SAN FRANCISCO—San Francisco School Board will vote on permanently on appointing the Interim San Francisco Unified School District (SFUSD) Superintendent in an upcoming vote on November 2025 for Dr. Maria Su that includes a two-year contract.
On October 2024, during a period of crisis for the school district, Su was hired as the Interim Superintendent because of her background in city administration, financial management and management stabilization during the school district’s period of crisis.
When the school district faced over a $100 million budget deficit, nearly resulting in a state takeover, Su stepped in, helping the school district balanced its budget to avoid a full state takeover due to her previous experience as a co-lead to San Francisco’s School Stabilization Team.
With 15 years of Executive Director of the San Francisco Department of Children, Youth and Their Families (DCYF) under her belt, Su had experience leading a large, complex government agency while navigating San Francisco politics. She was also credited to fixing operational problems, which had confounded her predecessors.
Her appointment came after the resignation of the previous SFUSD superintendent, Matt Wayne, over receiving hate on a school closure plan called the Resource Alignment Initiative
There were six votes for her and one against her. The opposition came from a teachers’ union, United Educators of San Francisco (UESF), saying only teachers are allowed to become superintendents; they cannot just have only administrative experience, but the Board of Education waived that right.
Su is local figure and San Francisco resident, and a former SFUSD parent with an established commitment to families and children of San Francisco.
