Tentative $183 million deal reached to end historic San Francisco teachers' strike

SAN FRANCISCO (KGO) -- The first San Francisco teachers' strike in 47 years, which has closed schools for days, is ending. SFUSD and the teachers' union reached a tentative deal early Friday morning.

SFUSD and the United Educators of San Francisco agreed to a tentative $183 million deal around 5:30 a.m. after a 13-hour negotiation session. This comes after the union and district worked for 11 months on a contract, leading to the four-day strike that began Monday.

Schools will remain closed on Friday and on Monday and Tuesday for President's Day and Lunar New Year holidays. Schools are set to reopen on Wednesday.

"It's a historic victory," said Natalie Hrizi with the United Educators of San Francisco.

The agreement increases educators' salaries and health care benefits in a two-year contract.

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The deal means classified employees, like non-teaching staff and paraeducators, will get an 8.5% pay increase over two years. Certificated employees, like teachers, will get a 2% raise this year and next, along with additional paid workdays, equaling a 5% raise.

It also provides fully funded family health care starting in 2027, a change the union is calling a "historic victory."

"By forcing SFUSD to invest in fully funded family health care, special education workloads, improved wages, sanctuary and housing protections for San Francisco families, we've made important progress towards the schools our students deserve," said UESF President Cassondra Curiel. "This contract is a strong foundation for us to continue to build the safe and stable learning environments our students deserve."

"Whether you are medically single -- or you have one dependent or two dependents -- that monthly premium that you are used to paying up to $780 dollars for someone with one dependent. For example, a single mom, a K-12 teacher or someone with two dependents, who typically pays up to $1,500 a month. That is 100% covered starting in January," said Kunal Modi, SF chief of Health and Human Services.

Workers are also giving up their sabbaticals for one year to help reach this agreement.

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Curiel said she is happy with the deal, and teachers would not sign a deal that they did not believe in.

District Superintendent Dr. Maria Su also praised the deal on Friday.

"This agreement will help us recruit talented educators to work in San Francisco in our public schools, and it will help us retain our dedicated staff," Su said.

San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie said he worked closely with both sides, bringing in city staff and experts to help find a middle ground.

"Our educators deserve to be treated well, and they should be proud of this contract. It's a good day in San Francisco," Lurie said.

The question that remains: would this new deal lead to cuts like layoffs and school closures? The union believes the district can increase revenue without making cuts and has said that it will fight again if there are cuts.

The school district is facing a $100 million budget deficit and will have to tap into $111 million dollars in reserves to cover the cost of the $183 million deal. Su said that will cover the first two years.
"We wanted to dedicate those dollars for situation of great emergency. And through this process, after consulting with the board, we agreed and should be able to dip into Fund 17, which is the reserve to help pay for this tentative agreement," Su said.

Parents and other community members are feeling a huge sense of relief.

"We're so grateful to see that the teachers are going to get the raise, the benefits that they've been pushing for, that they so deserve," said Meredith Dodson, executive director of the SF Parent Coalition. "Families are relieved to see that the strike is over, and that kids can return to school on Wednesday."

Moving forward, one thing all sides agree on is that they'd like to see more state funding pour into the district.

This is something Su has said she's working on.

"I have joined superintendents across the state, and UESF has joined unions across the state," she said. "We all need to come together now and go to Sacramento together to make sure that we advocate for the funding that our schools, our students need and deserve."

Lurie released a statement, saying in part:
"I know how deeply everyone cares about our students and educators. We all share a commitment to providing an excellent education to every single SFUSD student. And as San Francisco becomes increasingly out of reach for so many, we all understand that it is absolutely essential that our educators and their families feel truly supported. We should all be proud of how we've done that in this agreement."

Lurie hopes this deal builds trust between the unified school district and the teachers' union.

Stay with ABC7 News for updates on this developing story.