san francisco — San Francisco teachers have reached a tentative agreement with the school district to end their strike, the first such walkout in nearly 50 years.
Schools will open for staff on Friday and for students on Wednesday after two holidays, said Maria Su, superintendent of the San Francisco Unified School District. District officials plan to hold a press conference later Friday to share details of the agreement.
About 6,000 public school teachers began a strike on Monday. The district closed all of its 120 schools and said it would provide independent study for some of its 50,000 students.
Teachers joined picket lines after last-minute negotiations failed to produce a new contract. They were demanding higher wages, more health benefits, and more resources for students with special needs.
The union and district have been negotiating for nearly a year, with teachers demanding fully funded family health care, salary increases and filling vacancies that affect education and special services.
The union requested a 9% raise over two years, which would mean an additional $92 million annually for the district. They say the money could come from reserve funds that could be directed back to classrooms and school sites.
San Francisco Unified District, facing a $100 million deficit and under state oversight due to a long-running financial crisis, has rejected the idea. Officials responded with a 6% pay increase over three years. The offer also includes bonuses for all employees if there is a surplus by the 2027-28 school year, Su said.
A report by an impartial fact-finding commission released last week recommended settling for a 6% increase over two years, largely siding with the district’s arguments that it is financially constrained.
The union said San Francisco teachers receive some of the lowest contributions toward health care costs in the Bay Area, prompting many to leave. Su said the district offered two options: The district would pay 75% of a family’s health coverage to insurance company Kaiser or provide a $24,000 annual allowance for teachers to choose their own health care plan.