San Francisco will close schools due to dramatic drops in enrollment

SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) — San Francisco is poised to close some of its public schools in the 2025-2026 school year. The San Francisco Unified School District’s enrollment dropped by 4,000 children within the past decade. Looking forward, student enrollment will continue plummeting, according to data released by district officials on Tuesday.

“Demographic trends, such as declining birth rates, indicate that SFUSD could lose 4,600 additional students by 2032,” district administrators wrote.

The population drop has spread resources thin across school sites. SFUSD has the capacity to serve 14,000 more students than it actually has. Many elementary schools only have enough students to fill one classroom per grade level.

At Tuesday’s school board meeting, Superintendent Matt Wayne will provide an update on the district’s process for developing a “new school portfolio” for the 2025-26 school year, which includes closures, officials said.

A portfolio showing which schools will remain open, close, or merge, will be revealed to the public on September 18, according to SFUSD.

SFUSD created multiple draft scenarios for which schools will remain open and which will close using a composite score for each school as a starting point. Composite scores were calculated based on three criteria: equity, excellence, and effective use of resources.

“We are putting the highest level of care and sensitivity into this process, and SFUSD is one of the only school districts in the country to name equity as a key factor when changing its school portfolio,” Wayne said.

“We know this process will be difficult, but we need to stay focused on creating a district set up for long-term stability where all schools are fully enrolled, fully resourced, and provide every student with a strong and supportive learning environment,” the superintendent said.

SFUSD administrators wrote, “Staffing shortages significantly affect the day-to-day operations of schools. In 2022-23 and at the start of 2023-24, at least 15% of classrooms were staffed by substitute teachers or teachers on special assignment, which is also expected to be the case on the first day of the 2024-25 school year on Aug. 19. When SFUSD has fewer classrooms, the district will have a much better chance of ensuring every classroom has a qualified teacher.”

The board of education will vote to finalize the portfolio plan in December, and the changes will take effect in the 2025-26 school year.

For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to KRON4.