process as an area for immediate improvement. Many also named broad approaches to supporting educators — like better pay, affordable housing initiatives and mental health support.
On the first day of class last year, 20% of classrooms didn't have a teacher*. Roughly 25% of the teachers we do have aren't qualified to teach**. Education starts with educators, and we don't have enough. This is a crisis.
Today, we fail at the basics – too often teachers apply for a job and don't hear back for months. I'm fortunate to have led the world's largest recruiting platform and I've seen what works. I will propose metrics to more closely monitor our recruiting efforts, review our existing systems and processes, and reinforce best practices like modern pipeline recruiting.
* According to an August 2023 presentation from an SFUSD school board workshop on resource alignment, the shortage for SFUSD classroom staffing positions as of Aug. 12, 2023 was 21%.
** A 2023 report from the San Francisco civil grand jury found that nearly a quarter of SFUSD teachers were not fully credentialed in the 2020-21 school year.
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, UESF, GrowSF, TogetherSF Action ... read more here
No response received.
As a member of the Civil Grand Jury, we made a report on SFUSD teacher hiring "to understand the challenges in teacher retention and recruiting that can affect SFUSD's teacher shortage and recommend possible solutions." One key finding: they did not ask those who declined job offers or those who left SFUSD jobs why they were leaving. Let's ask folks why they go elsewhere so we can improve processes. Let's also hire faster, as we just found prospective employees were left long in limbo. I am the only candidate who goes deep in the details to find fixes.
Endorsed by: SF Guardians, State Treasurer Fiona Ma, former School Board President Emily Murase ... read more here
An error-filled payroll system or recruitment process scares people off. Potential applicants need to know that onboarding procedures and staff training are in place. They also need to know that classrooms are safe and that they will be appropriately placed.
continue to pay competitive salaries and benefits. The District should also make paraprofessionals full-time employees (instead of part-time) and create a Career Technical Education pathway in high schools, in partnership with CCSF, for students to become paraprofessionals.
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, SF Guardians, SF Parent Action, GrowSF ... read more here
The most important thing we can do to recruit and retain educators is to ensure they are paid adequately, especially given the high cost of housing in San Francisco. I'm proud that last year I worked with my colleagues on the school board to negotiate the largest pay raise in history for our educators.
In addition to increasing pay, we need to continue the work that's just begun to make dramatic improvements to our HR department, so we're more effective at recruitment, and so we treat potential new hires and current employees with the respect and dignity they deserve.
Endorsed by: UESF, Harvey Milk LGBTQ Democratic Club
Bringing back and recruiting educators that really want to teach is important. The stronger the educator, the better our education. In order to do that, we need to provide a career path for educators and treat them like talent as we do in business; our organization is only as good as our talent. In addition, we should provide support in terms of housing, training and other resources that will help good educators stay in public schools.
Endorsed by: The San Francisco Republican Party, San Francisco Young Republicans, The Republican Club of San Francisco, San Francisco Briones Society ... read more here
With over 15 years of experience in the nonprofit sector, I've seen firsthand that staff members who have stable housing are more likely to remain with an organization long-term.
I support affordable housing initiatives for educators. This includes offering rental subsidies, providing technical assistance to access below-market-rate housing and first-time homebuyer programs, and offering support with financial planning. These measures can help create a sense of stability and belonging.
Additionally, I support dignified retirement plans and pensions for educators and paraprofessionals. Those who dedicate their lives to serving others should be assured of their security and stability in retirement.
Access ... read more here
Endorsed by: Mayor London Breed, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman, School Board Commissioner Jenny Lam ... read more here
When I ran my school, I interviewed and hired teachers and staff who had not only solid hard skills in their field, along with hands-on experience, but strong soft skills as well, such as enthusiasm, integrity, and empathy. Both hard and soft qualities are necessary for a successful staff member, because thoughts and emotions, particularly negative ones, if left unchecked, will prevent educators from relating with their students, parents, and other colleagues. They can make teamwork difficult and stifle decision making. Therefore, being aware of one's thoughts and emotions is paramount. To address this, I will introduce the following two ... read more here
My mother's dedication as an ESL teacher and my experience as Chair of my School Site Council have given me deep appreciation for the sacrifices teachers make. First, let's defray our educators' largest cost: housing. We must build additional teacher housing. We had over 900 educator applications for 135 units. As an affordable housing director, I have the experience to help lead this. Second, even as we cut central expenses, we must further invest in Human Resources so we can handle any HR issues educators may have in a timely manner. Our educators deserve genuine care and appreciation.
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, Speaker Emerita Nancy Pelosi, Senator Scott Wiener, UESF ... read more here
improve student behavior in school so teachers can teach instead of spending time and energy managing/controlling the classrooms. To do that, we need to re-examine the Restorative Practice Policy that was passed by BOE in 2014, given that it has not led to improved but worsened outcomes at schools, to either reimplement it more effectively or rescind and institute a new policy.
reach out to mid-career professionals in their fields who may be interested in a ... read more here
Hiring and onboarding at SFUSD continues to be a mess. Schools recruited, hired, and announced the arrival of needed educators and staff, just to rescind offers after our state fiscal watchdogs told us the positions couldn't be funded. Other schools started the year without teachers and paras in classrooms—including special education classrooms—because approvals for essential educator hiring were held up with bureaucracy.
On the board, I'll negotiate with the state to ensure that key positions are prioritized and filled promptly. I'll also hold the Superintendent accountable for modernizing SFUSD HR to speed and streamline hiring.
Endorsed by: SF Democratic Party, UESF, SF Parent Action, GrowSF ... read more here
Candidates are ordered alphabetically but rotated every question. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at .
Read the rest of the school board questions here , and the entire "Meet the Candidates" series here .
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website . Illustrations for the series by Neil Ballard.
