Eleven high schools in San Francisco are expected to lose 54 percent of their funding for after-school programs next year, according to a letter sent to the school district’s Board of Commissioners by a collection of community groups.
In total, the after-school programs would lose $729,774. This comes after the district cut funding for after-school programs at schools that did not qualify for state funding by 54 percent, to $611,526, for the 2023-2024 school year.
And the cuts may be due, in part, to the state undercounting needy students: State funding for after-school programs is contingent on the number of students receiving free and reduced school lunch, but San Francisco provides all students with free lunch.
“The challenge then becomes that families don’t have the motivation or the incentive to fill out the free and reduced lunch paperwork at many many school sites,” said Eddie Kaufman, the chief executive of Mission Graduates, a nonprofit focused on college readiness and after school programming at Mission High School and June Jordan. “The numbers are lower than what they would really be.”
When these numbers are off, students lose out on potential state funding.
School district data seems to bear this out: In six of the 11 high schools expecting cuts, submissions for the federal free lunch forms decreased, compared to last year — albeit by less than 10 percent. In four of the schools, submissions actually increased.
The school district, for its part, said it was working with schools to mitigate cuts and access other funding sources.
“SFUSD is working closely with school sites to lessen the fiscal impact of declining enrollment, including having eligible schools apply for restricted funding in order to preserve continuity in service provision for students who are furthest from access,” said Hong Mei, a school district spokesperson.
In a district with an operating budget of roughly $1.1 billion, the groups providing after-school programs are advocating that total funding be reinstated.
“I think we will be taking a pretty large hit,” said Bishoy Abdelshaid, director of high school programs for the Richmond Neighborhood Center. “It will be devastating in many ways, because it limits the depth of our programs, limits the reach of young people we can actually reach out to.”
Students participate in clubs, receive tutoring, and join affinity groups like Black Students Union and Gender Sexuality Alliance through after-school programs; at Mission High School, two-thirds of students are involved in the Mission Graduates after-school program.
The programs are typically funded through the California Department of Education’s ASSETS funds, according to Michelle Cusano, executive director of the Richmond center, which provides after-school programs at George Washington High School and Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School.
School districts across the state compete with one another for funds, with a preference for school districts with higher proportions of students who qualify for free and reduced lunch, added Kaufman.
In past years, schools that did not receive state money were funded via the school district, according to Cusano. She and Kaufman both expressed shock at this year’s change when their school sites did not receive their expected “backfill” funding this year, generally funding from another source. Mission High has been a backfill school for at least four years.
Still, program leaders are shocked at the lack of financial support by the district, adding that after-school programs were already struggling last year, before cuts. If anything, Kaufman added, Mission Graduates had hoped for more funding, since state funds currently go largely to staffing costs. Cusano said the Richmond Center was also already scrambling to fully fund their programs.
“I think losing this funding could really decimate our after-school programs at those two high schools,” Kaufman said, referring to Mission High School and June Jordan School for Equity. “We wouldn’t have the funding to fund teachers, to provide those clubs or those affinity groups … we wouldn’t have the resources to run Mission High’s student government and we wouldn’t have the resources to run school-wide events.”
In the meantime, Kaufman has tried to keep the conversation around the funding cuts away from the schools themselves. He said it would be too demoralizing for his staff to hear that the district will no longer fund their work.
“This is where it is hard to say that you’re equity-focused, when you’re cutting programs that are primarily serving low-income families and families of color, and that’s what the afterschool programs do,” Kaufman said. “So I think that this is an example of making a decision where they aren’t looking at the equity implications, and we want to make them aware of.”
For many of those who work in these after-school programs, the work is not just a job. Wilber Ramirez, Mission Graduates’ college and career program manager at Mission High, was the first in his family to go to college and graduated from June Jordan. He said he relates to his students’ journeys beyond the 9 to 5.
“This is personal; it is more than just a job,” Ramirez said. “I go home, I still think about my kids, I go on vacation, I’m still thinking about whether they’re completing their financial aid application.”
Still, both Mission Graduates and the Richmond Center are hopeful that funding will be restored once the district commissioners understand the impact these programs can have on students. Due to how small an amount they are asking for, when compared with the district’s total budget, Kaufman thinks the funding gap can be filled.
“It will be very hard this coming year I think,” Abdelshaid said. “How do we keep our staff afloat? How do we keep our young people experiencing our programs and experiencing joy? Realistically, it is really hard when we don’t have the funding to do so.”
The schools where after-school budgets will be cut: Abraham Lincoln High School, Balboa High School, Galileo Academy High School, George Washington High School, Ida B. Wells High School, Independence High School, June Jordan School for Equity, Mission High School, Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School, The Academy San Francisco at McAteer and Thurgood Marshall High School.
Yet another problem that could have been avoided if only folks would, y’know, enact the most obvious solution: Tax. The. Rich. Not only does SF have more billionaires than a sweater has loose threads, but they pay less in taxes than I pay for monthly BART fare.
Taxing the rich at 90+ % is what made 🇺🇸 flush with cash during the 1950s – and that was under Eisenhower, a Republican (https://www.taxpolicycenter.org/statistics/historical-highest-marginal-income-tax-rates ) But London Greed would never enact such an obvious policy that goes against her libertarian instincts and insults her rich donors.
Mission High School is where I went to school. The people taught me a lot. The students deserve better. After school 🎒 programs are important!! Kids need something to do after school. Don’t do that to those kids 🤬
I don’t understand why the focus of the article is on everyone complaining about loss of funds when this could have been prevented by administrators mandating that families don’t receive the free lunch program until they fill out the form that ensures the district receives state funding. SFUSD incompetence is on full display and it gets glossed over yet again.
Mission Graduates is wonderful. Note that central office budget and not one 6-figure salaried position has been cut. How many Asst. Sup. of Blah Blah do we need? But let’s kill the after school programs. This district needs to be audited by state and potentially taken over.
Hi! Would you edit please to include the full list of schools? Thanks!
We’ve added this: Abraham Lincoln High School, Balboa High School, Galileo Academy High School, George Washington High School, Ida B. Wells High School, Independence High School, June Jordan School for Equity, Mission High School, Raoul Wallenberg Traditional High School, The Academy San Francisco at McAteer, and
Thurgood Marshall High School.
I want to know too:)
Annie: Good suggestion. We will add. Thank you, lc
The SFUSD school board made a settlement behind closed doors with a massive tobacco company last December.
WHERE IS THE MONEY?