S.F. schools chief decides to stay on job
San Francisco schools Superintendent Vince Matthews plans to remain on the job for another year, rescinding his retirement announcement as the embattled school district navigates a series of crises.
His decision, announced Monday, offers the school board a reprieve from managing a superintendent search amid reopening classrooms for the first time in a year while dealing with upheaval, controversies and chaos.
The school district has struggled to reopen schools while facing an uproar over racist tweets from a school board member who in turn filed an $87 million lawsuit against the district and five colleagues over the issue; a recall of three school board members; a pending legal fight over changing the admissions process to Lowell High School, and a lawsuit over the board’s vote to rename 44 schools. The board is expected to reverse the renaming Tuesday with another vote.
If the board began a search for an experienced urban superintendent right now, its choices might be slim,
said Dan Domenech, executive director of the School Superintendents Association.
“Right now, with everything the way it is, everything going on, (the job) would not be desirable,” Domenech said.
A qualified candidate with a record of success would likely look at the job posting and think: “No, I don’t need that,” he added. “A year from now, with things being better, then I think the job will definitely be more attractive.”
Matthews submitted his resignation just under a month ago, saying he would retire at the end of the school year and that he wanted to give the school board the opportunity to pick a new superintendent “who is aligned with their approach.”
The announcement was a subtle acknowledgment that Matthews had repeatedly tangled with the school board, including a denial of his request in June to hire a reopening consultant. More recently, after months of public sessions on reopening, the elected officials have offered conflicting feedback on which students in upper grades they would like to see return for inperson learning before summer.
The board also fired administrators supported by Matthews, including Brent Stephens, who is now the superintendent in Berkeley.
Then last week, board member Alison Collins filed a lawsuit against the district and her fellow board members over their decision to strip her of the vice presidency and her positions on committees over racist tweets she posted in 2016 against Asian Americans.
In a surprise twist, Matthews announced early Monday he would stay in the job for another year.
“The Board of Education has since asked me to delay my retirement and I have agreed to remain with SFUSD for another year, until June 30, 2022,” he said in a social media post. “SFUSD needs stability and focus at this time. I am dedicated to supporting all of our SFUSD community as we navigate the many challenges and opportunities that lay ahead in the coming year.”
The board, which has repeatedly listed equity and fighting racism among its top priorities, would likely look for an experienced superintendent with a background in an urban district to replace Matthews, despite a dearth of diverse superintendents across the country.
Less than 9% of superintendents nationwide in 2020 identified as Black, Latino or a person of color, according to the School Superintendents Association.
The candidate pool could be even smaller in the coming months, Domenech said.
“It is tough out there, and superintendents are being knocked around left and right to the point where we’re seeing significant retirements and resignations this year over previous years,” he said.
Keeping Matthews in place provides muchneeded stability, continuity and leadership, said Supervisor Matt Haney, a former school board member.
“The school district is facing unprecedented challenges and chaos and division at the board; now isn’t an ideal time at all to go through the hard, highstakes process of choosing a new leader,” Haney said. “Choosing a new superintendent right now would have been obviously very challenging. Vince staying another year is definitely good news.”
In San Francisco, the district faces a significant budget deficit, estimated at $100 million next year, although federal and state pandemic funding could help offset that in the short term. But the city’s public schools also face a loss of enrollment as families have left for private schools or nearby public districts that have reopened, which could mean a loss of state funding in future years.
San Francisco Unified, with 52,000 students, is among the last urban districts to reopen in the state and the country, with schools set to reopen on April 12.
“Right now, it’s time for the San Francisco school board to focus,” said board President Gabriela López, in a statement announcing Matthews’ decision to stay. “It’s still our goal to get all of our students back to inperson learning, and stabilize our budget as soon as possible. Far from shying away from this challenge, we are ready to do this.”
Mayor London Breed recently addressed the possible difficulty in filling the superintendent position given the upheaval.
“The problem we have is the leadership, and when I say the leadership (I mean) the elected members of the school board,” she said during a recent news conference. “Things have become way too political. And even though people may have an intention of wanting to help our kids and support our educators, the fact is not everyone understands how to do that. So from my perspective, if you don’t know what you’re doing, you should step aside, or at least bring in the right consultants or people which the city has offered on numerous occasions to help support you in your efforts.”
Matthews will retain his current salary of $329,000, district officials said.
In the meantime, it could take a year to select a new superintendent, López said. With Matthews staying on the job, the board will not have to select an interim chief while it conducts a search.
The district needs stability, she said.
“While I understood his desire (to retire), his commitment to the wellbeing of our young people has shone through,” López said. “He is best positioned to get all our students back to inperson learning.”