The San Francisco Unified School District has made a plan for massive cuts in order to prevent a state takeover concerning their shortcoming of $125,000,000. Declining enrollment is the root to this situation and working families and students may feel the extent of the reproach.

According to the SF Chronicle and KTVU, in the last two years $35,000,000 was lost in income with 3,500 students departing from the district. This means SFUSD is losing approximately $10,000 per student, with plans outlining cuts to staffing in special education and multilingual programs, math class sizes, peer resources, and social emotional support.

Charle Chu ’24, a former Lowell student, said, “There definitely were students who needed special attention and didn’t get it.” If students are already lacking in attention, textbooks, classroom size, and more, then what are conditions expected to look like after the cuts? Also, it is crucial to keep in mind that Lowell is a top rated public school. 

Donald Hodges, who spoke with California Globe stated, “Cuts hurt. They always do. But they just got too big and didn’t think about retraction. They forgot to budget correctly. Now they’re paying for it” when speaking in regard to the school district. 

Companies and wealth leaving the city of San Francisco can also be attributed to the massive missing of the mark. As taxes rose and the COVID 19 pandemic hit, many people started to leave. Of course the camaraderie and diversity of everyone is missed, but truly this school district will feel the loss of not being able to retrieve their income and funds. 

Chu later added, “Students weren’t valued as individuals as much, but rather more of an obligation. Teachers were a lot less likely to ask students about their daily life, they were overall less engaged with the students.”

Some parents agreed, saying that instead of being cared for as individuals, it seems students are valued as the $10,000 they bring into the school budget. 

Upcoming on Feb. 15 of 2022, the school board will also be facing a recall election. Recall supporters are angry that schools were closed for almost a year during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the board was focusing on renaming schools instead of opening them for instruction. 

SFUSD seems to be in a deep hole, and one they will have a difficult time getting out of. Students, parents, and teachers are hoping for a positive change for the true betterment of the students, not just for financial support.