San Francisco Public Education Enrichment Fund

Dedicated Funding Streams & Financing

San Francisco, California

In 2004, San Francisco voters approved the ballot measure Proposition H by 71%, establishing the Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF) as law within the City Charter. The PEEF supports the design and implementation of diverse educational programs for San Francisco’s youth, and is funded annually by the City of San Francisco’s discretionary General Fund.

One-third of the PEEF—approximately $20 million per year—is allocated to expanding and supporting early care and education programs in San Francisco. In the years following Proposition H’s passage, funds were distributed to First 5 San Francisco to create Preschool for All (PFA), with the goal of ensuring that all San Francisco four-year-olds could attend high-quality preschool. In July 2015, administration of these funds was transferred from First 5 San Francisco to the city’s Office of Early Care and Education, which has used the funds to expand access to preschool for children between the ages of three and five years who are city residents. 

The remaining two-thirds of the Public Education Enrichment Fund is allocated to the San Francisco Unified School District. 

Sources:

San Francisco Unified School District. (n.d.). Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF)

City of San Francisco. (n.d.). Public Education Enrichment Fund (PEEF).

San Francisco Human Services Agency. (2016). San Francisco Citywide Plan for Early Care and Education.

Connections to Key Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) Findings:

Stable, robust funding is essential to expanding and improving early education. Unlike K-12 education, early education has historically been supported through a fragmented – and largely insufficient – set of federal, state, and local funds. Research suggests there is a need for more accessible, affordable, and high-quality approach to early education across the mixed-delivery system – and for better financial and professional supports for the educators who serve children and families each day; creating dedicated funding streams can therefore help states and cities address these needs and achieve these goals.

Findings from the Early Learning Study at Harvard (ELS@H) show:

  • Families rely on a range of formal (e.g., Head Start, center-based care, public pre-K) and more informal (e.g., home-based, relative care) early education settings; when choosing a setting for their child, families balance many logistical constraints and personal preferences.
  • But for many families – and especially low- and middle-income families – early education choices remain tightly constrained due to issues of affordability and supply.
  • No one early education setting type is inherently of higher quality than another; children develop and learn well in every setting type, and in the study, all setting types showed room to grow in quality.
  • Early educators play a critical role in supporting the well-being of young children and families across setting types.
  • Yet their pay, benefits, and other professional supports are often inadequate in light of the job demands and their cost of living.
Learn More About ELS@H Findings

Learn More About San Francisco

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  • The city population is 808,437
  • The percentage of children under age 5 is 4.40%
  • The median family income among households with children is $187,400