Focus on Funding, Not Closures
This author argues that following SFUSD’s $183 million contract, the only realistic move to pay for these costs are school closures, arguing that schools are “inanimate objects”
A school is not simply just a building. It’s a classrooms where students feel safe, teachers who know their kids well, and staff who hold everything together. When a school closes, students don’t just switch addresses; they lose routines, relationships, programs, and stability.
School Closures hit working class neighborhoods and communities of color the hardest. Families with the busiest schedules are the ones asked to travel farther, adjust work schedules, and absorb the disruption. Receiving schools often become more crowded and support systems become stretched thin.
We shouldn’t have to choose between paying teachers what they deserve and keeping neighborhood schools open. If the city can support billionaires and luxury developments, we can figure out how to support stable public schools.
Ethan Swope/For the S.F. Chronicle
S.F. teachers like me have a new contract. Some schools will need to close to pay for it
By John Lisovsky | February 19th, 2026 | San Francisco Chronicle
