San Francisco School Board Election Features Financial Divide

San Francisco’s upcoming November election for the Board of Education features a sharp financial divide, with tech-backed political committee GrowSF holding over $1 million in available campaign funds while the teachers union enters the race with significantly fewer resources. The upcoming contest pits rival slates against one another as outside spending and organized labor vie for influence over the city’s schools.

Financial Disparity and Slates in the Race

As Mission Local reports, the November election features three candidates backed by GrowSF, three rival candidates selected by the San Francisco teachers union, and another slate from the San Francisco Parent Coalition that includes two of GrowSF’s choices, alongside one candidate not affiliated with any slate. San Francisco educators union president Cassondra Curiel noted that the union faces heavy spending from opponents, pointing to messaging supporting candidates backed by GrowSF. Union political committees held approximately $191,000 in the bank at the close of June. Curiel said she could not turn on her television without seeing ads, quoting a sponsored message stating, Mayor Lurie and SF Parents Action rely on Phil Kim to direct our schools.

In contrast, GrowSF began the election season with slightly over $1 million in the bank as of June 30, according to the most recent available reports, though the group intends to spend across multiple contests. Steven Buss Bacio, co-director of GrowSF, stated that his group would spend even more in the November contest than the roughly $220,000 it spent to help elect Phil Kim in June.

GrowSF Endorses Three Candidates for November Election

GrowSF has endorsed three candidates among the eight competing in November: current Board of Education President Phil Kim, who was appointed in 2024 and serves as a deputy director at the San Francisco Agency for Human Rights; Autumn Brown Garibay, a senior customer success manager at Sprout Social; and Tim Tung, a public finance and research analyst who is also the brother of assistant district attorney Nancy Tung, a former candidate for district attorney and chair of the San Francisco Democratic Party. The slate also holds the endorsement of Mayor Daniel Lurie, who also endorsed many of the candidates supported by GrowSF in other contests. Bacio stated that the group’s candidates reflect goals to bring the school district back on track through a balanced budget following years of deficits that led to planned cuts exceeding $100 million, support for student learning in reading and mathematics, and public schools capable of competing with private institutions.

Curiel described the union’s framing for the season as a contest pitting everyday community members, parents, and workers against wealthy interests. The union’s slate works closely together and campaigns together on weekends, while the candidates endorsed by the Parents Coalition—Kim, Alida Fisher, and Autumn Brown Garibay—have posed together in group photos at events, with the coalition featuring the three individuals on its campaign signs. Collaboration is lower within the GrowSF slate; at least one candidate stated she is not aligned with a particular political slate, and there are no indications that the candidates endorsed by the group share a unified message, although the organization will spend heavily to jointly promote its three candidates as the contest remains a priority. Everything comes down to how important public education is for a healthy, prosperous and thriving society, Bacio stated.

Additional Candidates in the Field

Fisher, executive director of the Community Alliance for Special Education, currently serves on the Board of Education and is seeking re-election. However, the advocacy group, which formed during the pandemic and played an active role in the 2022 recalls of Board of Education members, chose Alida Fisher instead of Tung.