San Francisco Board of Education - Arlene Ackerman Era

Arlene Ackerman Era

Arlene Ackerman arrived in SFUSD in mid-2000 and immediately began cleaning up the financial affairs of a school district marred by fiscal scandal under her predecessor Bill Rojas. Her efforts resulted in arrests of alleged perpetrators who had been looting school-district coffers, as well as the exposure of alleged schemes impacting other school districts nationwide.

But a faction on the school board and in the community—far-left "progressive" and Green Party members—soon became hostile to Superintendent Ackerman.

Her critics claimed that Ackerman had opposed efforts by the City's Youth Commission to address sexual assaults in the public schools and that Ackerman ordered staffers to not talk to the press. Due to her efforts to maintain fiscal discipline in an era of tight finances, Ackerman's relations with the teachers' union, United Educators of San Francisco, became strained.

Ackerman remained popular with community and parent leaders . The San Francisco Chronicle editorialized in support of Ackerman. "Her understated but firm demeanor -- and her focus on the classroom -- is producing results," the Chronicle said in an editorial. "A school superintendent needs all the support he or she can get. What she doesn't need is sniping and second-guessing from elected officials whose job is to set broad policies, not micromanage the superintendent's daily conduct. Tensions between school board members and superintendents come with the territory. But in San Francisco, those tensions had gone far beyond the limits of acceptability. Three board members in particular -- Eric Mar, Sarah Lipson and Mark Sanchez—need to start working with Ackerman, not fighting with her virtually on a daily basis.”

Ackerman won national acclaim for initiatives she implemented in San Francisco's schools, including extra support for low-performing schools; the "weighted student formula," in which funding followed each student in different amounts depending on the student's needs; and "site-based budgeting," which gave schools (as opposed to district bureaucrats) far more control over their own budgets.

Toward the end of her tenure, Ackerman was given a large raise, which became highly controversial in included a salary of $250,000, a $4,000 monthly housing allowance, and a $375,000 severance package, by a 4-3 vote. Ackerman could trigger by quitting whenever she wished, even though it was clear that her days were numbered. Eventually, the Board of Education was sued over the contract. Ackerman stated that the cost of her legal defense would cost the SFUSD more than her severance package was worth.

Ackerman left the district in mid-2006 after six years . Ackerman's interim successor was longtime SFUSD administrator Gwen Chan, who retired rather than pursue the superintendent's post on a permanent basis. Chan, though praised by the Green/Progressive faction, made it clear that she too would have difficulty working with them. Carlos Garcia was hired to replace Chan. Garcia has kept a low profile and has maintained good relations throughout the district, but many in San Francisco continue to resent the Green/Progressive attacks that drove Ackerman out.