Announcement Details
Announcement Message
Updated Jan. 29, 2026:
Today, SFUSD does not have a current agreement in place with UESF, which includes teachers, substitutes, paraeducators, counselors, social workers, nurses, and more.
Over the last 11 months, SFUSD and UESF have engaged in 11 bargaining sessions. Over the course of those sessions, the two sides have made progress to reach tentative agreements on several instructional, staffing, and classified articles.
Despite that progress, an agreement was not reached on a number of outstanding issues, and UESF and SFUSD jointly declared impasse and requested neutral third-party assistance. Once an impasse is reached, the next step is a Fact-Finding process, which is part of the formal bargaining process.
Fact Finding and Current SFUSD Proposal
The Fact-Finding session took place on Jan. 23, where a neutral third party received evidence, held hearings, and investigated claims from both sides to determine an objective view of the claims. The neutral third party will issue a report which will outline how they see the issues, and this is the last step in the bargaining process. If an agreement cannot be reached during this process, the Union may choose to strike.
SFUSD and UESF have yet to reach agreements on educator pay raises, fully funded family health care benefits, as well as union requests to include existing Sanctuary policies and policies for unhoused families in contract language.
At the same Fact-Finding session on Jan. 23, the SFUSD bargaining team presented proposals that would meet UESF’s top priorities and provided a 3 year “stability package”.
This included:
- 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)
SFUSD is also committed to continuing its strong policies supporting sanctuary and unhoused families, but does not believe these are appropriate measures to include in contract language. These are critical priorities that will be addressed as policy matters by the District.
To responsibly fund these raises without forcing additional cuts to classrooms or student services, SFUSD proposed repurposing funding from Advanced Placement prep periods, paid sabbatical leaves, and Department head prep periods to pay for across-the-board raises for all educators. This underscores that there is no surplus of funds to pay for raises beyond this – as is being requested – without making further cuts elsewhere.
Despite SFUSD’s creative suggestions at the Jan. 23, 2026 Fact Finding session, UESF did not offer any counter and terminated the session at 4:30 pm.
Recent Budget Cuts and Progress Towards Fiscal Stabilization
SFUSD continues to experience a structural deficit, meaning the District repeatedly plans to spend more money than it brings in. Currently the California Department of Education (CDE) can step in and overrule any financial decision that could put the district at risk, including salary increases that the district cannot afford.
Over the last year, SFUSD has made real progress toward stabilizing its finances. Last year, the district cut $114 million from the budget including the major reductions to its Central Office. For this fiscal year, the District faces another $102 million deficit that could force further cuts, including $51 million in unrestricted general funds, potentially including staffing reductions, reduced Central Office operations, professional development support for educators under consideration for this June.
The district’s goal is to reach a sustainable agreement that supports our educators and keeps a stable learning environment for students. Previously, SFUSD has given UESF historic raises. In 2023, UESF came to an agreement with SFUSD leadership to receive a significant raise during what was a very difficult budget. The raise was $9,000 for every educator, and then a 5% increase on top of that. These were on top of a 6% raise they received in 2022, just the year before.
Any raises above the current proposals from the District will force further cuts at school sites that will impact the District’s ability to serve all of its students long-term.
Next Steps
A neutral report from the Fact Finding Chairperson is expected on Feb. 4, 2026. At that time, UESF can accept the offer determined by the Fact Finding Committee or reject the district's final offer. After that report is issued, UESF may choose to strike.
If UESF chooses to strike, SFUSD intends to meet its legal obligation to provide 180 days of instruction. As of today, schools remain open unless families are notified otherwise.