In SF’s Upcoming School Board Race, Only One Incumbent Is Running for Re-Election (2024)

San Francisco voters have plenty of big decisions to make in November. For the families of 48,000 students in the city’s public schools, and thousands of teachers and staff, perhaps no bigger choice will be the school board election. One outcome is nearly guaranteed. Roughly half of the seven-member board will be first-timers at a crucial moment in the school district’s history.

Of the four commissioners whose seats are opening up, only one is officially running for re-election: Matt Alexander, a former principal in the San Francisco Unified School District.

Commissioners Mark Sanchez and Kevine Boggess confirmed to The Frisc that they don’t plan to run, and Commissioner Jenny Lam has sent clear signals that she won’t either.

Lam, who did not respond to several requests for comment, has told the teachers union, the United Educators of San Francisco, that she isn’t running and will not seek their endorsement. She is also absent from the candidate list in the San Francisco Parent Action endorsement process, which wraps up by June.

If incumbent plans hold up and no board alumni step in for a run, roughly half the Board of Education will be new faces who will immediately have to confront a fiscal crisis. California regulators now say the district is at high risk of insolvency and have taken some control over the district’s decision-making.

The new board, which will be seated next January, must also finalize school closures, keep the district on track to meet academic outcome goals, and handle curriculum changes, among other challenges.

The district is also under legal threat based on the California Voting Rights Act to switch to district elections, like the Board of Supervisors. It is hiring demographers to study the issue and, if necessary, make changes to comply with the law, which is intended to give minority voters more representation.

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Sanchez felt it was time to make room for others as he tends to his elderly mother, who is moving to the city. “I’ve been on the board 16 years total,” Sanchez said. “That’s a long time. I don’t feel like I own that seat.”

He said he was “99.9 percent sure” he wouldn’t run, but noting how few other incumbents are running, he also said he might jump back in if he felt the board’s diversity moving forward would decline. Sanchez noted that in the gaps between his board terms, there were no commissioners who were Latino, LGBTQ+, or educators. (Sanchez is all three.)

It’s a very different role than being an advocate.

board of education vice president matt alexander, on the learning curve when elected to the board

So far, nine candidates who would be first timers have filed papers to run. Familiar names include district parent Supryia Ray, a consistent advocate during public comment; Laurance Lee, a district alumnus, watchdog and op-ed writer, and member of the board that oversees the district’s bond spending; and Deldelp Medina, a district parent who ran in 2022 and is co-president of the Latinx Democratic Club.

All three cosigned the San Francisco Parent Action platform that prioritizes student outcomes, fixing the budget deficit, and board transparency and accountability.

Medina has Sanchez’s endorsement. The powerful teachers union and parents groups have not yet made endorsements.

The state steps in

Watching closely from the outside is a different world from sitting in a board chair. “It’s a very different role than being an advocate,” said Alexander, who was first elected in 2020.

Without Sanchez, Lam, or Boggess, Alexander is the most tenured commissioner. He was elected in 2020.

Turnover is hardly new for the school board. With the monthly pay amounting to $500, commissioners often juggle full-time day jobs on top of family responsibilities. Plus, the board has historically been used as a stepping stone to higher office.

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But this time, at least three new members must get quickly up to speed in a time of major transformation.

What’s more, the state will now have a direct role in financial decisions. In a major escalation of its long-running oversight, state watchdogs who have been monitoring the district’s finances assumed veto power over financial decisions as of last week.

An accompanying report found SFUSD at “high” risk of insolvency in the 2025-2026 school year if it doesn’t follow through on a wave of budget cuts that district staff suggested earlier this year: $20 million from the general fund, $24 million by eliminating vacant special education positions, $11 million in consultant contracts, and $29 million in layoffs of more 340 employees.

He tells @SFUSD_Supe and the board: Ignoring the financial, personnel, and business people is "unacceptable" in a school district. Good practices "will keep all of you out of jail and your district solvent."

Yes, he just said that.

— The Frisc (@TheFrisc) May 8, 2024

“If the district does not finalize [the layoffs] by May 15, and implement other budget reductions it has proposed … it could become insolvent sometime in the 2025-26 fiscal year,” the report states.

After the recall, reform

Boggess cited the difficulty of his term, which included the board’s votes to end Lowell High’s merit admissions policy and to strip fellow commissioner Alison Collins of titles and committees in a vote of no confidence. Both situations added fuel to the recall campaign.

In March 2022, following the heated recall of Collins, Gabriela Lopez, and Faauuga Moliga, Mayor London Breed appointed two current commissioners, Lainie Motamedi and Lisa Weissman-Ward. That November, voters elected Motamedi and Weissman-Ward along with Alida Fisher, who bumped out Breed’s controversial third appointee, Ann Hsu.

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After the recall, the board promised to reform itself and refocus on oversight of the superintendent and his staff. This included eliminating resolutions and, controversially, removing committees.

Boggess said it’s now “a good time to transition out and pass the mantle onto other folks as the district deals with really big issues. I hope that everyone who runs will be committed to closing our outcome gap for students and making sure everyone can read at grade level.”

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Alexander, for his part, doesn’t fault colleagues for bowing out, and says the board’s most important tasks going into 2025 are getting finances in order and pushing SFUSD staff to keep improving academic results.

“It’s been a tough time with the history of fiscal mismanagement and student outcomes,” Alexander said. “I do think we are starting to make real progress on those issues.”

Alexander has been a vocal critic of the administration’s budget, presenting an alternate plan in 2021 with deeper central office cuts before backing down. He has since worked with the city to study disproportionate central office spending. He is now a supporter of school closures, and reiterated at last night’s board meeting that having fewer schools will spread the district’s finite resources to more students.

@SFUSD_Supe is now stepping through budget figures – too detailed to give here – aligned with the big curriculum reform programs (ie, improving 3rd grade literacy, 8th grade math, college readiness)

— The Frisc (@TheFrisc) May 8, 2024

Alexander is excited there’s a crop of people who want the job but warned about the steep learning curve — even for advocates and others familiar with district issues. Despite decades working in the district, he said he is still learning about the depth of its financial mismanagement.

In previous board iterations, board behavior was as much a problem as outside criticism. Once elected, it’s important for a switch in mindset from outsider, critic, or advocate, Alexander said: “None of us have any authority as an individual. It’s really critical to be able to work well with our colleagues and be unified.”

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In SF’s Upcoming School Board Race, Only One Incumbent Is Running for Re-Election (2024)
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