Mayor Newsom encourages San Francisco Unified School District and United Educators of San Francisco continue negotiating in good faith

From the Mayor's Office of Communications

March 30, 2006

San Francisco, CA – Mayor Gavin Newsom today released the following statement regarding the vote to authorize a strike and the negotiation efforts between the San Francisco Unified School District and the United Educators of San Francisco:

“I’ve been in close communication with the leadership of the school district and the United Educators of San Francisco. I encourage them to continue negotiating in good faith, and complete the fact finding process.

A strike would greatly impact our city. Over 56,000 students may be left without academic instruction and working parents would be scrambling to secure adequate and safe child care. In addition, the City would need to provide services from various departments such as, San Francisco Police Department, Recreation and Parks and MUNI, at a cost to all San Franciscans.

During my weekly school visits, I’ve witnessed first hand the passion and dedication our teachers have in providing quality education to our students.

It is unfortunate that current negotiations are taking place in a time when SFUSD is losing funds due to declining enrollment.

The state continues to under-fund its Proposition 98 obligations and has failed to appropriately fund school districts across the state, including San Francisco, for the last four years.

Despite the setbacks, I’m hopeful that both parties will agree on a fair and equitable contract, and continue their common mission to serve the children of San Francisco. Our City will continue to do its part to ensure the success of our students.

Once again, I stand prepared to help the parties reach a fair and equitable agreement, if both sides request my involvement.”

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