Board approves qualified first-interim budget certification and ratifies labor deals amid warnings of deeper cuts

The San Francisco Board of Education voted to adopt a qualified first-interim fiscal certification for fiscal year 2023-24 and ratified tentative successor agreements with Service Employees International Union (SEIU) and United Educators of San Francisco (UESF). The board approved the first-interim package by a 5-2 roll-call vote and later approved both labor agreements unanimously.

The action matters because the first-interim report and accompanying AB 1,200 disclosures outline how the district plans to pay for recently negotiated labor increases while addressing a multi-year budget gap driven largely by declining enrollment and lower state cost-of-living adjustments. Superintendent Lee said, "We are presenting the, first interim report," and framed the plan as a necessary step to demonstrate affordability while the district pursues longer-term changes.

In presentation and materials, Chief Financial Officer Dr. Clark and staff described a multiyear projection that assumes continued enrollment declines and a reduced state COLA. Without the proposed balancing measures, staff said the district would face multi-year deficits that grow substantially in 2024-25 and 2025-26. The administration identified a package of balancing solutions that includes one-time shifts of restricted funds, cuts to materials and consultants, and the elimination of 927 budgeted vacancies, which staff estimated would yield about $40 million in savings this year while preserving some positions for site- and special-education priorities.

State fiscal advisors who reviewed the materials commended district staff for the accuracy of the work but warned trustees that the out-year path is steep. One advisor said the analysis showed ongoing reductions of roughly $103 million in 2024-25 and $135 million in 2025-26 under the current assumptions unless additional actions are taken.

Board members who supported the motion emphasized the need to pay staff and stabilize operations. Commissioner Alexander, Commissioner Fisher, Commissioner Sanchez, Vice President Wiseman Ward and President Bogus voted yes; Commissioners Lam and Mittamiti voted no on the first-interim certification, citing concern about depth of out-year reductions and the need for more detailed, site-level impact analysis.

Separately, the board unanimously approved tentative successor agreements with SEIU and UESF and the AB 1,200 disclosures that accompany those agreements. Labor leaders and supporters urged the board to ratify the contracts to retain staff and prevent deeper disruption; Rafael Picasso of SEIU Local 1021 told the board he "stand[s] here in strong support of approving both SEIU's contract agreements." The superintendent and staff stressed that approving the labor deals and the AB 1,200 disclosures is part of stabilizing staffing while the district continues its budget-planning process.

The superintendent and finance staff told the board they plan to return with additional detail, including school staffing allocations and a finalized budget planning framework, in the coming months. Trustees requested clearer mappings that show for each proposed reduction how it aligns with the district's stated goals and guardrails and asked administration to provide site-level impacts before final decisions that would affect specific schools.

Next steps: the district will submit the qualified first-interim certification to the County Office of Education and proceed with the AB 1,200 implementation steps tied to the labor agreements. Staff said they will present more detailed staffing and school-level allocations during the budget-planning window through February and in the second interim report in March.