Dear Editor,

Six years ago, the Board of Education voted to change how San Francisco assigns children to elementary schools. Families are still waiting.

The San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) now says a new system should be operating for the 2028–29 school year. That gives us time to get it right, but not another six years to debate it.

The goal should be simple: more families should be able to attend a good public school close to home, while preserving meaningful choices like language immersion and specialized programs.

Today, about 90% of families who receive their first-choice school enroll in SFUSD. Among families who don’t, only about 67% do. That tells us choice matters.

But predictability matters too. Families should not have to study an enrollment algorithm to figure out where their five-year-old might go to school.

The hard part is that San Francisco’s neighborhoods are different. Some have more students than nearby schools can accommodate. Others have schools with empty seats because families are choosing elsewhere. And specialized programs draw families from across the City.

Changing the assignment map won’t solve those problems by itself. A zone is only useful if the schools inside it are schools families actually want to choose.

Before adopting a new system, SFUSD should publish proposed maps, explain the tradeoffs, show families how their choices would change and set a firm date for a public decision. Families should have enough time to understand the system before it affects their children.

The question isn’t whether San Francisco should have neighborhood schools or school choice.

It’s whether we can build a system that gives families more of both.

Sincerely,

Laurance Lee
Candidate, San Francisco Board of Education
SFUSD graduate, Argonne, Presidio and Lowell