San Francisco Chronicle - (Sunday)
S.F. schools hit by teacher shortage, absenteeism
The first day of school typically offers students, teachers and administrators a fresh start, the year ahead full of possibilities and hope.
But as San Francisco’s 49,000 students poured into classrooms for the first day of school Wednesday, the district once again was juggling the ongoing fallout from the pandemic, financial woes, a buginfested payroll system and a teacher shortage, among other challenges.
While it’s difficult to capture the health of an entire school district with a handful of numbers, the Chronicle pulled together some data to give a sense of where San Francisco’s schools stand on a range of issues. even as the readiness rate dropped through the pandemic. The indicator is important in measuring whether students can jump into the kindergarten curriculum or need to catch up, which can set them back academically for the year or years ahead. There is no comparable state statistic.
% READY FOR KINDERGARTEN: 58%
white: 70%
Asian American: 68%
Black: 44%
Latino: 39%
***
was once listed as “Healthy S.F.”
Meeting San Francisco’s health care requirements can be costly, with a restaurant paying an expenditure rate of $2.20 or $3.30 per payable hour per employee, depending on whether it is considered a medium or large business, respectively. These rates go up a few cents every year.
While restaurants can adjust menu prices to help pay for the ordinance, many simply opt to add a surcharge of 4% to 6%. And some restaurants outside of San Francisco, such as Italian spot Mama in Oakland, have independently followed the city’s lead and added a surcharge to pay for health care for employees. Credit card fees: Some restaurants have implemented a low-percentage surcharge to make up for processing fees they must pay when diners use credit cards. The processing fees can vary per card but are often between 2% and 4%. American Express cards and card programs offering rewards often have higher fees. A restaurant can pay as much as $100,000 in credit card transaction fees in a year, as reported by The Chronicle.
Menus at restaurants applying a credit card surcharge will often display prices for cash payments and disclose the charge if you pay with plastic.
Dining for Justice: This 1% surcharge at participating restaurants helps feed folks experiencing homelessness and other vulnerable populations. Oakland nonprofit Community
See how a $50 meal can end up costing more than $70 after all the possible surcharges are added. bit.ly/How SurchargesWork
Kitchens developed the initiative, which rolled out in January. The money collected through the Dining for Justice surcharge is used to serve thousands of meals each month to people living on the streets.
“It’s just a penny for every dollar, but that small change collectively can really make a big impact,” said Community Kitchens executive director and founder Maria Aldrete, adding that participating establishments are projected to bring in $200,000 per year to pay for 20,000 meals.
There are currently 28 restaurants participating in the program — including Native American restaurant Wahpepah’s Kitchen, Temescal hotspot Tacos Oscar and two-Michelin-starred Commis — with several others looking to join in the coming months.
Zero Foodprint: A 1% charge at participating restaurants pays farmers to adopt regenerative farming practices that sequester carbon into the soil. San Francisco nonprofit Zero Foodprint developed the initiative and handles the funds going to soil carbon restoration projects by Restore California, a public-private effort to help move farmers toward climate-beneficial practices. The charge was first rolled out in 2019.
There are about 75 establishments all over California and Colorado participating in this initiative, with many located in the Bay Area. Notable participants include acclaimed San Francisco pasta destination Flour + Water, San Francisco pop-up pioneer Mission Chinese Food and Oakland noodle specialist Ramen Shop.
Zero Foodprint executive director Anthony Myint said carbon sequestering farm practices are among the most effective ways of restoring soils and fighting climate change.
“This kind of work has resulted in 42 farm projects on 5,000 acres and the benefit in terms of carbon coming out of the atmosphere and turning into healthy soil,” he said. “So far, that is equal to not burning about 3 million gallons of gas.”
Takeout container charge: Some restaurants charge small fees for to-go food containers, such as cups and boxes, to comply with waste reduction ordinances, help with their own sustainability goals or to have customers pay for pricey compostable containers. This fee, often 25 cents or 50 cents, may be applied to each piece of packaging on takeout orders.
A ban on plastic containers is coming to Marin County’s unincorporated communities starting November 2023, which follows the Board of Supervisors approving a reusable foodware ordinance in May. Marin County’s rule requires that businesses charge a 25-cent fee on to-go cups to encourage customers to bring their own reusable cups. Berkeley passed an ordinance to force restaurants to charge 25 cents on to-go cups in 2019.
Tax: Then there’s sales tax. This figure changes depending on the city you dine in. In Oakland, it’s 10.25%. In San Francisco, it’s 8.63%. Some restaurants may tax the surcharges as well.