San Francisco teachers, district reach deal after first strike in decades

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — San Francisco teachers who have been on strike over wages and family health benefits have reached a tentative agreement with the school district.

The San Francisco Unified School District says schools will reopen to staff Friday and to students Wednesday after two holidays.

The strike by about 6,000 public schoolteachers started Monday, marking the city’s first such walkout in nearly 50 years.

The San Francisco Unified School District had closed all 120 of its schools and said it would offer independent study to some of its 50,000 students.

Teachers joined picket lines after last-ditch negotiations failed to reach a new contract. They were demanding higher wages, more health benefits, and more resources for students with special needs.

The union and the district had been negotiating for nearly a year, with teachers demanding fully funded family health care, salary raises and the filling of vacant positions impacting special education and services.

The union asked for a 9% raise over two years, which would mean an additional $92 million per year for the district. They say that money could come from reserve funds that could be directed back to classrooms and school sites.

SFUSD, which faces a $100 million deficit and is under state oversight because of a long-standing financial crisis, rejected the idea. Officials countered with a 6% wage increase paid over three years. Su said the offer also includes bonuses for all employees if there is a surplus by the 2027-28 school year.

A report by a neutral fact-finding panel released last week recommended a compromise of a 6% increase over two years, largely siding with the district’s arguments that it is financially constrained.

The union said San Francisco teachers receive some of the lowest contributions to their health care costs in the Bay Area, pushing many to leave. Su said the district offered two options: the district paying 75% of family health coverage to the insurance provider Kaiser or offering an annual allowance of $24,000 for teachers to choose their health care plan.