After a year of warning families, students, and teachers that schools would have to close because of declining enrollment, San Francisco Unified School District officials this evening released a list of potential closures and mergers to take effect in the 2025-2026 school year.
The official release was first slated for 5 p.m., but SFUSD unveiled the list of schools one hour early after several outlets, including The Frisc, received internal versions.
Officials hedged that the list is preliminary. The schools on it are “eligible” because they meet a complicated set of criteria, but final recommendations are due next month.
Here are the potential changes, and the distance between schools:
- El Dorado Elementary closes and merges with Visitacion Valley Elementary (0.5 miles).
- Harvey Milk Academy closes and merges with Sanchez Elementary (0.6 miles). The district says the Harvey Milk campus may be converted into a center for preschoolers.
- Jean Parker Elementary closes, students move either to Gordon J. Lau (0.4 miles) or John Yehall Chin (0.4 miles).
- Malcolm X Academy closes and merges with Carver Elementary (0.6 miles).
- SF Community Alternative K-8 closes and merges with Paul Revere TK-8 (1.7 miles).
- San Francisco Public Montessori closes and merges with Rosa Parks Elementary (0.7 miles).
- Spring Valley Science Elementary closes and merges with John Muir Elementary (2 miles).
- Sutro Elementary closes. Students attend either Lafayette (1.8 miles), Alamo (0.8 miles) or the Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila (2.3 miles).
- Yick Wo Elementary closes. Students attend either Redding (1.1 miles) or Sherman (0.7 miles).
- June Jordan School for Equity closes and merges with John O’Connell High School (3.6 miles).
- The Academy closes and merges with Raoul Wallenberg High School (3 miles).
The rollout was supposed to take place on Sept. 18, but Superintendent Matt Wayne delayed it, citing the need for more time to consult community members and prepare both a fiscal analysis and a transition plan.
The backlash to that delay, among other signs of dysfunction, led to an emergency school board meeting Sept. 22 that put Wayne’s job on the line. He emerged employed, but was forced to accept help from Mayor London Breed, who provided an emergency team to fix payroll, hiring, and other festering problems.
This week’s events had their share of confusion as well. Wayne appeared last night via video (“School Scoop”) to say that an announcement about consolidating resources and more would come today. But he said nothing about specific schools being part of the announcement. That information was only mentioned in the YouTube caption, as well as a mention on the SFUSD website.
Even with today’s release of school names, there are puzzling omissions and confusing language. For example, Redding Elementary, where some Yick Wo students could end up, is listed as a “welcoming school,” but other schools that could receive affected students such as O’Connell High and Sanchez Elementary are not.
The district says 13 sites were deemed eligible for closure because they have 260 students or fewer, and in the case of elementary schools, a low “composite score.” The score was calculated using a range of factors including facility conditions, student achievement, location, and the impact on disadvantaged students.
But the number of schools actually marked for potential closure, either merging with another school or sending students elsewhere, is 11. District spokesperson Laura Dudnick did not immediately respond to questions to clarify this difference.
Too few students, too many schools
The district says it has too few students unevenly spread at too many schools, all while declining enrollment – which drives state funding – and mismanagement have fueled a budget crisis. By closing or merging sites, it can concentrate resources and avert a state takeover, officials have emphasized for months.
The Chronicle reported today that the closures could save SFUSD $22 million, which The Frisc could not immediately confirm with the district.
“Without a balanced budget and a plan to consolidate our resources, we risk a state takeover of our school district,” Wayne said in Tuesday’s announcement. “If this happens, parents and school site communities will lose their ability to shape their children’s education experience. In some circumstances, we must explore whether we can best meet student needs by consolidating schools.”
The district estimates that its buildings – 102 schools – could hold 14,000 more students than currently enrolled. Meanwhile, noncharter students have dropped by more than 4,000 since 2017, to 49,000. The district predicts losing another 4,600 students by 2032.
State officials have already stepped in with veto power over the district’s fiscal decisions. Elliott Duchon, the state-appointed adviser, said in an interview that SFUSD has been cooperative, and he has yet to rescind any district decisions. But he cautioned there’s a long road ahead to stability and a balanced budget. (Wayne has acknowledged that school closures alone won’t solve the crisis.)
“What the state needs to see, whether they close schools or don’t close schools, is to streamline their staffing,” Duchon said. “A lot of programs duplicate another. They’ve got some hard work to do to commit [a budget plan] to paper and even harder work to implement it.”
“The board is committed to doing what’s necessary to maintain local control,” said school board president Matt Alexander. “We are open to potential school mergers and closers if that will provide a better experience for kids. The superintendent is saying he wants feedback and wants to engage so [affected schools] should do that.”
Town halls coming
While many schools can rest easier knowing they will remain open, the schools listed today may be left with anxiety and confusion over their ultimate fate. Wayne and staff say they will solicit their feedback and use it to develop final closure recommendations.
“We want to express solidarity with our school communities and let them know that this is not the fault of anyone at a school site,” said Frank Lara, vice president of the teachers union, United Educators of San Francisco. “This is the result of mismanagement for the past two decades and that the current leadership needs to be accountable to all the impacts that [the closure process] has on our school communities.”
Wayne will hold a virtual town hall on Thursday at 5:30 p.m. and two more on Oct. 24 and Nov. 6. The final list will be released for discussion at the Nov. 12 Board of Education meeting.
With four of seven seats up for grabs in November’s election, new board members will take their seats in January, after the current board votes on the final closure plan on Dec. 12. They expect to vote for the entire plan as a package, not judge the fates of individual schools.
Most candidates told The Frisc in a series of questionnaires that they would abide by the current board’s decisions.
Wayne has said the district would not sell empty school properties, but it may lease some to bring in revenue. It also needs the extra capacity to host school communities when buildings are under renovation.
The closures will take effect in the 2025-2026 school year. Families at affected schools will get priority when requesting new assignments.
