(Bloomberg) -- San Francisco proposed eliminating 9% of its public schools as declining enrollment and the expiration of pandemic-era relief funds fuel a yawning budget deficit.
Eleven of the district’s 121 schools will be closed or merged with other locations, according to a preliminary list released late Tuesday. The district, which has already slashed its payroll and reduced funding for school supplies, said the list would be finalized next month and then go to a vote by the school board.
“Without a balanced budget and a plan to consolidate our resources, we risk a state takeover of our school district,” Superintendent Matt Wayne said in a statement. That would “further deplete resources directed to our schools, erode our collective decision-making power, and likely compound educational disparities for our most vulnerable students.”
The school closings add to challenges such as rising homelessness and skyrocketing fentanyl overdoses that have fed worries in recent years around San Francisco’s future. The city’s public-school enrollment has declined by more than 4,000 students over the past seven years, resulting in $80 million in revenue losses. By 2032, the school district expects to lose an additional 4,600 students because of declining birth rates and other demographic shifts.
Officials picked the schools for closure based on low enrollment and a composite score that factored in historical inequities, academic performance and building condition, among other considerations. The closings are dispersed across the city, with Excelsior, North Beach, Castro and Hunters Point among the neighborhoods affected.
Two other schools met the criteria for closing but will instead stay open and merge with schools that are being shuttered.
The cuts will affect about 2,000 students, according to local media reports. The school district, which serves more than 50,000 students, must chop $113 million in costs by the end of the 2025-2026 to prevent a state takeover.
San Francisco’s planned closures contrast with Chicago, which is also struggling with massive budget shortfalls. Last month, Chicago’s school board passed a measure banning closings until at least 2027. The district is mired in turmoil after the board members abruptly announced last week that they would all resign amid escalating tensions with the mayor, as both the city and district face big deficits.
--With assistance from Elizabeth Campbell.
(Updates with criteria, neighborhoods affected in fifth paragraph.)
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