Matt’s Leadership on the Board of Education
Matt promoted academic excellence for all students
Worked with colleagues to focus the School Board on student learning and adopt ambitious academic goals, along with guardrails reflecting our San Francisco values
Worked with the Board of Supervisors to secure $8 million to expand a highly effective math program from John Muir Elementary to other schools
Encouraged the new SFUSD Superintendent to adopt a much-needed new literacy curriculum for the first time in two decades.
Connected staff with resources based on his expertise as an educator; sharing Redesigning High Schools: 10 Features for Success, which Matt co-authored with State Board of Education President Linda Darling-Hammond
Matt led the fight for fully staffed schools and fiscal responsibility
Worked with colleagues to close a $125 million deficit while giving SFUSD educators the largest raise in history, to attract and retain the best possible teachers, paras, and other staff for our students
Co-authored Proposition G, the Student Success Fund, which passed with 78% of the vote and is now bringing in $35-60 million annually to support whole-child community schools
Fought to uncover past fiscal mismanagement, prevent $40 million in unnecessary cuts to schools, and realign SFUSD’s budget to prioritize schools and students over upper management
Matt prioritized transparency and accountability
Worked with the Board of Supervisors to get the City’s Budget and Legislative Analyst to produce an independent report on SFUSD’s excessive central office spending compared to peer districts
Worked with immigrant parents to write SFUSD’s first-ever policy on translation and interpretation to ensure language access for all families— a policy which is now a model for a state bill to require timely translation of special education documents
Collaborated with LGBTQ families and staff to develop the District’s guide for gender inclusive forms and communication
Rebuilt trust with families by securing $40 million in bond funds for the renovation of Buena Vista Horace Mann School, a promise that SFUSD made in 2016 but had never fulfilled.
Matt co-authored Prop G, the Student Success fund, which passed in 2022 with 78% of the vote and is bringing in $35-60 million annually to SFUSD for whole-child communuty schools.