For many students, the first week of January is about showing off new Christmas kicks and recovering from a two-week video-game marathon. For Maria Su, though, it’s time to lock in.
The San Francisco Unified School District superintendent was given an extended contract in November, giving her the power and political capital to make structural changes that could fundamentally shape the future of public education in the city.
She must contend with a multimillion-dollar budget gap, stagnant math and reading scores, and growing labor strife. Meanwhile, she must rebuild confidence that a system that has lost thousands of students since the pandemic is still capable of providing high-quality education.
Here are the burning questions facing SFUSD at the start of 2026.
Will there be more cuts and layoffs?
Unfortunately, yes.
While the district halted a controversial plan to eliminate social workers at half of its schools, staffing reductions, program changes, and bus route eliminations are likely necessary.
Staff and board members claim the district is poised to close a long-standing deficit, currently pegged at $51 million, and fully exit state fiscal oversight by the end of this school year. But SFUSD’s record of inaccurate projections calls that timeline into question.
Talks around the budget will heat up in March, when the district will present its updated plan to the public. A finalized budget will be approved in June after months of cajoling, weeks of backroom negotiations, and hours of public meetings.
So there might be a teachers strike?
It’s possible.
Even tentative cuts have been met with strong responses by the district’s powerful unions. Teachers authorized a strike in December, citing issues with pay and benefits. If union members vote to follow through on the threat, SFUSD could have its first walkout in half a century.
However, the district and unions might be hamstrung in negotiations by the ongoing state oversight, since auditors have the ability to reject certain proposals.
What about school closures?
SFUSD paused a plan to implement widespread closures in the fall of 2024 after a chaotic and widely criticized process. Still, the post-Covid drop in enrollment has not been resolved, leaving several campuses far below capacity.
Those who support closing schools say the move would increase course access and more efficiently use resources. Many parents and the teachers union strongly oppose the idea.
Is the confusing enrollment system due for more tweaks?
Time will tell.
The district has said it plans to change its enrollment system alongside school reorganization (read: closures), though it’s unclear what this will mean in practice. The district abandoned a plan (opens in new tab) for the 2026-27 school year to primarily weigh location when doling out elementary school assignments.
The current enrollment system uses a lottery that prioritizes those who live close to a selected campus, as well as students living in areas that rank lower in certain socioeconomic metrics.
There are scores of Facebook groups that help parents strategize on how to win the lottery or deal with issues like being assigned to a school with a late start time on the other side of the city.
Methods to game the system include entering the lottery with fake addresses. According to many parents, SFUSD’s enrollment chaos motivates many families to opt for private school or to move so kids can attend public schools in Marin or the East Bay.
Has the district decided how it intends to fight our AI overlords?
Are smartphones still allowed?
Yes and no.
The district requires schools to prohibit phone use during class and in passing periods, but teachers say this is effective only with strict enforcement and total buy-in from the school community, including parents. For now, the policy has been enforced differently at each school.
Teachers have cited frustration with inconsistent enforcement and complain that curbing phone use takes up much of their time and energy.
Larger districts, like New York City Public Schools, have instituted bans, so SFUSD could follow course if it has the will. As of now, though, it has no stated plans.