San Francisco could prevent parents from using PTA funds to hire and pay for the wages of teachers in school districts across the state.
The situation comes as the San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) is facing a budget shortfall and strict oversight by state officials. Parents have been told that they will no longer be able to raise donations to afford more teachers.
PTA Funds for San Francisco Teachers
The new restrictions on the use of private funds to pay for the wages of teachers across the district could not result in the termination of hundreds of staffers. In a statement, Thao Bui, who has two children enrolled at Argonne Elementary School, said that families donated the funds while having an understanding of how they would be used.
Bui added that the SFUSD should not be dictating whether or not these particular funds can be used to pay for more teachers. In creating the restriction, the school district cited the potential instability of the funding as well as concerns about deepening inequities within the district, according to The San Francisco Standard.
However, the decision itself resulted in backlash from parents who argued that it would only lead to increased class sizes and the disruption of education. A parent at Starr King Elementary, Cathay Bi, said that parents have been using PTA donations for the last decade to fund an additional two teachers.
The parent added that if officials are worried about whether they will be able to support the teachers' positions in future years, they should look to their history of good use of the private funds.
A New Policy
The new policy will be implemented and will affect staffing next school year, causing parents to file a petition and plan a protest at the school board meeting on Tuesday. Officials' decision was made to close a $113 million deficit through spending cuts, the San Francisco Chroniclereported.
They added that their top priority is to make sure that every classroom across the district is full and is led by a qualified teacher. This will be a process that would include a shuffling of staff that would follow seniority-based layoffs and incentivized early retirements.
The preliminary notices were sent to 559 employees, but the SFUSD hopes to find not-yet-guaranteed restricted funding to rescind notices for roughly 280 included support staff. The notices were also sent to classroom educators, with 115 credentialed teaching positions not being part of the budget for next year, as per KQED.
