SFUSD Faces Sobering Fiscal Reckoning as Mandarin Immersion School Takes Shape

The San Francisco Unified School District's governing board absorbed a blunt state assessment of the district's financial health, heard from hundreds of families desperate for a new Mandarin immersion school, and watched its superintendent pull back a controversial property deal — all in a marathon five-and-a-half-hour session that laid bare the gap between SFUSD's ambitions and its operational capacity.

• State auditors score SFUSD at 42.9 "high risk" despite a balanced budget and improved credit ratings — the district's third fiscal review in four years
• Superintendent Su halts an RFP for five district properties after community backlash over the potential displacement of the Richmond Neighborhood Center and its 6,000+ clients
• Mandarin immersion families get a timeline: temporary site to be announced in September, school opens fall 2027
• Parents report lead levels three times above EPA thresholds in children's bathrooms at the Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila and demand construction halt
• Tech and Check SF delivers 900-signature petition calling for an AI moratorium and YouTube blocks on student Chromebooks

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District Still at 'High Risk' Despite Hard-Won Fiscal Gains

The basics: The Fiscal and Crisis Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), a state agency that reviews school district finances, delivered its third assessment of SFUSD in four years. The review was triggered by the California Department of Education's March 2026 "lack of going concern" letter — a formal warning that the district's long-term financial viability is in question. FCMAT scored the district at 42.9 on its Fiscal Health Risk Analysis, where lower is better. That's an improvement from 50.7 in 2024, but still firmly in "high risk" territory.

Why it matters: SFUSD has been teetering on the edge of state intervention for years. This score validates real progress — a balanced budget, improved credit ratings, an 8% reserve — but also warns that the district must sustain discipline for years, not months, to change its trajectory.

Where things stand: FCMAT presenter Jennifer Noga walked the board through key vulnerabilities: budget development and adoption processes, deficit spending in the unrestricted general fund, internal controls, leadership stability, and position control. Some findings were based on second interim data and may already be outdated given the adopted balanced budget, but the structural weaknesses are real.

Deputy Superintendent Chris Mount-Benitez offered the most candid assessment of any district official, acknowledging SFUSD remains "at moderate risk at the very least" while citing tangible wins. "Every credit agency increased our credit rating as a result of our improved financial performance," he said. Bond sales were fully subscribed.

But he also revealed startling operational gaps. "We are still cutting a check for every transaction in the district from 5 cents up to millions of dollars," Deputy Superintendent Mount-Benitez said. "That is not a standard practice." The lack of electronic payments creates fraud exposure that he called unacceptable.

He also disclosed a previously unknown CalPERS CERPT account for retiree benefits funding and warned the board that maintaining a balanced budget is harder than achieving one. Drawing on his experience with the Los Angeles Unified School District, he said: "I kept LA out of lack of going concern. And ten months after I left, guess where they are."

The other side: Board President Phil Kim pressed for accountability tools, asking how the board can know it is staying on track: "How are we to know that we have measurements internally that we can look at as a board to know that we are on track?" Board Member Alida Fisher questioned why SFUSD keeps receiving FCMAT reviews, asking what concrete steps staff have taken since the last one.

FCMAT recommended governance training, regular policy updates, and review of new positions. A tension also emerged around reserves: state law caps school district reserves at 10%, but FCMAT recommends 17.5% for a district SFUSD's size — a gap that could leave the district vulnerable even in compliance.

What's next: Staff indicated they will explore dashboard tools for ongoing board monitoring and pursue electronic payment systems to close fraud risk. The district's ability to sustain its balanced budget through the next fiscal cycle will determine whether the "high risk" label finally drops.

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Superintendent Pulls Property RFP After Community Fury

Why it matters: The Richmond Neighborhood Center at 741 30th Avenue serves more than 6,000 youth, families, and seniors across 12 SFUSD schools — operating a food pantry, youth development programs, and workforce services from a district-owned building. The district drafted an RFP to potentially redevelop the property and four others without notifying the center or a childcare provider that has operated there for 33 years.

Where things stand: A parade of speakers — from community organizers to nonprofit executives to parents — told the board this was unacceptable. Michelle Cassano, executive director of the Richmond Neighborhood Center, asked for a minimum five-year lease extension and genuine community engagement, saying the district moved the property toward redevelopment without telling the center. Cliff Yee, the center's chief strategy officer, noted it serves more than 6,000 people and demanded a meeting with district leadership.

Heather Maraudo of the Cross Cultural Family Center revealed her organization operates 60 subsidized childcare slots at the site and was never notified about the RFP — a move she said contradicts the mayor's stated goal of expanding childcare. Blanca Catalan of Coleman Advocates called for a transparent process protecting youth and food security programs.

Decisions: During her superintendent's report, Superintendent Maria Su announced she had halted the RFP. "I have not released the RFP that was supposed to be released on Friday. And we are continuing to have further conversations internally to ensure that we do this right," she said, adding that community partnership can coexist with responsible real estate management.

What's next: The district is expected to resume engagement with affected tenants and community organizations before any future RFP is considered.

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900 Families Wait as Mandarin Immersion School Inches Forward

The basics: SFUSD is building the first dedicated wall-to-wall public TK-8 Mandarin immersion school in San Francisco — and arguably the nation. The school will open with transitional kindergarten and kindergarten in fall 2027 at a temporary site, with a permanent location (requiring 24 classrooms) to be selected through community engagement by December 2026 or January 2027.

Why it matters: Over 900 families represented by Friends of Mandarin Immersion are waiting on this school. There have been zero new public Mandarin immersion seats in 20 years despite growing demand. Any delay costs an entire cohort their kindergarten window — language acquisition in the first five years is irreplaceable.

Where things stand: Dozens of parents dominated public comment urging the board to stay on timeline. The temporary site had been expected at this meeting but was not announced. Abby Chow of Friends of Mandarin Immersion, representing 900-plus families, urged the district to announce the temporary site and open enrollment in October. Virginia Chung, a parent at Alice Fong Yu, noted that language must be acquired in the first five years. Juliana Chen, an SF resident whose family lost Chinese fluency over generations, asked the board to make the school a reality.

Staff presented a phased approach during the discussion item. Chief of Staff Hong Mei Peng confirmed: "The temporary site will be announced in September." That timeline is driven by the October 1 draft agenda deadline — the board needs the site on its October 13 agenda — and the October 24 enrollment fair.

Superintendent Su committed to keeping the temporary site geographically close to the eventual permanent home: "I really do want to commit that the temporary site has to be close to the permanent site because we do not want to tell families, yes, here's your temporary site. And then later the permanent site is across town."

The other side: Dr. Steiner, an SFUSD staff member leading the site selection, explained a deliberate strategy: the temporary site will be chosen specifically so it cannot become the permanent site. "We need to choose a temporary location that can't host the permanent location on purpose because we want to be able to engage places that can have the permanent location without them saying, oh well, inertia is going to say we're going to stay here," he said. The district is focusing on southeastern San Francisco for the permanent site based on facilities constraints, Mandarin-speaking population concentration, and enrollment growth strategy.

Board Member Supryia Ray raised concerns about geographic concentration of Mandarin programs. Albert Chow, a former Dragon Gate Academy board member, urged a central location and asked about transfer pathways for Starr King students.

What's next: The temporary site announcement is expected in September. A resolution for a new CDS code — required to formally establish the school — is expected on the October 13 board agenda. The permanent site will be selected through a community engagement process running through late 2026 or early 2027.

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Parents Sound Alarm on Lead Paint at Chinese Immersion School

Why it matters: Parents at the Chinese Immersion School at DeAvila reported that lead paint remediation test results showed lead levels three times above EPA hazard thresholds — in children's bathrooms. They said the district withheld results for four days while students continued using affected areas.

Where things stand: Nancy Chang, a CIS parent, said test results showed unsafe levels after cleaning and demanded areas be cleaned and retested before children return. A parent identified as Kate, calling in online, detailed containment failures — open windows and vents into work areas — and demanded the entire project stop with a deep clean. Another parent described the district backing away from commitments to allow opt-outs and deep-clean play yards. Parent Ranjit Chako criticized the district's community meeting format as public relations rather than genuine engagement.

What's next: Parents are calling for all work to stop, a deep clean to be performed, areas to be retested before children return, and remaining remediation to be moved to summer.

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Tech and Check SF: Block YouTube, Freeze AI in Classrooms

A coalition of approximately 250 members across 55 SFUSD schools delivered a 900-signature petition calling for six changes: a moratorium on student generative AI, grade-level limits on one-to-one devices, social media-free schools, parental consent for data-collecting ed tech, reinvestment in physical learning materials, and increased transparency. An educator testified that YouTube on school Chromebooks exposes students to violent content during class. Teacher Tiffany from ER Taylor raised concerns about "Amira," an AI-based reading assessment used as a primary screening and tutoring tool for K-1 students — questioning whether young children should be assessed by software rather than trained adults.

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Minor Items

• Consent calendar passed 6-1 (For: 6, Against: 1, Absent: 0; Vice President Jaime Huling voted no, President Phil Kim recused due to employment with City and County of San Francisco), covering dozens of facilities contracts, personnel actions, instructional service agreements, and grant acceptances.
• Two student expulsion agreements approved unanimously 7-0 — one high school and one middle school student, both for one-year suspended expulsion periods through Sept. 8, 2027, with alternative program placement.
• CFO Jayna Perrin's contract extended through June 2028 at salary grade 7 step 8, approved 7-0. Associate Superintendent of HR Dr. James Harrell presented the item.
• PIPs and waivers approved 7-0, allowing teachers finishing credentials to fill high-need classrooms.
• Principal Rajesh Sharma of Guadalupe Elementary thanked the board for a new food vendor and reported 20–25% reading and math growth for third and first graders through the Springboard investment.
• Melanie Balzan, CAC chair, raised concerns about special education funding transparency, noting FCMAT found SFUSD applied a 2.26% indirect cost rate instead of the approved 7.05%.
• Two student settlement agreements were approved in closed session; one grade challenge appeal was continued.
• The board voted 6-1 to extend the meeting past 10 p.m. (Board Member Matt Alexander voted no). Meeting adjourned at 10:38 p.m.