Superintendent reports payroll progress; board reorganizes consent calendar and affirms start-of-meeting public comment policy

Superintendent Wayne told the San Francisco Board of Education on Aug. 8 that the district has made progress addressing a declared payroll state of emergency but still faces complex cases and staffing shortfalls.

"We went from 12,000 down to 3,000 tickets," Superintendent Wayne said, describing efforts to clear a backlog and citing an average ticket resolution time of about 13 days during the most recent 90-day period, close to a 10-day target. He said some KPI targets were not met during that reporting period because of routine end-of-year work, hiring, and priority work to implement recently negotiated labor agreements.

Wayne described administrative changes to improve public access and transparency: the district added a receptionist, published department directories and organization charts on the website, and reorganized the consent calendar with a table of contents and separate sections for general consent, personnel, and contracts so items are easier to find.

The board also confirmed that public comment for this meeting would be held under Item F at the start of the agenda rather than after each item. Commissioner Fisher objected to consolidating public comment at the beginning, saying the practice reduces informed feedback because speakers may not have heard presentations that would inform their remarks. "Lumping all public comment in the beginning of the agenda means the public will be commenting on items without the full context," Commissioner Fisher said.

Public commenters urged continued remote participation and early comment times for accessibility. Selena Chu said many parents rely on Zoom because of caregiving and work responsibilities; Supriya Ray asked that the board maintain Zoom and asked whether bond funds would be used to hire additional communications staff for an upcoming bond promotion. A virtual commenter asked the board to prioritize classroom funding and reconsider central-office expenditures.

On the consent calendar, the board called a roll-call vote, with student delegates and a majority of commissioners voting yes. President Bogus recused from item 75. The consent calendar passed. The board scheduled a workshop on Aug. 29 to review resources and budget priorities.

The meeting concluded with several advisory commission appointments and adjournment at 7:31 p.m.