SFUSD: Supt. faces criticism over budget, pending school closures
SAN FRANCISCO - Frustration and anxiety are mounting among San Francisco families, as the school district's superintendent, Matt Wayne, faces criticism over budget problems and pending school closures.
The school board called for an emergency closed session meeting Sunday, though plenty of parents, teachers and students showed up to participate in the one-hour public comment portion.
The board listened as they aired their concerns regarding turmoil in the district and the embattled superintendent, who was not present during public comment.
One sign read "Matthew Wayne you can't hide!"
"We have so much chaos and dysfunction in the district right now. We can't add more to that. I think there's serious concern about the current superintendent's ability to lead us through this crisis," said Meredith Dodson, executive director of the San Francisco Parent Coalition.
Wayne has two years left on his contract, and there have been growing calls to replace him.
A closed session meeting followed public comment.
There was one item on the agenda - the public employee performance evaluation of the superintendent.
Sarita Lavin, a teacher at George Washington High School, shared some of her biggest challenges.
"We have class sizes that are huge, there are 37, 38 students per period. Some of my colleagues, over half of those students, have special learning needs that we can't meet with that many students," said Lavin. "We are also having issues with major caseloads in special ed."
The emergency meeting comes amid anticipated planned school closures and a budget deficit.
The superintendent delayed the announcement of schools until October.
"My child goes to June Jordan School for Equity, and it's definitely been called out as a small school, and so I feel like it's being undervalued, what a small school can do for kids," said Reina Tello, who fears her son's school is on the list.
Reina Tello said more than logistics, as a single parent, she's concerned about the emotional distress her 11th-grade son Alan may endure.
"It's very anxiety-inducing," said 16-year-old Alan Tello. "I went to a really big middle school, and I was falling through the cracks there, and I still loved it, but at June Jordan, I've been able to receive one-on-one individualized attention, and like I said, build community."
The board said on Sunday the purpose of the meeting was to address personnel issues and fiscal and operational challenges. It also said it planned to make decisions and take action.
Mayor London Breed addressed the concerns in a statement, announcing a stabilization team to provide support for the schools.
Wayne wrote an open letter on how he plans on getting the school district "back on track."