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Education Budget Issues

Currently, California's per-pupil spending is one of the lowest in the nation. In spite of inadequate funding, San Francisco's public schools have been making progress - overall reading scores are up 25 percent, math scores have increased 17 percent in the last four years, and district enrollment has increased.

It's never been clearer than now that our representatives need a stronger push to stand up for schools. Get involved at all levels - local, state and national - to ask our elected officials to support public education.

Office Hours with SFUSD Budget office

Parents and community members, do you have questions about the SFUSD budget? Schedule a time to discuss them with SFUSD Deputy Superintendent for Policy and Operations Myong Leigh.

Mr. Leigh will hold office hours at the SFUSD central office at 555 Franklin Street on Wednesday 5/19, from 2 to 6 p.m.

To schedule a 20 minute appointment to discuss your questions, sign up with Lesly Morazan-Perez at morazan-perezl@sfusd.edu.

In your email, please indicate:

1)      Preferred times (list at least 3)
2)      Interpretation needs
3)      Number of people (5 maximum for office hours)

 You will receive a confirmation with the time and location prior to your scheduled meeting.

Community Feedback on the Budget Cuts

See the PPS/PAC presentation to the BOE about community feedback on the budget proposals. (English, pdf), Spanish (pdf) and Chinese (pdf).

Learn about the Budget Cuts

FAQs about Education funding - pdf created by Michelle Parker, 2nd District Legislation Chair

Budget Basics: How San Francisco's Public Schools are Funded; Lisa Schiff; sfKids.org

A quick look at Proposition 98 - from the YouthNoise website.

Education budget cuts not only affect K-12 education, but also higher education. Cuts to our public universities can dramatically affect thousands of students continuing their education after high school. See the Budget Information pages of University of California and California State University.

The A Team - Legislative Advocacy Team

The A Team is comprised of parents from schools throughout San Francisco. The group is a joint effort with the Second District PTA, Parents for Public Schools-San Francisco (PPS-SF), the Parent Advisory Council (PAC) and SFUSD. It is working on developing relationships with more organizations throughout the city, “to secure adequate laws for the care and protection of children and youth”.

The mission of The A Team is to:

• create awareness of the power of parent involvement in advocating for strong legislation supporting children and youth, using California State PTA legislative priorities and position statements as a guide
• understand and be informed of local and state issues regarding children and youth, and be an information resource and support for San Francisco families through school community outreach
• lead advocacy campaigns as necessary
• create educational opportunities to empower parents and caregivers to act as advocates for their children
• motivate all members of our great city to ACT and make a difference in the lives of our most precious resource and the future of our state- the children

One of the most important issues our district is facing right now is that of the looming budget cuts of next year, and we have chosen this as our first focus.  We hope that all parents and community members of San Francisco will join us to make a difference. We aren’t experts; we are just like most of you! We want to support our children the best we can and are going to work hard and lead the way for us all to do it together.

The timeline:

How to get involved

Join The A Team listserv to be part of discussions, get links to articles and other information regarding education funding in California and San Francisco.

Click to join a_team_sf

Thank you to all who are willing to be a voice for children. Together we can be powerful!

Take Action

• Write, call or email your Supervisor and voice your support for using the Rainy Day Fund to support public schools in San Francisco. Please encourage your friends and family in San Francisco to do the same.
  
  
• Call and write the Governor and your state legislators to tell them how you feel. It only takes about 10 minutes to call all of them. They record your opinion and keep a record, so your call does make a difference! Find legislators and their contact information at http://www.leginfo.ca.gov/yourleg.html or see our contact page for elected officials.
  
  
• Get sample letters, information and download a toolkit to distribute to your schools, friends and neighbors! Learn more at the Protect Our Students.org website, a coalition of education-related groups in California.

Other ways to get involved

• Contact your friends and family all over the state and ask them to take action. Forward them to the PPS website, www.ppssf.org as a resource for updated links and information.
  
  
• Carry sample letters with you, ask people to sign them and send them.
  
  
• Spread awareness and build community at your school. Consider the following:
  • Host a letter-writing party
  • Gather with friends and school parents and use your cell phones to call your state and city representatives

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