Why can’t this be done through an Ordinance?

The Our Children, Our Families Plan, Public Education Enrichment Fund, and Student Success Fund were all established through Charter Amendments so any substantive changes require us to return to the voters. The budget accountability measures also carry more weight in a Charter Amendment than an Ordinance to ensure compliance.

Why now?

We are failing our children and in a year where we are anticipating massive budget cuts and a looming deficit, we should be evaluating whether or not we are maximizing impact with the funds we have. San Franciscans deserve accountability in the budget and we should be able to evaluate whether the investments we are making are truly improving the socio-emotional well- being, stability, and academic achievement of our youth.

Is this a “power play” to take over community oversight?

No. There is nothing in this Charter Amendment that will change the composition or existence of established advisory bodies and oversight commissions. If anything, this Charter Amendment will bring more transparency from City agencies to the public on how dollars are being appropriated and spent; and ultimately whether those investments are effective in supporting our children, youth, and families. The Mayor and Board of Supervisors will retain their role as the ultimate decision-makers on the City budget.

Who is going to oversee the work of the “Initiative” ?

The Mayor and Superintendent co-leading the Initiative is powerful because that is what ultimately compels staff and decision-makers to the table. Our Children, Our Families already has dedicated staffing along with support from DCYF. To ensure some level of independent oversight – without having to go through a “Council” or body – the Controller and the Board Budget Legislative Analyst are currently tasked with reviewing and signing off on the budget recommendations for Initiative staff. The Charter Amendment allows the Board to change this by ordinance in the future if another Department or entity makes more sense to be responsible for the Initiative’s work.

Doesn’t this add more bureaucracy to the budget process?

No. This measure adds more accountability and transparency to budgeting because there is no one dedicated to focusing on children and youth needs in the budget process. The Children and Youth Fund requires service providers to go through a proposal process, scoring, and multiple rounds of reporting to show results. We do not have the same level of scrutiny for other City programs in the general fund or for dollars we send to SFUSD. The hope is through a unified planning process, the City will practice budgetary discipline when making decisions and eliminate wasteful spending so that more funds can be redirected to other needs for children and youth.

SFUSD is in financial turmoil, wouldn’t this measure make it more difficult for them?

The City has always been a partner and sometimes a lifeline to SFUSD. The PEEF is one sliver of SFUSD’s budget that already has Charter-mandated parameters on how those funds should be spent. By requesting regular financial reporting and review, we are holding ourselves accountable for the dollars that are passed through the City to ensure that investments are going where the voters intended. The City also funds technical support for SFUSD and will continue to do so through the joining planning process for the Initiative. The Charter Amendment also provides a very generous runway – the 5-year plan and requirements do not go into effect until FY 2029-2030.

Why doesn’t this Charter Amendment include the Children and Youth Fund and Babies First Fund (Baby Prop C)?

Both of these set-asides already have reporting and oversight requirements dictated by the Charter and ordinances. This Charter Amendment does not preclude the Initiative from reviewing the spending for these restricted uses, but the focus should be on how General Fund discretionary dollars are being spent as they do not currently have any requirements, parameters, or metrics.