Budget

Protecting the progress we've made — and finishing the job together

"I am proud of the hard work Superintendent Su, Board President Phil Kim, and the current Board have done to pull SFUSD back from the brink. I bring deep, hands-on experience inside SFUSD's own finances and facilities, a collaborative spirit, and a genuine commitment to helping our schools, teachers, and students succeed. I have the vision and I am ready."
— Laurance Lee

The Reality in 2026

Just two years ago SFUSD faced insolvency and possible state takeover. Today, thanks to Superintendent Maria Su, Board President Phil Kim, the current Board, and the clear-eyed guidance of FCMAT CEO Michael H. Fine and his team, we have:

  • Reduced annual spending by roughly $114 million
  • Moved toward positive budget certification
  • Adopted a $1.36 billion budget for 2026-27 that is essentially balanced in the near term

These are meaningful achievements. I want to build on them.

At the same time, the budget passed on 4-3 and 5-2 votes. That narrow margin shows how fragile the gains remain. One vote can determine whether we keep moving forward or slide backward. I am prepared to help keep us on the path of stability and continuous improvement.

Paying Teachers More — and On Time

I strongly support paying our teachers more and making sure they are paid accurately and on time. Educators are the heart of our schools. We still have work to do — from fixing lingering payroll and benefits systems to ensuring competitive total compensation that helps us recruit and retain the excellent teachers our students deserve. A stable, transparent budget is the foundation that makes higher, reliable pay possible.

Learning from Districts That Have Turned Around

Other California districts show what sustained focus and fiscal discipline can achieve:

  • Long Beach Unified consistently earns the highest possible ratings from independent auditors and has been recognized as a "positive outlier" where students of all backgrounds outperform similar peers.
  • Santa Barbara Unified cut its structural deficit by more than half in the 2026-27 budget while protecting investments in literacy, math, and mental health.
  • Inglewood Unified, after 14 years of state receivership, recently cleared a critical FCMAT audit and is on the path to returning full local control.

The Work Still Ahead

We still face real pressures: rising retirement costs, Special Education growth, enrollment decline, and a projected return to deficit around $26 million by 2028-29 if the QTEA parcel tax is not renewed.

I see the human impact every week when I volunteer in a kindergarten classroom at Drew Elementary. When schools lack staff to make basic outreach calls to chronically absent families, kids lose learning time and the district loses funding.

We must both use our money better and invest more in the things that drive student success: stronger literacy and math outcomes, and dramatically reducing chronic absenteeism. This year's budget still did not give a clear picture of how we will specifically resource those two critical areas. Those investments must be explicit, measurable, and protected.

Maintenance remains critically underfunded. The district has identified roughly $1.7 billion in near-term repair and renewal needs. At Galileo Academy, HVAC, electrical, and windows have long been deficient. At Buena Vista Horace Mann, years of falling ceilings, electrical hazards, gas leaks, and soil contamination forced emergency work and a full modernization that is only now underway. No student should learn in those conditions.

Per-student spending varies widely. District data has shown elementary school allocations ranging from roughly $7,200 to more than $23,800 per student — a gap of over $16,000. Some of this reflects intentional equity investments; some reflects the high cost of small schools and layered restricted funds. Families deserve a clear explanation of these differences.

Smart use of real estate can help. SFUSD already generates strong revenue from existing leases — one clear example is the former Harrison School site at 1440 Harrison Street, long leased to the City's Human Services Agency and producing several million dollars a year in rent. With careful, student-first planning, we can responsibly explore additional opportunities from underused properties to generate more recurring revenue for classrooms.

We should also grow enrollment by expanding and creating new schools and programs that families actually want — high-demand language pathways, strong dual-language immersion, career-technical options, and other programs that attract and retain students. Growing enrollment is one of the most powerful ways to strengthen the district's long-term fiscal health.

Making the Numbers Clearer

The current public dashboards are a start, but families and Board members still struggle to see true per-student funding, the cost of vacancies and contracts, one-time vs. ongoing dollars, and the real multi-year impact of the 2028 parcel tax. Years ago the district began a zero-based budgeting effort; I want to help finish that good work so every dollar is justified and transparent.

Why I Am Ready

I have spent years inside SFUSD's financial and facilities systems as an active member and Vice Chair of the Citizens' Bond Oversight Committee — helping restore the committee when it had lapsed, demanding timely audits, scrutinizing hundreds of millions in bond spending, and pushing for better project controls and on-time, on-budget delivery.

I also show up in the schools: weekly classroom volunteering, supporting the SF Education Fund as a volunteer, and funding classroom projects at multiple schools through DonorsChoose. That combination of deep fiscal oversight and direct school-level involvement is what I will bring to the Board.

My Commitments

  • Protect and build on the fiscal progress already made
  • Support paying teachers more and on time
  • Deliver clearer, more usable budget transparency
  • Champion a strong parcel tax renewal in 2028
  • Use our money better and invest more in literacy, math, and reducing chronic absenteeism
  • Grow enrollment with new and expanded high-demand schools and programs
  • Push for adequate maintenance so no school is left with deferred repairs
  • Explore responsible revenue from underused real estate
  • Make sure high-need schools have the staff they need
  • Work respectfully and constructively with the Superintendent, Board colleagues, labor partners, and families

I have the vision for a stable, transparent, student-and-teacher-centered budget — and I am ready to help deliver it.

Citations & Sources

  • SFUSD 2026-27 Adopted Budget — BoardDocs
  • SF Standard, June 26, 2026 (narrow votes) — sfstandard.com
  • FCMAT / Michael H. Fine — fcmat.org
  • $1.7 billion facilities needs — SF Standard
  • Galileo & Buena Vista Horace Mann conditions — SFUSD Facilities Master Plan and contemporaneous reporting
  • Per-student allocation range ($7,225–$23,815 elementary) — SFUSD Resource Alignment presentation (BoardDocs, 2023)
  • 1440 Harrison Street lease to City Human Services Agency — San Francisco Board of Supervisors resolutions and public lease records
  • Long Beach, Santa Barbara, Inglewood turnaround examples — district and independent audit reporting
  • Laurance Lee CBOC record, classroom volunteering, EdFund support, and DonorsChoose projects — public record and campaign materials

Contact me