Mayor London Breed Announces School Stabilization Team to Provide Support for San Francisco Public Schools

San Francisco, CA - Today, Mayor London N. Breed announced new support for the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) to provide critical expertise to help stabilize the City's public schools. On Sunday, the San Francisco Board of Education held an emergency meeting in response to concerns around pending school closures, worsening financial outlook and operational issues.

To ensure that SFUSD has any and all support available from the City as it undergoes its work during this difficult time, Mayor Breed is deploying a School Stabilization Team consisting of top City leaders and trusted subject matter experts in the areas of children, families, education, budgeting, and fiscal oversight.

The Mayor is also deploying additional financial support at the request of the Board of Education. To help children, youth and families, the School Stabilization Team will be able to utilize $8.4 million of unallocated Student Success Funds. These funds can be used for emergency needs and emergent strategies to support the school community. 

"Our City will support our children, families, and educators during this difficult time for the School District," said Mayor London Breed. "With so many questions around SFUSD's fiscal situation, potential school closures, and outlook for families, I'm deploying top City leaders and expert staff to help the School Board and District leadership navigate the coming months. I wouldn't be where I am today without San Francisco's public schools, and I will do whatever it takes to make sure our current students have the support today that I had growing up here."

The Mayor also released today an open letter to SFUSD families that can be read here.

School Stabilization Team

The School Stabilization Team will be co-led by:

• Maria Su, Executive Director of the Department of Children Youth and their Families
• Phil Ginsburg, General Manager of Recreation and Parks Department

Together, these leaders will bring experience managing programs and support for children and families across the City, overseeing facilities and logistics, and executing balanced budgets that deliver benefits for the good of San Francisco. Maria and Phil partnered during the COVID pandemic to open community hubs across San Francisco when schools were closed, ensuring that students had places to gather during the day for remote learning, wellness and recreation. Lifting from best practices and lessons learned, the stabilization team will provide expertise to support and partner with SFUSD's governance team.

To serve as a special advisor to this team, the Mayor has brought in Dr. Carl Cohn. As the former Superintendent of Long Beach Unified School District, San Diego Unified School District and former member of the State Board of Education, Dr. Cohn brings a unique perspective on what school districts need to best serve students.

"I look forward to working with Mayor Breed's team in helping SFUSD through this critical situation they are now experiencing," said Dr. Carl Cohn. "Throughout my decades of experience working in California across many levels, I understand the challenges for districts and how to tackle them."

For over a decade, Dr. Cohn served as Superintendent in both the Long Beach and San Diego school districts. Under his leadership, Long Beach Unified School District became one of the most highly regarded school districts in the country. From 2011 through 2018, he served the state of California first as a State Board of Education member, and then as Executive Director of the California Collaborative for Educational Excellence. Dr. Cohn's career in education spans over 30 years.

The School Stabilization Team will consist of the following members:

• ChiaYu Ma, Deputy Controller, to provide fiscal expertise.
• Susie Smith, Deputy Director for Policy and Planning, Human Services Agency to provide programmatic and family support.
• Hong Mei Pang, the Mayor's Education Policy Advisor to provide communications, policy and administrative support.
• Amanda Kahn Fried, Office of the Treasurer & Tax Collector to provide payroll and finances support.
• Shawn Sherbune, Assistant Director, Department of Human Resources to assist with staffing analysis.

"The Department of Children, Youth, and their Families works extensively across multiple City Departments, educational institutions and the nonprofit sectors to make San Francisco a great place for children and young people to grow up," said Maria Su, Executive Director of DCYF. "Leveraging our track record of success and our long-established partnership with San Francisco Unified School District, I believe that we can weather this storm as a City and stabilize our public schools and support our children and families, just like we did during the COVID-19 pandemic."

"The Recreation and Parks Department works every day to provide San Francisco youth and their families with quality experiences and programs to grow and thrive. SFUSD and Recreation and Parks care for San Francisco's children in every neighborhood in this City," said Phil Ginsburg, Director of Recreation and Parks Department. "The District is facing serious fiscal, operational and organizational culture challenges. With the same spirit and energy that I have invested in our City's world class park system, we will partner with the District to make sure it will not fail and that it returns to the level of excellence our residents deserve."

As the School Board and leadership of the District take on these very difficult issues, it's essential that the information they are relying on is consistent and independently reviewed. The Mayor's School Stabilization Team, along with other external support including former City Controller Ben Rosenfield, will help provide that independent analysis and review so that students, parents and educators have the certainty that the decisions being made are based on sound information and best practices.

In November 2022, voters passed Proposition G, the Student Success Fund (SSF). The goal of the SSF is to provide vital additional resources from the City for SFUSD, with a dual focus on achieving grade-level success in core academic subjects and enhancing the social and emotional well-being of all SFUSD students. The Mayor is releasing $8.4 million of unallocated Student Success Funds, which can be used for emergency needs and emergent strategies to support the school community. This funding is on top of the over $100 million the City provides annually to SFUSD that includes before and after school programming, education, arts, athletics, and enrichment opportunities, mental health services, graduations, and more will all be continuing.

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