Meet the District 2 candidates: How should SFUSD students be assigned to schools?

Welcome back to our “Meet the Candidates” series, where District 2 supervisor candidates respond to a question in 100 words or fewer. Answers are published every Tuesday.

District 2 covers neighborhoods in the north of the city including the Presidio, the Marina, Cow Hollow, Pacific Heights, Presidio Heights, Anza Vista and portions of the Western Addition and North of the Panhandle.

Every year, confused parents of children entering San Francisco’s public schools have to confront the lottery. 

The system is theoretically simple. Parents provide a ranked list of their top choice San Francisco Unified School District picks by late January. SFUSD runs a lottery, and a few months later the district tells parents where their kid is assigned. 

But parents hate it. 

Making the list of schools is time consuming and the wait is anxiety-inducing, parents say. Plus, the results can be disappointing — an assignment to a school they didn’t want, or one with a start or end time that is impossible to coordinate around work schedules. 

So why have a lottery system? The lottery started in 2002 after a court case that prohibited the district from considering race when making school assignments. But SFUSD didn’t want to simply send students to their nearest school, which would result in schools segregated by class and race, mirroring the city itself. So, it started using a lottery. 

In the end, though, SFUSD data showed that the lottery system exacerbated inequality in the school system.

So, in 2020, SFUSD’s Board of Education voted to move San Francisco back to a zone-based system of school assignments. The hope was that the new zone system would lead to more predictability, students enrolled in schools closer to home, and more diverse classrooms. 

In reality, figuring out how to divide the city into zones that allow for all three of those factors — predictability, proximity, and diversity — is a tall order. Though the new zones were supposed to be implemented by the 2026-2027 school year, there is no current proposal for what the zones would look like and no timeline for SFUSD switching over. 

This week’s question: How should SFUSD students be assigned to schools?

When assigning schools to students, SFUSD should prioritize accessibility, strong education and ensure schools across the city are equally resourced. 

I have heard complaints from many parents that they would like the option to walk their kids to school and not have to send them an hour across the city every day. 

We can improve the selection process to ensure that students can choose a school in their neighborhood. Limiting travel time will also give kids one less thing to worry about and ensure that they are more focused on their education. 

See Brooke’s full response here.

Endorsed by: Former District 2 Supervisor Michela Alioto-Pier, former State Senator and Supervisor Quentin Kopp, UESF, CA Working Families Party … read more here.

Stephen Sherrill

• Job: Appointed District 2 Supervisor
• Age: 39
• Residency: Homeowner, moved to the district 11 years ago
• Transportation: Driving, public transportation, biking
• Education: Bachelor’s degree from Yale University
• Languages: English

SFUSD should move to a simpler, more neighborhood-based assignment system. Families deserve a fair chance to attend a school closer to home, without a confusing citywide lottery or long commutes. 

Assignment reform also has to be matched by a serious focus on school quality. In a district facing budget cuts and hard decisions about its footprint, resources should be concentrated so neighborhood schools can offer students the staffing, support, and academic programs they need. While the Board of Supervisors does not control SFUSD policy, I will continue to use this office to advocate for that approach.

See Sherrill’s full response here.

Endorsed by: Mayor Daniel Lurie, GrowSF, Nor Cal Carpenters Union, San Francisco Police Officers Association, SF YIMBY, Northern Neighbors … read more here.

Candidates are ordered alphabetically and rotated each week. Answers may be lightly edited for formatting, spelling, and grammar. If you have questions for the candidates, please let us know at io@missionlocal.com. 

You can register to vote via the sf.gov website.