PowerPlay: City Hall private school divide

Power Play

Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up here

A person in a red poncho and black earmuffs shouts into a megaphone while surrounded by people, some wearing black beanies with UESF logos.

If San Francisco parents can take one consolation from their days-long scramble for child care, it’s this — they won’t be alone for long.

While the City by the Bay makes headlines for its striking educators, unions in eight other California school districts have voted to approve strikes, including Oakland, Los Angeles, San Diego, Sacramento, and San Bernardino.

So, where is Gov. Gavin Newsom in all this?

Well, Friday he’s flying to Munich with a bevy of heavy-hitter national Democrats, like Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, to court European leaders and upstage President Donald Trump, all while parents back home are tearing their hair out over school closures.

He hasn’t done nothing. Newsom has a major reform in his budget this year to move authority of the California Department of Education under the governor’s office, winnowing the role of the state superintendent and adding $46 million in funding increase for schools. But that's a drop in the bucket compared with SFUSD's needs alone.

When Power Play asked SFUSD boss Maria Su on Tuesday if she’d heard from Newsom or other state leaders on the district’s request for financial support, she said simply, “We have not heard back.” Newsom’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

Despite the radio silence, it seemed the cavalry was on the way Tuesday, when state Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond stepped into negotiations to mediate between the district and union, upstairs in the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center.

There were hopes that Thurmond, who is a gubernatorial candidate, could provide insight into how SFUSD could meet the teachers’ demands while still satisfying state oversight of the district’s dire finances — wiggle room, in other words. And there were whispers among union members picketing the War Memorial that Thurmond was about to take their side in talks and push the district over the hump on the sticking points: salary increases, fully funded dependent healthcare, and special-education staffing.

Instead, insiders tell us, Thurmond reaffirmed that SFUSD has to make “financially responsive” offers. And he was out of the War Memorial almost as quickly as he arrived.

On Wednesday morning, Wu was diplomatic, saying, “State Superintendent Tony Thurmond said to both parties, ‘Get this done.’” Asked if he offered specific help, Su shook her head. Thurmond’s office did not respond to a request for comment.

It looks like each California school district will need to deal with labor issues on its own — without the governor or a state education honcho to back them up.

— Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez and Gabe Greschler

Got tips? Send to us at powerplay@sfstandard.com.

In the Pipeline

A group of people walk on a wet city sidewalk near a domed building, some wearing raincoats and holding signs, with reflections visible in puddles.

GOING PRIVATE: We all know SFUSD does not have the best reputation, but city leaders have never shied away from expressing their support for teachers and public schools.

But no matter how publicly supportive they may be, their decision on where to send their children speaks volumes.

Start with Superintendent Su, who identified herself as a “former SFUSD parent” in her inaugural press release in 2024 but rarely discusses the details of that title. In a 2025 interview with KALW, Su said her two sons attended SFUSD elementary and middle schools in the Ingleside area, “and then for high school, we chose a different route.” Sources say Su's older son graduated from a local private high school, where the younger son is currently enrolled.

Mayor Daniel Lurie, heir to the Levi Strauss fortune, went to private schools, and his two children attend private schools in the city.

Of the 11 members of the Board of Supervisors, only three are parents of school-age children: Connie Chan, Stephen Sherrill, and Chyanne Chen. Of those, only Chen is an SFUSD parent.

Chan’s son is in private school, but she emphasizes that she’s “a proud graduate of Galileo High School,” and her son attended Lafayette Elementary School. Sherrill said he’s “currently navigating the kindergarten process for the first time and looking at all available options."

The children of Supervisors Myrna Melgar and Shamann Walton graduated from SFUSD schools. Supervisor Danny Sauter has a newborn, and the remaining supervisors do not have children.

Power Play is taking classroom attendance for other SF politicos’ children; we’ll share more of our findings in a future email.

— Han Li and Joe Fitzgerald Rodriguez

BIG MONEY: A new independent expenditure committee linked to Lurie’s web of well-heeled donors could bring in lots of dough to this year’s supervisor candidates and ballot measures. “SF Believes,” filed Feb. 5, is being run by the same people behind the “Believe in SF, Lurie for Mayor 2024” committee that brought in $6.7 million from contributors like the mayor’s mother, Miriam Haas, and former WhatsApp CEO Jan Koum.

SF Believes was registered by Lurie’s pal Alec Perkins, CEO of Hunter Capital Management and a board member of the mayor’s Tipping Point Community, along with Adam Clammer, founder of True Wind Capital. It is also getting help from the consultancy and communications firm The Media Company and its veteran consultant Dan Newman, who worked on Lurie’s 2024 committee.

“San Francisco has made remarkable progress over the past year, and this past [Super Bowl] weekend was a powerful reminder of the energy and optimism people are feeling about the city,” said Emily Matthews, a spokesperson for The Media Company. “SF Believes is focused on building on that momentum by supporting initiatives and candidates that sustain San Francisco’s success.”

No donors or expenses have been filed yet, but the committee will be supporting Lurie’s allies and initiatives, which could include initiatives like the Muni parcel tax measure.

— G.G.

PG&E HEARING: Considering the anger toward Pacific Gas & Electric during December’s blackouts, a hearing Thursday in front of the Board of Supervisors’ public safety committee could get highly charged.

The committee has summoned PG&E CEO Sumeet Singh, Senior VP and Chief Customer Officer Vincent Davis, and Bay Area local government affairs manager Sarah Chavez-Yoell.

“PG&E looks forward to sharing with the Board of Supervisors information about the Mission Substation outage in December as well as the progress we're making operationally and in improving our communication with customers and officials,” the company said in a statement.

The committee will be asking how the failure of one of the utility’s substations caused a daylong blackout in large swaths of the city, about coordination between the company and emergency services, and about why some neighborhoods got power back and others didn't and what PG&E is doing to prevent another incident, according to Supervisor Bilal Mahmood.

“The priority is accountability,” he said. “Understanding their context on what went wrong during the blackout.”

— G.G.

YOU FAILED: The Democratic Socialists of America’s San Francisco chapter just released a report card on the city’s 11 supervisors — and it’s brutal.

The DSA laid out 20 key issues and compared how each supervisor voted, blasting the “moderate supermajority” for backing what they view as increased mayoral power, corporate interests, and punitive responses to social crises over the needs of working-class residents.

Not surprisingly, outspoken progressive Supervisor Jackie Fielder got an A. The only issue in which she broke with the DSA was in backing Lurie’s fentanyl state of emergency. Walton got a B after voting to support the mayor’s budget.

Chan, often seen as unapologetically progressive, earned a C. She’s at odds with the DSA on multiple issues, including the police budget. Chen also received a C, and Melgar got a D. The other five supervisors, generally considered more moderate, all received Fs. Supervisor Alan Wong was not rated because he doesn’t have a full year of voting records.

Chan, who is running for Congress, released a statement through her campaign striking a conciliatory tone.

“We look forward to continuing to work with DSA-SF to support working people in our city,” said campaign spokesperson Julie Edwards. “Connie understands San Franciscans won't agree 100% of the time and she values open-dialogue with the community.”

— H.L.