San Francisco’s school board unanimously voted for Dr. Maria Su to become the Permanent Superintendent of SFUSD at its regular meeting last night.
Su has been in the role on a temporary basis for a year. Before that, she led the city’s Department of Children, Youth and Families.
In her comment, Commissioner Supryia Ray pointed to criticism that this vote was added to to the agenda last minute. " There really hasn't been an opportunity for the public to weigh in on this decision," she said.
Su's supporters say she has provided needed stability to a district in crisis, a point board members referenced repeatedly in their comments.
But she has faced criticism for lacking education experience, including from the teacher’s union.
" I feel it's really irresponsible to have the seventh largest school district in the state be run by a non-educator," said the union's president, Cassondra Curiel.
San Francisco Unified is actually the sixth largest in the state.
In order to appoint Su, the board had to waive a rule requiring that the superintendent have an education credential.
Her new contract notes that this decision was made because Su has been in the role since October 2024 and "has provided effective service to the District and is familiar with all aspects of the District’s operations."
In an email to KALW, Su acknowledged that she’s taken a different path than many superintendents and said, “If we want better outcomes for our students, we have to be willing to do some things differently.”
The new two-year contract extends Su’s current salary of $385,000, with a two percent bump next year.
