San Francisco (February 3, 2026) - The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Board of Education on Tuesday night approved a resolution granting Superintendent Dr. Maria Su limited emergency authority in the event of a strike.
SFUSD and United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) have been engaged in negotiations since March 2025. While SFUSD deeply values its educators, the district is also grappling with a dire fiscal reality. After months of bargaining, SFUSD and UESF have declared an impasse and are in fact-finding.
The resolution approved by the Board is a preparedness measure designed to ensure the district can respond quickly to protect students and maintain safe, orderly school operations if needed.
“Our goal remains to avoid a strike and keep our children in their classrooms, where they can continue learning and receiving the support they need,” Superintendent Dr. Maria Su said. “I’m hopeful that our labor partners will return to the bargaining table so we can prevent any disruption to student learning. At the same time, we have a responsibility to be prepared to care for our 50,000 students.”
The full text of the resolution can be found here.
SFUSD has put forward a three-year “stability package” to address UESF’s top bargaining priorities, which includes:
- Fully paid family health benefits provided by the district
- Augmenting salaries for hard-to-staff special education paraeducators
- Addressing special education workload with a focused pilot program
- Providing 6% raise over 3 years (2% each year for next 3 years)
More information about SFUSD’s proposal is available in this update.
For years SFUSD has grappled with a structural budget deficit. The financial challenges confronting SFUSD are part of a broader statewide crisis in public education funding. Strikes have already occurred in West Contra Costa County and Oakland, while educators in the Los Angeles Unified School District voted to authorize a strike and teachers in San Diego are planning to strike later this February. Superintendent Su joined superintendents from major urban school districts statewide to press for increased investment in public education. In December, the group formally urged Governor Gavin Newsom and state legislative leaders to address structural funding gaps that have strained school districts for years.
On Feb. 2, Superintendent Su joined superintendents across California in signing a joint open letter calling for additional state funding. The effort focuses on protecting student learning and school stability, while advancing reforms to make California’s school funding system more sustainable.
SFUSD remains committed to supporting staff, protecting student learning, and maintaining transparency with the community as this process continues.
Next Steps
On Feb. 4, SFUSD and UESF expect to receive a fact-finding report, in which an independent expert will provide recommendations to help both sides work toward a fair and financially responsible agreement. Unions are legally required to provide the district with 48 hour notice prior to a strike.
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