SFUSD STRIKE UPDATE TOO RICH TO CARE
SAN FRANCISCO'S EDUCATION CRISIS PROVES MONEY CAN'T BUY COMMON SENSE
A city where parking spots cost more than teacher healthcare somehow can't afford to educate its children
The Irony Is Killing Us (But Not as Fast as It's Killing Public Education)
Welcome to San Francisco, where a one-bedroom apartment costs more than a small yacht, a cup of coffee requires a small business loan, and apparently, paying the people who educate our children is considered an unreasonable luxury.
Let that sink in for a moment.
We're talking about a city that sits in California—the 4th largest economy in the world. That's right: if California were a country, it would rank just behind Germany in global economic power. We have more billionaires per capita than we have affordable housing units. Tech companies throw money at problems like confetti at a parade. And yet, somehow, somehow, we've collectively decided that properly funding education is just too damn expensive.
The math isn't mathing, San Francisco.
Proposition 13: The Gift That Keeps on Taking
Let's rewind to 1978, when California voters passed Proposition 13, a property tax cap that sounded great in theory ("Lower taxes! Freedom!") but has been quietly strangling public education for nearly five decades.
Before Prop 13, California ranked in the top 10 nationally for per-pupil education spending. Today? We're hovering around 16th place—and that's after recent improvements. When you adjust for California's sky-high cost of living, we plummet even further down the rankings.
Prop 13 shifted school funding from stable local property taxes to the state's volatile income and sales tax revenues. Translation: When the economy booms, schools get champagne. When it busts, they get crumbs. And long-term planning? Forget about it.
This is what happens when neoliberal libertarian policies masquerade as "taxpayer protection" while systematically defunding the very institutions that build a functioning society. It's the fiscal equivalent of eating your seed corn and wondering why next year's harvest failed.
The District Death March: California's Urban Education Apocalypse
San Francisco isn't alone in this slow-motion catastrophe. Nearly every major urban district in California is teetering on the financial edge, held together with duct tape, hope, and the sheer willpower of underpaid educators:
- Los Angeles Unified: The nation's second-largest district, perpetually one budget crisis away from implosion
- Oakland Unified: Already experienced state takeover; still struggling
- Fresno Unified: Serving one of California's poorest regions with threadbare resources
- Long Beach Unified: Fighting to maintain quality despite chronic underfunding
- Sacramento City Unified: The state capital can't even properly fund its own schools
- San Jose Unified: In the heart of Silicon Valley, where tech wealth flows like wine but school budgets run dry
- Santa Ana Unified and Garden Grove Unified: Serving heavily immigrant, working-class communities with minimal support
These aren't failing districts because of bad teachers or lazy students. They're failing because we've systematically starved them of resources while pretending we care about education.
San Francisco: Where Billionaires Thrive and Teachers Strike
Now let's talk about the United Educators of San Francisco (UESF) strike—a labor action that shouldn't need to exist in one of the wealthiest cities on planet Earth.
The San Francisco Unified School District faces a $100 million deficit. Teachers are demanding:
- A 9% raise over two years (the district offers 6% over three years)
- Full healthcare coverage for their families (currently, many pay out-of-pocket costs they can't afford)
- Adequate support for special education students (because apparently, caring for kids with disabilities is negotiable?)
- Reduced class sizes and caseloads (revolutionary concept, right?)
Let's be clear: Teachers aren't asking for Teslas and penthouse apartments. They're asking for the ability to live in the city where they work and afford basic healthcare. You know, the kind of compensation that wouldn't raise an eyebrow in literally any other profession.
Meanwhile, San Francisco's median home price hovers around $1.5 million. A parking spot in some neighborhoods sells for $100,000. But sure, let's nickel-and-dime the people shaping the next generation.
The Privatization Playbook: How Billionaires Are Eating Public Education
Here's where it gets even more infuriating.
While public schools crumble, billionaire-backed charter schools and voucher programs are siphoning public funds into private hands. The Walton Family Foundation, Eli Broad, and Bill Gates have poured hundreds of millions into "education reform"—a euphemism for privatization.
Charter schools sound great in theory: innovation! Choice! Competition! But the reality?
- No significant improvement in student achievement compared to traditional public schools
- Less accountability (because private management means less transparency)
- Higher teacher turnover (because who needs job security?)
- Increased segregation (because "school choice" often means "white flight with extra steps")
And now, California faces a new voucher initiative—the "Children's Educational Opportunity Act"—proposing $17,000 per year per family for private or religious schools. This would repeal California's constitutional ban on public funding for religious institutions and create a two-tiered education system: one for families who can afford to "top up" vouchers, and one for everyone else.
Governor Gavin Newsom, meanwhile, has proposed centralizing control of California's education system under an appointed board—removing power from the elected State Superintendent of Public Instruction. Critics call it unconstitutional. Others call it what it is: a power grab that paves the way for further privatization.
Oh, and Newsom's budget? It withholds $5.6 billion in constitutionally guaranteed school funding. Because nothing says "we value education" like breaking your own laws to avoid paying for it.
The Bottom Line: Strikes Aren't About Greed—They're About Survival
Here's the thing about strikes: they're not about greed. They're about survival.
When teachers in one of the wealthiest cities in the world can't afford to live there, something is fundamentally broken.
UESF isn't asking for champagne wishes and caviar dreams. They're asking for:
- Healthcare (the kind that doesn't require a GoFundMe)
- Fair wages (the kind that cover rent and groceries)
- Resources to do their jobs (like books, supplies, and manageable class sizes)
You know, the basics that every worker deserves.
Support Teachers. Support Students. Support Common Sense.
So yes, support the teachers. Support the students. Because if we can't properly fund education in San Francisco—a city literally overflowing with wealth—then what are we even doing?
The California Teachers Association, parent groups, and community organizations are fighting back against privatization, voucher schemes, and budget cuts. They're demanding transparency, equity, and investment in public education. They're saying what should be obvious: Public education is a public good, not a profit center.
Because the only thing more expensive than paying teachers fairly is the cost of not educating our children.
UPDATE: The Strike Continues
As of this writing:
- Negotiations continue (translation: both sides are still talking, but nothing's resolved)
- Teachers remain on picket lines (because they're not backing down)
- Students remain out of classrooms (over 50,000 kids affected)
- San Francisco remains one of the richest cities in the world that somehow can't figure out how to pay the people shaping its future
Stay tuned for more updates from the city where a parking spot costs more than a teacher's monthly healthcare contribution.
#SupportSFTeachers #UESFStrong #FundOurSchools #IronyIsn'tDead
Because if California—the 4th largest economy in the world—can't afford to educate its kids, then we're not broke. We're just morally bankrupt.
Got thoughts? Outrage? A spare billion dollars lying around? Drop a comment, join a picket line, or call your elected officials. Because this isn't just about San Francisco. It's about whether we actually believe education matters—or if we're just really good at pretending.
S.F. teachers strike, Day 4: Talks continue, national union head drops in Head of national educators’ union, American Federation of Teachers, spends night with labor team https://missionlocal.org/2026/02/sf-teachers-strike-sfusd-schools-day-4-live-updates/
SF Teachers Strike Has No End in Sight as Union, District Spar Over Health Care | KQED https://www.kqed.org/news/12073306/sfusd-teachers-strike-no-end-in-sight-health-care-battle
SF teachers strike day 4: District, union remain at odds | Education | sfexaminer.com https://www.sfexaminer.com/news/education/sf-teachers-strike-day-4-sfusd-uesf-reps-remain-at-odds/article_94b1d56f-56d1-4218-aa03-ed57798c5f5e.html
