SFUSD Announces Recommended School Closures & Mergers
Friends and neighbors,
This has been an extremely difficult time for public school students, families, educators, and school staff. As a public school parent and Supervisor representing so many families, I know our public school communities have been experiencing a great deal of uncertainty and angst around the announcement of potential school closures and mergers. After an initial delay, SFUSD released its recommendations yesterday.
I am relieved to see that none of our District 5 schools are recommended for closure, but I remain concerned about the impacts of these closures and mergers on schools and families in my district and across the city.
The recommended sites for closures and mergers are listed in SFUSD’s announcement. Here are the proposed mergers directly impacting our SFUSD schools in District 5:
Rosa Parks Elementary would merge with and receive students from San Francisco Public Montessori;
John Muir Elementary would merge with and receive students from Spring Valley Science Elementary;
Chinese Immersion School at De Avila is among the schools that would receive students from the closure of Sutro Elementary.
My office is in touch with impacted schools in our district and with SFUSD leadership to gather more details about the recommendations and advocate for our schools and families. We are also in regular contact with constituents, school principals, and the unions representing teachers and school staff. I personally visited CIS De Avila this morning and met with the Principal and the President of the PTA, and I will be connecting with the other impacted schools in the upcoming days.
The full list of impacted schools–elementary and high schools identified by the school district’s scoring process, and the schools that would receive additional students–can be found here. These are recommendations, not final decisions. Stakeholders have the opportunity to provide input over the next two months. The final decision will be made by the Board of Education; after considering the proposed list at their November 12 meeting, the school board is expected to make a final decision at its December 10 meeting.
I remain extremely concerned that any approved closures and mergers would be scheduled to take effect at the start of the 2025 school year. This adds stress and hardship as families are already planning for 2025 with school tours underway and the SFUSD enrollment fair this month. I have asked SFUSD Superintendent Matt Wayne to consider moving the effective date of any school closures/mergers to fall of 2026, instead of fall of 2025, so that families and schools have time to adjust and plan once they see what changes are approved by the school board.
If you would like more information about the recommendations or have feedback on the proposals, please attend the upcoming SFUSD Town Hall on Thursday, October 10 at 5:30pm where the school district will provide further details (Live stream link). You can also participate in an upcoming Board of Education meeting, or engage through your School Site Council if you are an SFUSD parent or guardian. The next school board meeting takes place on October 22 at 6:30pm; you can find meeting agendas here. The public can share comments with the school board in person or by email at boardoffice@sfusd.edu.
In community,
Dean Preston, District 5 Supervisor
