As strike looms, S.F. superintendent granted ‘emergency powers’

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As the clock ticks down to the last moment when San Francisco teachers can publicly declare a district-wide strike, which could come as soon as Monday, Superintendent Maria Su is preparing for the potential fallout: School closures. 

At a special school board meeting Tuesday night, Su asked the board to sign off on an emergency resolution that would grant her the authority to make “necessary, operational decisions” in the event of a strike. 

If teachers were to walk out of their classrooms on Monday, the resolution would allow the superintendent to hire additional security staff, in addition to commissioning transportation, food and emergency services. Other tasks, she said, would be run by volunteers.

The board approved the emergency powers in a 4-3 vote. The district did make a last-minute change, preventing Su from hiring new substitute teachers on a pay-by-day basis. Any substitutes hired would already need to have a current contract. 

If schools do not have the essential staff to operate a school, the resolution gives the superintendent the authority to close schools indefinitely. 

Commissioners Matt Alexander, Alida Fisher, and the student delegate, Lowell senior Shoon Mon, voted no. 

Any security staff, substitute teachers, or other personnel who continue to work in schools will have to cross a picket line if the teacher’s union goes on strike. In the event the teachers set a strike date, the principals union, which represents approximately 297 principals and administrators, will vote on whether to hold a sympathy strike. 

If both the teachers and principals walk out, it is unclear how the district would keep schools open. Su said she would “protect the welfare and safety of students,” staff, and district property. 

Labor negotiations between the district and the teacher’s union have hit an impasse. A fact-finding report from a state-mandated neutral third party is expected to drop tomorrow and will offer recommendations on a way forward. 

But it is non-binding, and its main effect at this stage would be to allow teachers to go on strike within 48 hours.

Su, in a press conference preceding the evening board meeting, said “conversations have been good” between the union and the district, and that the district is “really close” to coming to an agreement.

Last week, the district announced that it presented a “stability package,” including a six-percent raise on teacher’s salaries over the course of three years and fully paid family health benefits. 

The teacher’s union countered that narrative. A video posted by the union on Tuesday said the union had not received any such offer from the superintendent. 

If schools close on Monday or thereafter because of the teacher strike, Su told the public that the district will lose $7 million to $10 million per day, because school funding is tied to attendance. The superintendent says that she has been in near daily conversations with Mayor Daniel Lurie on the possibility of the strike. 

If the strike goes into effect, it will be the first teachers strike in San Francisco since 1979, when educators held a six-week walkout. 

“I will do everything I can to make sure we come back to the table,” said Su on Tuesday, in a plea to union officials. “I have no desire to enact this resolution, but in order to be prepared we need to do this.”