Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” series, where candidates for the San Francisco Unified School Board of Education respond to questions each week in 100 words or fewer. Answers will be published every Friday.
Mission Local now includes all eight of the candidates who will appear on the November ballot. They are as follows: Autumn Brown Garibay, Virginia Cheung, Alida Fisher, Ryan Hazelton, Phil Kim, Laurance Lee, Reina Tello and Tim Tung. Tung was added this week after an endorsement from GrowSF.
Each candidate is first ordered alphabetically, then rotated each week.
A new school year started this week with the same old questions.
Each year families are confused and frustrated by the school lottery system — the latest iteration of a decades-long effort to keep the city’s public school system from segregating along lines of race and class. Since it was implemented in 2011, critics have argued that the lottery is stressful, complicated, and not particularly fair, saddling some children with brutal commutes and still allowing families with more resources to game the system.
In 2020, the school board voted to replace the lottery with a new, area-based system, which will split the city into geographic zones and make it easier for families to enroll their kids in schools closer to home by giving them guaranteed admission to at least one school within their zone. But the board, which was supposed to present new zones at the beginning of this school year, has yet to present a plan for getting there.
That means November’s school board candidates, if elected, will face the question of how to implement the new system—or go in a different direction.
This week, Mission Local asked candidates: Do you support moving forward with area-based school assignments?
Mission Local color codes the answers to yes/no questions. A green background means the candidate answered yes, a red background means no, and a yellow background means that the candidate dodged the question.
Alida Fisher
- Job: Executive Director at the Community Alliance for Special Education, incumbent Board of Education member
- Age: 51
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Homeowner in Lakeview/OMI, lived in the Sunset until 2015
- Children: Yes, four adults, ages 18-25. Three have graduated from SFUSD, and the fourth is a senior at Mission High School this year.
- SFUSD experience: Current SFUSD Board of Education member. Has served as Chair of the Community Advisory Committee for Special Education, member or past member of SFUSD’s African American Parent Advisory Council, LCAP Task Force, Charter School Oversight Committee, and PIR/CEIS/CCEIS Committee, PTSAs and SSCs at nine school sites
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from Case Western Reserve University
- Languages: English, with limited ability to speak and understand Spanish and French
- Transportation: Driving, public transit and walking
- Website: www.alidafisher.com (Note: will launch soon)
Short answer: it depends.
Longer answer: We all agree that our current enrollment system isn’t working. As we know from previous attempts to update our system, families consistently emphasized that enrollment redesign won’t succeed without a parallel commitment to equitable school resourcing. Previous questions remain just as important today: How do we:
- ensure every school offers a high-quality educational experience?
- guarantee equitable access to language pathways, special education services, STEM programs, and inclusive learning environments across all enrollment zones?
- invest in under-enrolled and historically under-resourced schools so that families see them as strong and desirable options?
Endorsements: SF Parents PAC, Supervisor Myrna Melgar, Supervisor Shamann Walton.
Ryan Hazelton
- Job: Executive director of Mariposa Kids, a nonprofit for play-based programs for kids ages 1-11
- Age: 43
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Homeowner in the SoMa, living in San Francisco since 2007
- Children: None
- SFUSD experience: Chair of San Francisco Child Care Planning & Advisory Council, appointed by SFUSD
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of California, San Diego
- Languages: English
- Transportation: Public transit, walking and biking
- Website: Ryan Hazelton for SF School Board
Yes, with one condition: integration goals must be built into the zone design from the start. Every neighborhood school also needs to be genuinely well-resourced so families feel good about where they are assigned. At Mariposa Kids, I hear every spring from families dreading the current lottery process. They are asking for predictability and confidence in their local school. The board voted for this in 2020. The superintendent must deliver it without further delay.
Endorsed by: United Educators of San Francisco, Supervisor Connie Chan, Board of Education Commissioner Matt Alexander, former Supervisor Gordon Mar… read more here.
Phil Kim
- Job: Deputy Director at San Francisco Agency for Human Rights, incumbent Board of Education president
- Age: 36
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Renter in the Castro
- Children: None
- SFUSD experience: School board president
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in neuroscience from Bucknell University; master’s in education policy and administration from Loyola Marymount University; Pursuing EdD at the University of California, Berkeley
- Languages: English and Korean
- Transportation: Public transit, Walking
- Website: Phil Kim for School Board
Yes. Families deserve clarity and predictability from their public school system. San Francisco has one of the highest private school enrollment rates in the country, and this directly impacts our funding. We need to make enrolling in SFUSD easier, not harder. As Board President, I led the Board in naming zone-based enrollment as a Superintendent priority. We are moving toward the goal of area-based assignments with data, intention, 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, State Senator Scott Wiener, Assemblymember Matt Haney, Assemblymember Catherine Stefani, Supervisor Rafael Mandelman… read more here.
Laurance Lee
- Job: Volunteer at schools and licensed general contractor
- Age: 56
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Homeowner in Noe Valley, born in the Richmond District
- Children: Yes, but did not attend SFUSD
- SFUSD experience: Current vice chair SFUSD Citizens Bond Oversight Committee (Appointed in 2022)
- Education: Bachelor’s degrees in chemistry and history & science from Harvard University
- Languages: English (learning Cantonese, Mandarin, Spanish and French)
- Transportation: Driving, public transit and walking
- Website: Laurance Lee for School Board
Yes. I support moving forward with area-based school assignments.
SFUSD opened doors for me. I want children to walk to excellent neighborhood schools that open doors for them.
Families need different things. Southeast families want access to more strong schools. Eastern neighborhoods need more seats close to home. Many Westside families want to preserve what works today. Tuesday’s Board discussion made clear one plan must address all three.
As a commissioner, I would back a plan that expands strong options and makes enrollment more predictable across the city. Otherwise, a zone is just a shorter commute to the same problem.
Endorsed by: State Senator Scott Wiener, Chinese American Citizens Alliance San Francisco Lodge, United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 648… read more here.
Reina Tello
- Job: Community organizer
- Age: 44
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Renter, born and raised in San Francisco
- Children: Two children: 14, rising eighth grader at James Lick; 18, recently graduated from June Jordan School for Equity
- SFUSD experience: None
- Education: Current CCSF student studying Labor and Community Studies
- Languages: English and Spanish
- Transportation: Driving
- Website: Reina for School Board
Yes. All schools have qualified teachers. What we need is for the district to ensure all schools have access to the programs their students need. We need language pathways across the city, not just in some areas of the city. Students should be allowed to choose a school with specific programs and services they need, ie. Special Education until the district can expand those programs into the neighborhood school. The district needs to make sure that historically marginalized neighborhoods have equitable resources especially if the need is higher.
Endorsed by: United Educators of San Francisco, Teamsters Local 853, Board of Education Commissioner Matt Alexander; Supervisor Connie Chan, Supervisor Jackie Fielder… read more here.
Tim Tung
- Job: Public finance analyst, research analyst, public finance lecturer
- Age: 46
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Homeowner in the Western Addition, previously lived in the Richmond and SoMa
- Children: Two children at Chinese Immersion School at De Avila
- SFUSD experience: Chair of the school site council at the Chinese Immersion School at De Avila; serves on SFUSD’s local control and accountability plan advisory committee
- Education: Bachelor’s degree and master’s degree in information and data science from the University of California, Berkeley; master’s degree in public administration from San Jose State University
- Languages: English
- Transportation: Driving, public transit and walking
- Website: Tim Tung for School Board
Yes, with appropriate safeguards in place. A zone-based system will provide families with greater predictability and access to schools near their homes. At the same time, the district needs to provide access to specialized programs, such as language immersion, when families prioritize access to those programs over proximity.
Informed by meaningful community input, the district should utilize existing enrollment and demographic data to thoughtfully design zones that also support its diversity and equity objectives. This should be an iterative process where the district regularly analyzes results and then makes improvements to increase family satisfaction, student outcomes, and enrollment stability.
Endorsed by: GrowSF, Scott Wiener, Nancy Tung, Rafael Mandelman, Matt Dorsey, Stephen Sherrill, Alan Wong… read more here.
Autumn Brown Garibay
- Job: Senior customer success manager at Sprout Social, Inc.
- Age: 41
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Renter in the Mission District
- Children: Three in SFUSD schools
- SFUSD experience: PTA at kids’ school, served on the Parent Leadership Council of the San Francisco Parent Coalition
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in public relations and marketing from Long Beach State University and Sacramento State University
- Languages: English
- Transportation: Public transit, walking and biking
- Website: Autumn Brown Garibay for School Board
Yes. Families should be able to attend a great school close to home, without fear of the lottery. That means having a seat at their local school with strong teachers, rigorous instruction, extra help for kids who need it, and opportunities that make families want to choose their local school.
I will hold the district accountable for giving SF families a predictable, area-based approach to school assignment. But assignment alone isn’t enough. We need great schools in EVERY corner of our city, and I will hold the district accountable for making sure every family has access to one.
Endorsed by: SF Parents Action, GrowSF, State Senator Scott Wiener and Supervisor Rafael Mandelman …read more here.
Virginia Cheung
- Job: Chief advancement officer of Open Door Legal
- Age: 43
- Party: Democratic
- Residency: Homeowner in Crocker Amazon, previously lived in the Mission District and the Portola since moving to San Francisco in 2008
- Children: Yes, they attend Alice Fong Yu Alternative School and Wah Mei School
- SFUSD experience: Treasurer for Parents for Public Schools of San Francisco and served on the Parent Advisory Board of Wah Mei BASE ExCel
- Education: Bachelor’s degree in social ecology with a minor in digital art, University of California, Irvine
- Languages: English, Cantonese, Mandarin and French
- Transportation: Driving
- Website: Virginia Cheung for School Board
I support moving toward area-based school assignments, but programs must be planned before zones are finalized.
Every year, about 4,100 students apply for kindergarten, yet roughly 600 do not enroll in SFUSD. For TK, more than 2,200 applied, but only about 1,500 enrolled in 2025–26. Families are making choices about where to educate their children, and losing them in TK or kindergarten can mean losing years of enrollment and revenue.
Only 28% of kindergarten families list their attendance-area school first and that percentage varies widely by neighborhood. SFUSD itself identifies choice as an important tool for protecting… read full response here.
Endorsed by: United Educators of San Francisco, San Francisco Building and Construction Trades Council, Board of Education Commissioner Matt Alexander; Supervisor Connie Chan… 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 rosina@missionlocal.com.
You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.
