#Public Schoolove... Promises vs. Actions: Examining Equity in SFUSD’s School Closure Decisions

Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco sharing resources with one another in the community.

On September 18, SFUSD Administration will announce the list of schools it wants to close. The district has said it will be centering equity when making these decisions. Actions speak louder than words, and PPSSF will be focusing on the actions the district takes. Will the list of schools be truly equitable?  “Research has repeatedly shown that majority-Black and Latine schools are drastically overrepresented in schools slated for closure” states an action kit released by the Advancement Project.  

The district has been working to convince parents and the public that closures cannot be avoided, often referring to SFUSD’s budget deficits. But when asked over the summer by Mission Local, the district agreed that closures will not save significant amounts of money, that solving the budget deficit is not the main reason for this effort, and that they have no estimate or goal of how much money will be saved.  

On August 23 Mayor London Breed appointed Phil Kim to the School Board as a replacement for Lainie Motamedi who announced suddenly she was resigning. As PPSSF Executive Director Vanessa Marrero told ABC7 News: parents, teachers and SF voters had no say in this appointment. Kim had been working for SFUSD on the initiative to close schools, and previously worked for over 10 years at KIPP, a charter school organization. As has happened in San Francisco and other cities, closed public school buildings are often leased to charter schools.    

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