Giving teachers raises didn’t cause S.F. schools’ budget deficit. Here’s what did

By Olivia McHaney, Oakland | 12/15/2023

Regarding “S.F. schools likely to cut 900 jobs as district faces $400 million deficit” (San Francisco, SFChronicle.com, Dec. 12): Framing the San Francisco school district’s budget deficit as a problem of “overspending as well as recent raises” diverts the blame for underfunding from state policy onto the backs of teachers and staff who labor every day to give students the quality education they deserve.

The success of United Educators of San Francisco in securing a vital contract for workers should be celebrated — not blamed and propagandized in service of tearing down our public school system.

Public education in California has been dramatically underfunded since the passage of Proposition 13, which halted and limited increases in property taxes — one of the primary sources of public school funding. Research shows schools lose up to $12 billion annually because of Prop. 13’s corporate loophole.

Without shifting the narrative from blaming educators for asking for what they deserve, the neoliberal education privatization movement will win in San Francisco. Where does that leave the families of students who don’t have the resources to access private or charter institutions?

We must address the root cause of education underfunding and reform Prop. 13.