Ryan Hazelton

• Office: Board of Education
• Election Date: November 3, 2026
• Candidate: Ryan Hazelton
• Due Date: July 1, 2026
• Printable Version

Thank you for seeking GrowSF's endorsement for the November 3, 2026 election! GrowSF believes in a growing, beautiful, vibrant, healthy, safe, and prosperous city delivered via common sense solutions and effective government. Our work includes running public opinion polls to understand what voters want, advocating for those changes, and ensuring that the SF government represents the people.

The GrowSF endorsement committee will review all completed questionnaires and seek consensus on which candidates best align with our vision for San Francisco.

This questionnaire will be published on growsf.org, and so we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.

Please complete this questionnaire by July 1, 2026 so we have enough time to adequately review and discuss your answers.

Note: This questionnaire will use the initialism “SFUSD” when referring to the San Francisco Unified School District.

• Your Goals
• Executive Leadership
• The Issues
• Personal
• Thank you

Your Goals

We’d like to get some details about your high-level goals and how you intend to use your elected office to achieve them.

What do you believe is your most relevant experience, perspective(s), or idea(s) that makes you uniquely qualified to be an effective Board Member? How do you intend to use that experience to build a stronger district?

For the last five years, I have been Executive Director of Mariposa Kids, a local nonprofit that provides after-school programming to children at two SFUSD elementary schools, onsite lunch recess support for SFUSD’s Leonard Flynn Elementary, and summer camp programs for children across SF. I have also sat on the SF Childcare Planning & Advisory Council (CPAC) for the last 2.5 years and currently sit as Chair. These two experiences have brought me directly into SF’s public school and public education support system. I hear firsthand from parents about what they love about their public school and what they wish was different.

Through my work on CPAC and our efforts for implementing Universal Pre-K, I have also been in many discussions within the early childhood space and with SFUSD partners about the expansion of transitional kindergarten in our public schools. These experiences, coupled with my ten years of volunteer experience on local non-profit boards, give me a lens to approach being Board Member of SFUSD through strong stable governance with service to families and employees focused on strong student outcomes.

This is how I approach my work at Mariposa Kids, and what I bring to the School Board. More importantly, we know that quality and accessible out-of-school time programming can help with chronic absenteeism which can improve student outcomes and district revenues. More predictable school placement for TK and Kinders, along with easier enrollment for after-school programs at our schools, can entice more families to choose the district at a critical decision making point to help improve enrollment. Lastly, having both governance and executive experience with nonprofit organizations has involved making tough and strategic financial decisions to ensure long-term organizational health which will be required for the present and future benefit of student outcomes and educators.

Will the power of the office of the Board of Education be enough to achieve these goals?

The Board of Education’s governance powers of Superintendent oversight and holding the Superintendent accountable to the vision, values, goals, and guardrails of the district are key powers within the Board of Education. The methods of how we improve chronic absenteeism and enrollment are left to the Superintendent and their team to develop and report on, including regular feedback and interim reporting. If these interim reports don’t trend towards success in reaching goals, the power of the Board to instruct the Superintendent to find new methods is vital. Additionally, the fiduciary power of the Board to approve budgets that align resources to reach goals set by the vision, values, goals, and guardrails approved by the Board that the community has been involved with setting. Through fiduciary powers and Superintendent oversight, there is enough power to move the district successfully towards goals. If board members maintain focus on student outcomes and goals versus politics, the power of the office of Board of Ed can go even further.

What is an existing Board of Education policy you would like to reform?

While the school enrollment/assignment is technically reformed on paper, I am keenly focused on making sure this happens in practice during my term. We have been waiting too long for action in this area and it needs to happen. I would reform the path to success in that goals and guardrails, in line with the current governance practices, could be established to hold the superintendent accountable to implementation. We have seen a high level plan from the Superintendent, but a more detailed plan and accountability metrics would help ensure we move towards success. We can’t afford to continue to delay.

What is an "out there" change that you would make to state/local government policy, if you could? For the purpose of this question, you are not constrained to the office of the Board of Education.

California funds schools based on average daily attendance rather than enrollment. That means a district loses real money every time a child is sick, every time a family is dealing with housing instability, every time a kid simply has a hard week. It creates a funding model that works against districts investing in solutions to chronic absenteeism. If I could make one 'out there' change, I would push the state to fund schools based on enrollment, not attendance, with additional weighted funding tied to need rather than penalizing the districts serving the highest-need populations. This is not a radical idea. The cost to run a classroom with 24 enrolled children costs the same each day whether or not all 24 children are in attendance. Predictable funding based on enrollment can also help with budgeting. Most education finance researchers agree the current model has perverse incentives. It is simply politically difficult in Sacramento.

Executive Leadership

Please describe your experience running or governing large organizations, managing teams (including hiring, firing, and performance management), driving cultural change and clear communication throughout all levels, effective financial management (budgets, reporting, audit, etc.), and any other relevant experience.

As Executive Director of Mariposa Kids, I run a multi-site nonprofit with year-round staff across two locations. I am responsible for the full scope of executive leadership: financial management including annual budgeting, monthly financial review, and external fiscal review compliance; HR functions including hiring, performance management, and the harder decisions when a role or a person is not the right fit; and organizational strategy including our Theory of Change and annual outcome assessments.

Beyond my executive role, I served as Audit Committee Chair for a multi-million dollar San Francisco nonprofit, where I reviewed financial controls, audit findings, and compliance practices at an organizational scale beyond my own. As a member of the Governance Committee in two local SF non-profits I led projects related to bylaw reviews and policy updates. I have also chaired the boards of multiple child serving nonprofits over my career, giving me governance experience across a range of organizational sizes and missions, from board level strategic oversight to day to day executive management, and signing off on audits and federal filings.

At Mariposa Kids, I oversaw the process to develop our Theory of Change and three strategic initiatives, along with establishing the organization’s Mission, Vision & Values. The most significant executive leadership test in my own tenure was opening a second site at Mariposa Kids, which required building new financial models, hiring and training a new team, and managing the cultural integration of two physical locations under one mission. I also led a multi-year fundraising partnership that brought together 12 organizations and philanthropic partners to raise approximately $5 million for regional summer programming, requiring sustained relationship management, reporting transparency to funders, and coordination across organizations.

Clear communication across all levels has been essential to this work, translating financial realities and strategic priorities for my own Board of Directors, directing staff operationally, and maintaining transparency with the families and community we serve. This often includes asking for parent feedback through surveys and conversations and then providing reports back to them that summarize feedback, our proposed solutions, and plans for next steps. That same discipline is exactly what effective board governance over a district superintendent requires.

One of the most critical roles for the Board of Education is to hire/fire, evaluate, and hold accountable the Superintendent of Schools. Please describe your experience working with an executive leader to hold them accountable.

Note: Please remember that this questionnaire will be public, so do not include any personally identifiable information.

I have direct experience chairing the board of child serving nonprofits, where I oversaw the organizations’ executive leadership alongside fellow board members, setting goals, reviewing performance against them, and ensuring transparent financial and programmatic reporting. Effective oversight in that role meant asking hard questions, requiring honest reporting rather than allowing information control, and being willing to act when something needed to change.

I also have direct experience from the other side of that relationship as an Executive Director who reports to and is held accountable by my own Board of Directors at Mariposa Kids. I am evaluated annually against goals my board sets, and I provide them with regular financial and programmatic reporting so they can assess whether I am delivering. Having sat on both sides of that relationship, as the executive being held accountable and as a board chair holding an executive accountable, gives me a complete understanding of what effective oversight requires: clear goals set in advance, honest and regular reporting, and a board willing to follow through on accountability rather than deferring to the executive out of comfort or convenience. That is the same discipline I would bring to the Board's relationship with the Superintendent.

In general, how do you approach making difficult decisions that you deem necessary even if unpopular? Please share a relevant example, if applicable.

My approach to difficult decisions is to stay grounded in my organization's mission, vision, and values, and to think beyond my own tenure, toward what serves the organization's posterity, not just what is easiest at the moment. I also believe transparency in the decision making process matters as much as the decision itself. People do not have to agree with a hard call, but they deserve to understand the reasoning behind it.

A clear example from my work at Mariposa Kids: when our organization's growth required difficult staffing decisions to align with our vision and goals, I made the call to restructure a position rather than maintain a configuration that was not serving our families or our goals well, even though it was an uncomfortable conversation. I communicated the reasoning clearly to my team and board: the decision was about the organization's ability to serve more children well for years to come, not about any individual's effort or worth. That same discipline, grounding hard calls in mission and long term organizational health, and being transparent about why, is what I would bring to board decisions that affect SFUSD students, families, and educators.

The Issues

Next, we will cover the issues that voters tell us they care about. We hope to gain a better understanding of your policy positions, and we hope that you use this opportunity to communicate with voters.

SFUSD remains under fiscal oversight by the California Department of Education (CDE), and continues to experience an ongoing structural deficit. What do you believe is most critical in stabilizing the district’s financial and operational challenges in the short and long term?

The Board's most critical role in fiscal stability is ensuring the Superintendent's budget aligns resources to measurable goals and that we track progress transparently, not just at year-end. Recent interim reports shared to the public show a brighter outlook for SFUSD’s upcoming financial health with a path out of the fiscal oversight of California Department of Education. This is good news that will allow us to focus on aligning our resources towards our vision, values, and goals. Given that stability, our most critical step to ensure financial and operational needs will be met is to reduce chronic absenteeism. This can be done through actions like resourcing roles that follow up with families at schools to check in on students and support families. We know trusted partnerships between families and their school can improve attendance which will build our financial health. We also have a great opportunity to come together as a community of families, educators, city officials, and residents to join other counties in pushing the state to change funding from attendance based to enrollment based. This creates more predictable budgeting models and funds schools for what it actually costs to run them.

SFUSD is off track in meeting student outcome goals. Our reading and math proficiency rates are among the lowest in California. What should our outcome goals be in the short and long term? What do you believe is required to ensure SFUSD improves student outcomes, and what would you do as Board Member to champion closing the achievement gap?

Recent board discussion with district leadership has made clear that the current outcome goals, including 70% third grade literacy by 2027, are going to be hard to achieve. We should not ask less of our students or our schools, but if the board revisits these targets, it should not be to lower what we expect of SFUSD, it should be to set an honest, evidence-based timeline paired with a fully resourced implementation plan, with real accountability checkpoints along the way. What I will not support is quietly walking back ambition because meeting it is hard. The board's job is to ask the superintendent: what would it actually take, in staffing, curriculum support, and intervention, to hit an ambitious goal, and then fund and track that plan relentlessly. A goal without a resourced plan was never a real goal to begin with.

Achieving an honest and ambitious goal requires the board to use its governance tools well. The SFUSD board governance model is working in keeping the Board focused on the key vision, values, goals, and guardrails. More regular reporting and updates by the Superintendent at each meeting would help in evaluating success towards our goals and interim goals. This is a practical action that can be taken. As a Board Member with fiduciary power to approve budgets, closing our achievement gap will require approving budgets that put our financial resources in key areas like early intervention for children with learning differences and disabilities. With the expansion of TK in our schools, we have a real opportunity to do that but our resource allocations need to then provide the required resources that children need who have IEPs and 504 plans. Diagnosing something is great, but if nothing is done after that in a timely and productive way then a child is left behind. Evaluating our partnership with the Golden Gate Regional Center and the resources allocated to this partnership is important. We also have situations where underperforming schools are also underresourced, often due to enrollment. If we can consolidate schools in a compassionate, thoughtful, community engaged way that brings more resources to schools, we have a chance at getting to our student outcome goals.

Safety and violence prevention remains a top priority for families. As a Board Member, what do you believe is necessary to improve school safety so students are ready to learn?

My work at Safe and Sound gave me direct experience building Protective Factors for strengthening families and keeping children safe, as well as Adverse Childhood Experiences and their impact on child development. Often issues of safety and violence within schools are a result of risk factors at home that can be tended to through resources like those that Beacon Schools or Community Schools provide. When children have what they need at home and their families experience less stress from life’s hardships, they are less likely to act out violently within schools. Stable and affordable family housing and safe neighborhoods create environments that reduce exposure to community risk factors that lead to adverse childhood experiences that can often be tied to poor behavior at schools. Inside schools, this means ensuring adequate counseling staff, clear behavioral expectations, and restorative practices that address incidents quickly while keeping students in learning environments.

As a Board Member, I intend to hold the Superintendent accountable to the obligations SFUSD has under Prop J - Our Children Our Families. This citywide coordinated effort brings together city agencies to work towards similar outcomes to improve children and family outcomes in a way that makes more efficient use of all city resources. This improved coordination has a real opportunity to create opportunities for children and stability for families in our city. SFUSD plays a big role in this and the Superintendent must have their team deeply involved in the roll out of Prop J. Also as a Board Member, similar to the work I have done advocating for children and families on the SF Childcare Planning & Advisory Council and Oversight & Advisory Committee for DCYF, I would use my role as Board Member to advocate within the city and state for the resources that create safe and healthy home environments for children.

SFUSD continues to face a teacher shortage, especially in special education, STEM, and bilingual programs. What concrete steps do you recommend the Superintendent, with support from the Board, take to recruit and retain great educators?

Making San Francisco more affordable to live in is an important piece for attracting and keeping great educators in our city. We have seen some efforts to create affordable housing for teachers, and there is more room that can be done here. Having been a participant in the Mayor’s Office of Housing and Community Development’s Below Market Rate housing program, I know firsthand the hurdles and hoops one must go through to acquire a home through this affordable housing program. I think the Board of Education and Superintendent can work with the Mayor’s Office to reduce the burden and increase accessibility to affordable housing for teachers and paraeducators within San Francisco.

Another program I have seen work for bilingual programs is recruitment of teachers from countries that speak the second language. Putting efforts into supporting these kinds of outreach programs can bring both the language skills and cultural vibrancy to our schools. For special education and STEM specifically, recruitment has to be paired with retention, competitive pay, manageable caseloads, and the in-house mentorship that keeps early-career educators from burning out in their first three years. Manageable caseloads for our special education specialists not only helps retain them but ensures students and families get the support they need for success.

Lastly, the Superintendent has to prioritize the maintenance of a sound, efficient, effective, and correct payroll system. Our educators are carrying out the incredible task of teaching our children and cannot carry the burden of late paychecks, working through bureaucracy to correct paychecks, or simply never trusting the paycheck they get is correct. As an Executive Director of a nonprofit, making sure my staff gets paid correctly and on time is not just about following California employment law, it is about maintaining morale and trust between front line staff and the administrators.

One reason for the budget deficit is declining enrollment. Approximately 30% of children attend private schools, and that percentage is growing. Each student not in SFUSD takes away nearly $15,000 in State funding. What are the top 3 things you believe SFSUD leadership must do to make SFUSD more attractive to prospective students and parents? In your role as Board Member, how will you advocate for these things?

Every Spring at Mariposa Kids, I get phone calls from parents of rising TK/Kinder students trying to navigate the before and after school program landscape for their assigned elementary school. I hear about what they have been told by other parents, by administrators, and/or websites, and they are left uncertain and worried. The hours before and after school are extremely important, particularly for working parents who cannot get to their child’s school at 2pm for pick up. They can’t manage the burden of not knowing if their child will have somewhere to be from 2p-530pm, so they begin looking for alternatives. For families who have already been spending money monthly for childcare, some tell me they are choosing an independent school because they are guaranteed after school programming that is either included in the cost or a small add on, and their monthly budget already accounts for education costs that they’ll just continue. SFUSD has a department dedicated to extended learning opportunities that covers before/after school programming. This department must make this part of joining SFUSD easier for families so they have less of a reason to look outside the district, and I would have the Superintendent report to the Board the percent of TK/K students that have access to an after-school program spot the day they are assigned to a school and ask the ELO-P department to report on progress towards building a system that ensures all children who want a spot have a spot before the school year starts.

Our enrollment process needs to be finally changed to neighborhood assignments versus the current lottery system that forces families to rank schools. Our current school assignment process not only creates anxiety, frustration, and uncertainty for families, but creates a system where schools are deemed good or bad as families are forced to rank choices. When a family does not get their #1 choice, they often start looking for alternatives outside the district. If it is too far, they may look elsewhere. If our school assignment process was more predictable, families may start investing in their local SFUSD school and be excited to join it. Local preschools could also build better partnerships with their local SFUSD elementary school to provide for warm hand offs which would make families feel better about joining their local SFUSD school. Superintendent Su has released a timeline for changes to this assignment system, and as a Board Member, I would hold her to this timeline and require no more delays.

Finally, SFUSD has not done enough to tell its own story. Our district is filled with incredible schools, educators, and communities that deserve more visibility. A small number of SFUSD schools are seen as gems while others that are deserving of praise do not receive it, which reduces desire to attend. There is a great opportunity to publicize and highlight the incredible communities within our local SFUSDs schools from the principals who lead them, the teachers within their classrooms, and parent communities that bring the vibrancy to them each day. And while there are certainly issues to address in our district, there is good and we need to draw attention to that more often. As a Board Member, I would see how partnerships with our city departments like DCYF and the Mayor’s Office could be used to cross promote the good things happening for children and families in our city, as well as mobilizing the Commissioners and the Superintendent to go on publicity tours to speak about the good that is happening in our district.

How can SFUSD improve data transparency and performance reporting, particularly around student achievement, attendance, and spending?

SFUSD’s central office has the data for student achievement, attendance, and spending. It is not a question of gathering the data, but about when and how it dispersed. These three key data areas track to the Vision, Values, Goals, and Guardrails set by the Board, and as part of the current governance model employed by the Board, interim reports on progress towards their goals is required as means of holding the Superintendent accountable, and ensuring progress towards the VVGGs. Data reports in these three key areas can be scheduled within a governance calendar which would be accessible to the public, so they would know when to expect data and can hold the Board and Superintendent accountable if those dates are not met. A governance calendar that includes data reports in these areas creates a cadence providing predictably and proper attention to timelines that can account for adjustments if/when needed. With so many online tools available, accessible online portals for this data, available in multiple languages and presented in accessible ways, meaning summarized and shown for parents of all education levels, can improve transparency and trust.

What examples of effective leadership from SF, or other California school districts, would you emulate in SFUSD? Please be specific with your examples of their leadership and impact.

Former SFUSD Commissioner Jenny Lam’s leadership and guidance over the Board is to be applauded and her legacy of steering the Board away from crisis and infighting to focus on sound governance and student outcomes is one to be looked to for years to come. Through my work on the SF Childcare Planning and Advisory Council, we work directly with Lam in her role as a key liaison to the Department of Early Childhood, and I continue to see the same intelligent, thoughtful, and focused dedication to children and families that defined her board leadership. When a leader returns regularly to that foundational commitment, even amid pressure and disagreement, their leadership remains steady and productive. It is this kind of effective leadership that I am inspired by and guided by.

Personal

Tell us a bit about yourself!

Do/Did you have children in SFUSD? If so, what have you learned about SFUSD that other parents would benefit from? If not, why not?

I do not have any children of my own. Through my relationships with friends with kids, my day to day work running an organization providing SFUSD students with after-school programming, and my experience working at nonprofit organizations that support families, I have learned how hard it can be to raise a family in San Francisco. It comes with a lot of challenges, including navigating SFUSD. Moving from preschool into TK/Kindergarten, elementary school to middle school, the middle school to high school, each stage comes with a lot of stress and lacks the predictability that could make being a part of SFUSD a lot easier and desirable. Coupling this with finding adequate before and after school programming makes choosing SFUSD a challenge when many independent schools include after school offerings for all children. But what I also hear from families in SFUSD is their love of their schools and their school communities. Families are passionate about their schools and there are so many wonderful things happening within our SFUSD schools that don’t get promoted but that families share. The heart of our schools are strong and families are deeply committed to them.

Did you attend SFUSD or public primary schools in other cities? How do our schools differ from when you were a student?

I attended public schools from kindergarten through high school, and then attended public university in California. I grew up in suburbs that were newer than many San Francisco neighborhoods, so the physical age of our schools was a lot different - the districts were expanding while I was a part of them versus SFUSD that was built long before and now has to adjust to the present. When I was in public schools, we were dealing with overcrowding of schools whereas now in SFUSD we see underenrollment.

How long have you lived in San Francisco? What brought you here and what keeps you here?

I have lived in San Francisco for 19 years. I came to the city in my early 20s from San Diego with a hope to become a part of what I saw as a more vibrant, lively, and international city (San Diego has grown a lot since then, but SF has my heart). When I arrived I found a city filled with caring, thoughtful, intelligent, and engaged people. This hasn’t changed and is a large part of what keeps me here. The soul of our city is filled with hope for a brighter tomorrow with the ingenuity and desire to build it whether it be the next best technology or civic approach to how our government serves its people.

What do you love most about San Francisco?

Every time I ride my bicycle through Golden Gate Park, I am reminded of my love for San Francisco. Each time I check out a book from the San Francisco Public Library, I am reminded of why I love this city. San Franciscans care so much for the public goods that are required for quality living from free access to quality parks to a well funded public library system. San Francisco believes in what kids need most and every time they hit the ballot box, they support funding for children's causes even in a city that has one of the lowest children per capita for a major city in the country. San Franciscans understand we need to care for each other and most importantly, our posterity whose potential lives in the hearts and minds of children.

What do you dislike the most about San Francisco?

I find myself frustrated by the strong pushback to build more affordable housing across neighborhoods in our city. We can preserve the incredible spirit and culture of our city and its neighborhoods while still building up an affordable housing supply. People make a culture, and when they have safe, affordable housing, they can contribute even more to the vibrant culture that makes San Francisco awesome. I support increasing affordable housing density across all neighborhoods in San Francisco. Density and affordability are not in tension, they are both necessary if we want San Francisco to be a city families can actually afford to stay in.

Tell us about your current involvement in the community (e.g., volunteer groups, neighborhood associations, civic and professional organizations, etc.).

Currently, I sit on the board of 18 Reasons, a San Francisco based non-profit, food access organization. I am also the Chair of the San Francisco Childcare Planning & Advisory Council which looks at early childhood care and education, as well as out-of-school time programming for children ages 0-12. I recently stepped down from my mayoral appointment to the Oversight & Advisory Committee of the SF Department of Children, Youth & Their Families as required by city law to run for school board. I am an alumni of Leadership San Francisco and New Leaders Council, San Francisco and have served on the boards of Tandem - Partners in Early Learning (current Emeritus member) and Safe & Sound, both local non-profits serving children and families in San Francisco and Bay Area.

Why do you want to run for public office?

I am running for San Francisco Board of Education because I believe in the power of quality public education to support the healthy development of a child, something I have spent my professional career and volunteer time towards for 15 years now. Our public schools are hubs for children and families where they build roots in our city, and gain the resources they need for long term success. A quality school district with a positive reputation attracts families to a city and keeps them there. For San Francisco’s short and long term success, we need families to start in SF, come to SF, and stay in SF. Children deserve the best opportunities for a vibrant childhood that they can take with them anywhere in the world as they grow. I am running for the San Francisco Board of Education to apply my experience in children’s nonprofits to move our district forward in that direction.

Thank you

Thank you for giving us your time and answering our questionnaire. We look forward to reading your answers and considering your candidacy!