School Board to consider plans that would increase inequality in student enrollment

This opinion-leaning piece from a San Francisco news site previews a San Francisco school board meeting on Tuesday the 13th. The board is set to consider proposals that would move the district toward giving families a preference for a school in their own neighborhood. The author says all the proposals would guarantee families some access to a school in a defined neighborhood zone, while access to schools outside that zone would become much more limited.

Today, families rank schools from across the city, with some exceptions, and families from certain neighborhoods get priority. The author cites district data showing 97 percent of families receive one of their choices and 80 percent receive their first choice. The author argues that because neighborhoods remain divided by race and income, a neighborhood-based system would concentrate wealthier families in some schools. He also says those schools can raise large sums through parent fundraising that other schools cannot match. He says well-funded parent groups have pressured the board to adopt such a system.

Two community advocates are cited. One says families in underserved areas should be able to seek better-resourced schools. The other says the board should hold town halls and start over, and that the proposals would be worse than the current system. The author also points to state limits on property taxes and suggests the district could share some PTA-raised money across schools. The meeting begins at 6:30pm at 555 Franklin.