The new superintendent for the San Francisco Unified School District was formally appointed on Tuesday, according to city officials.
Maria Su, the head of San Francisco's Department of Children, Youth and their Families, was approved by the San Francisco Board of Education in a 6-1 vote. She will be replacing Matt Wayne, who was ousted on Friday after serving as SFUSD superintendent since July 2022.
Su will work along with Karling Aguilera-Fort, who was picked to be deputy superintendent for the school district. Aguilera-Fort served as superintendent of the Oxnard School District from 2019 to 2023, and El Rancho Unified School District from 2017 to 2019.
Board president Matt Alexander lauded Su in a statement: "Her deep expertise leading teams and running a large government agency is exactly what we need to stabilize our school district."
City officials said Su, who lives in San Francisco with her husband and two sons, will remain a city employee, as the superintendent does not need to be an SFUSD employee.
Under an agreement between the city and the school district, the city will release her from her former obligations to serve as SFUSD superintendent, under the direction of the Board of Education. The deal will be valid through June 2026.
California State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Thurmond has said his office will continue to provide fiscal experts to help SFUSD. A school stabilization team has also begun deploying city staff to support teacher hiring, expediting teacher credentialing, and is conducting a desk audit to improve the district's budget functions, the school district said.
