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Debate in 2014: Use State Windfall for S.F. Schools to Aid Poorest Students, or Raise Teacher Pay?

New state dollars will begin flowing into the San Francisco Unified School District in the fall — and policymakers and activists have already begun arguing over how to spend them. Should the San Francisco Board of Education use the $22 million from a new funding scheme to increase teacher salaries districtwide? Should it hire more classroom aides? Or should it adjust its decade-old equitable funding policy that gives a leg up to schools with many children from poor families?
Part of a special report on education inequality in San Francisco. A version of this story ran in the winter 2014 print edition.

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New Responses to City Housing Crisis Include Eviction Protections, Construction Incentives

Supervisor Eric Mar on Tuesday floated a plan to protect tenants from eviction by property owners selling units within multifamily buildings under tenancy in common agreements. It is the latest in a series of attempts to reduce displacement and increase affordable housing opportunities. David Campos called on Mayor Ed Lee to join him in regulating the tenant “buyouts” that often allow landlords to evict without invoking the Ellis Act, and Scott Wiener introduced new legislation to encourage developers to build more affordable units.

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Jobs, Jobs, Jobs: What Ed Lee Has Promised

In the two and a half years since he became mayor of San Francisco, Ed Lee has predicted that his economic development efforts across the board would yield hundreds of thousands of new jobs for San Francisco. But it could be years or decades before we know whether many of these predictions pan out. Plus: Listen to reporter Adriel Taquechel’s audio update on the story.

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Counting Costs for S.F. Workforce Development Programs

City programs offering workforce development services range from simple access to a job-listings database to a full-time, 18-week certification course that funnels graduates into union apprenticeships. They vary widely in cost, with some intensive programs costing tens of thousands of dollars for each participant placed in a job. Related: “HELP WANTED: City Hall Focuses on Hot Job Sectors, but Struggles to Track Workforce Training Budget,” the cover story in the fall print edition.

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City Construction Course Offers Job Placements, but Excludes Many Who Could Use a Hand Up

Rigorous screening limits candidates, who are groomed for union apprenticeships
San Francisco offers a free 18-week training course through City College that takes low-skill, out-of-work city residents and sets them on the path to construction trade careers. But while the instructors try hard to be inclusive, some city residents who need the program do not satisfy the minimum qualifications, including a high school equivalency degree. For those who matriculate, unions are able to find job placements for 85 percent of graduates, with the help massive construction boom that has raised demand for trade laborers to levels not seen in a decade.
SAN FRANCISCO’S WORKFORCE REBOOT is the cover story in the fall 2013 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press. Check back for updates on other stories.

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Summer Youth Employment Stretches San Francisco Job Statistics

San Francisco Mayor Ed Lee has repeatedly proclaimed that a city-sponsored youth employment program “created” more than 5,000 jobs last year. This year the same program, Summer Jobs+, placed more than 6,800 young people in new positions. As the city prepares to issue its scorecard for 2013, we can expect more claims of jobs created, including “permanent” ones.
SAN FRANCISCO’S WORKFORCE REBOOT is the cover story in the fall 2013 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press. Check back for updates on other stories.

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Big Businesses Use State Tax Fund to Train Their Own Staff

Some subsidies, worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, are awarded to multinational corporations valued in the billions
State subsidies for vocational training might provide a windfall to large corporations already able to offer similar instruction, if a planned expansion of a program funded through a tax on all businesses in California moves forward. State officials say they aim the vocational training funding at big businesses in key industries that are in danger of relocating to other states. But while tens of thousands of smaller companies pay into the program via the Employment Training Tax, it is hard for most to qualify for grants. Many do not even know the program exists.
SAN FRANCISCO’S WORKFORCE REBOOT is the cover story in the fall 2013 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press. Check back for updates on other stories.

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Employers Scramble to Claim New Tax Breaks After State Kills ‘Wasteful’ Enterprise Zones

Among the companies benefiting were two Sacramento strip clubs and some of the nation’s largest corporations, including Wal-Mart, McDonald’s, Yum! Brands, FedEx, Starbucks and Wells Fargo
Large businesses in California “enterprise zones” reaped billions of dollars in tax breaks in recent years, but tax privacy laws made it impossible to tell whether the program actually encouraged companies to hire new workers in economically disadvantaged parts of the state. So the Legislature overhauled the $750 million program — but instead of killing it outrightstate put aside an equivalent amount for an even more elaborate array of tax credits. San Francisco officials said that a local, parallel tax break program will continue.
SAN FRANCISCO’S WORKFORCE REBOOT is the cover story in the fall 2013 print edition of the San Francisco Public Press. Check back for updates on other stories.

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Twitter, Other Tech Companies Get S.F. Tax Breaks but Show Little Progress Hiring in Neighborhood

The largest of the firms settling in mid-Market signed extensive community agreements, but critics call them toothless
Last year, 14 San Francisco technology companies received $1.9 million in tax breaks for setting up shop in the mid-Market Street area. Supporters said it was a good investment, bringing economic development and jobs to an economically depressed strip in the core of the city. The zone is certainly coming back to life, and the companies that benefited now employ more than 2,700 workers. But it is less clear that the deal resulted in entry-level jobs for residents of the hardscrabble neighborhood — one of the goals most sought by skeptics of the tax break. The largest six of the companies promised a list of community benefits that included an effort to identify qualified job seekers in the Tenderloin and mid-Market area. But the agreements are vaguely worded, the companies have been slow to report their progress to the city, and most were unresponsive to direct questions about employment practices.
This story is part of a special report on workforce development in the San Francisco Public Press fall print edition.

S.F. BOARD WATCH: City Workers to Contribute to Health Care Premiums

Thousands of San Francisco employees will be required to pay a portion of their health care premiums under a new agreement the Board of Supervisors is expected to approve today. The changes will affect more than 6,000 workers who will begin paying 10 percent of their insurance premiums starting in January.
Also: Final Decision Expected for Potrero Ave. Apartments  |  Restricted Formula Retail on Third Street  |  City Partners With Kiva