Few aspects of the San Francisco Unified School District draw more ire โ or confusion โ from parents than the districtโs lottery system.
San Franciscoโs unique system allows parents to apply to any school in the district, not just those in their neighborhood. The system was designed to eliminate school segregation โ the district used to rely on school busing until it was sued in 1999 by a coalition of parents, resulting in the lottery.
But researchers in 2016 found that the lottery resulted in more racially segregated schools than before.
There were attempts at reform: In 2020, the school board tried to overhaul the lottery in favor of a zone-based school assignment system, but that plan has yet to come to fruition. The district planned another reform in the 2026-2027 school year, but it has yet to present a formal plan.
The current system has become frustrating for parents. They often spend hours touring and researching schools, putting their top choices on a ranked list. Priority is given to students living in areas of the city with the lowest average test scores.
Some parents have been known to abuse this system by providing fake addresses in these areas of the city, known as โCensus Tract Integration Preference Zones,โ or buying property and moving to these areas for placement into their chosen school. Some low-income students who do not live in low test score areas are excluded from their top-choice schools. And the children of parents who do not have the time to dedicate towards navigating this complicated system are often left behind.
The system is so frustrating that approximately 30 percent of San Francisco children attend private schools โ 8 percent above the state average. Representatives from the San Francisco teachersโ union have blamed the districtโs complicated enrollment system for the growing number of parents turning away from the district.
This week, Mission Local asked each of the school board candidates whether the current system is in need of reform. Here is how they answered.
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A blue background means the candidate answered yes, an orange background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate answered ambiguously.
Phil Kim
- Job: Deputy director and chief of staff at the San Francisco Human Rights Commission
- Age: 35
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: PhD in Education, University of California, Berkeley; masterโs in urban education policy from Loyola Marymount University; bachelorโs in neuroscience from Bucknell University
- SFUSD Experience: Charter school educator, SFUSD administrator and current school board president
Yes. Families deserve clarity and predictability from their public school system, not an opaque process that parents form Facebook groups just to decode. San Francisco has one of the highest private school enrollment rates in the country, and this directly impacts our funding. We need to make choosing SFUSD easier, not harder. As Board President, I led the Board in naming zone-based enrollment as a Superintendent priority. Getting this right requires serious community engagement and careful planning. Families across the city have made clear they want change, and they deserve a plan that delivers.
Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, San Francisco Democratic Party … read more here.
Virginia Cheung
- Job: Nonprofit executive
- Age: 42
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: Bachelorโs from the University of California, Irvine in social ecology
- SFUSD Experience: Parent of child at Alice Fong Yu, former director of Wu Yee Children’s Services
As a single parent, I have to coordinate many priorities and plan in advance to keep a job while getting my child to school and enrichment. I have to consider commutes, before- and after-care, and cultural and programmatic fit for our family.
Reforms should focus on access, equity, and trust.
We need stronger outreach to preschool families, with counseling support to help them choose the right fit. The School Finder tool should be clearer and more accessible, especially for multilingual families.
Equity must account for transportation, schedules, and access to programs, particularly in high-need neighborhoods.
Read Cheungโs full response here.
Endorsed by: United Educators of San Francisco, San Francisco Green Party, Supervisor Connie Chan, S.F. Public Defender Mano Raju, Phil Ting, Norman Yee, Eric Mar … read more here.
Brandee Marckmann
- Job: Director of parent-led group
- Age: 53
- Residency: San Francisco
- Education: Bachelorโs in English and French from Central College
- SFUSD Experience: Parent of SFUSD student
Yes, as a parent I understand why people donโt like the lottery system and I think it should be changed. However, if we address the larger issue of funding we wonโt have a few schools that are sought after and others that are not. In the richest city in the richest state in the country all of our SFUSD schools should have exceptional programming. If this were the case we would not need to have lotteries and waitlists. Our current funding level creates a system of โwinnersโ and โlosersโ and needs to be changed.
Endorsed by: Harvey Milk Democratic Club, SEIU 1021, Supervisor Shamann Walton, Supervisor Jackie Fielder, Dean Preston, Aaron Peskin, Mark Leno, Tom Ammiano … read more here.
Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at marina@missionlocal.com.ย
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.