financial distress. that is the status of the san francisco unified school district's budget. in fact, the crisis has gotten so bad that the state department of education now

claims the district will soon run out of money. good evening, and thanks for joining us. i'm dionne lim and i'm ama daetz in just about 30 minutes. >> the school board is scheduled to meet with the budget being at the top of the agenda. >> abc seven news reporter ryan curry has been following this story and joins us live from outside that board meeting. ryan >> yeah. dion. good evening. that meeting is set to begin around 530, starting with a closed session around six 630. that's when they will resume to an open session where they will then talk about the budget. the state now has control over how sf usd spends its money. it's an action causing mixed reviews amongst parents and teachers. san francisco school board members are preparing for their first meeting since the california department of education announced. sf usd will soon run out of money. two fiscal experts, whom the state appointed a few years ago, are now authorized to suspend or reverse financial decisions made by the superintendent or the board. >> we send our kids off to school every morning, anticipating, you know, they're

going to be supported, to learn, to thrive, to have everything they need. >> meredith dodson is in charge of the district's parent coalition. she fears the state's control means parents or others in the city won't have as much of a say in the district's moves. >> will the district not take parent and teacher feedback as seriously? because they can't. because the because the state is making all of the decisions now. so i think that is a real fear. it's a real valid fear. >> at tuesday night's meeting, superintendent matt wayne is expected to outline what the state advisors want the district to do. sf usd has been struggling financially for years and faces declining enrollment and potential school closures amid talks of a strike among school staff. in a statement, sf, usd said the san francisco unified school district has been taking and continues to take serious corrective actions on its budget to address ongoing fiscal challenges. on friday, sf usd received notice from the cdc that because sf usd is still in the process of implementing its plan to resolve deficit spending, the cdc is revising the certification of sf usd's march budget report from

qualified to negative. >> and we believe that the cdc has gone too far in trying to intervene. while we know the cuts are being made, cassandra curiel, the president of the teachers union, says she and the district have made a lot of progress to find room in the budget. over $30 million of expenditures could be saved in areas that are actually pretty far away from students, and it's ideal that they do that. the cdc should have seen by this point that the district is making these efforts to do that. >> one of the restrictions already in place is a hiring freeze. the district has struggled to bring on new teachers the last few years, and curiel says halting the process is detrimental to students. >> there should be no classroom where a student starts the school year with no teacher. that's inappropriate. >> now, we did reach out to state superintendent. tony thurman's office. we haven't heard back yet. the union wants him to intervene. we spoke with cassandra curley elmore, and she told us that the two sides, the union and the district have been working together to resolve

these budget issues, and the state should let that progress continue before intervening. live in san francisco ryan curry , abc seven news. >> ryan, thank you so much. and joining us now to give more context to the problem facing san francisco unified, is abc seven news reporter lyanne melendez, who, of course, has decades of experience covering education and sf usd. >> yeah. and something we should point out is that this did not happen overnight. >> no, this was years in the making. and the first thing i want to say is that, of course, we had decline in enrollment. but you're going to say, yeah, well, we've had declining enrollment throughout the state of california. and that's true during the pandemic. but, you know, declining enrollment is something that this district has been faced with for a long time. and they failed to address it. for example, in schools, you had schools that were too large and too few students, the number too few classrooms, for example, they should have had 24 students when instead they had, for example, 17 students. so it's nice if you can afford it. but

san francisco couldn't afford it, but they kept the same number of principals, the same number of teachers, the same number of staff members. and that's something that's not sustainable. now, another thing, number two, is that this district has always when they had money instead of saving it, for example, for a rainy day, they decided to well, let's spend the money and on very good programs, by the way. but when you don't have the money, then you have to tighten your belt right? uh. so san francisco constantly would add a program here and another program here, and would spend that all that money on these programs, many of these programs, again, were funded by outside private sources. but like everything, the money runs out. right? so instead of, you know, putting a pause or halting these programs, san francisco would continue funding them through their budget. now, another thing is, as we all know, millions of

dollars were lost during this payroll fiasco. now, as we all know, the payroll system and san francisco unified was old. everybody will tell you that it needed to be more advanced and it needed to. they needed to buy something new. but the question is, did they really have to invest in something that they really didn't know that much about? and did any of those board members ever say, well, do we have experience in knowing that another large school district has used this program with success? and the answer is no. and finally, number four is, and i'm rambling, is that, you know, the when they didn't have this money, knowing that there was a financial crisis, then they said, well, let's give teachers a substantial raise. and you know, in my book, when you do this, when you don't have the funds, then that is irresponsible. >> do you think they can turn it

around? is there a good enough plan of action here, liane. yeah. good question. >> so i think you're going to see layoffs. i think you're going to see also, hiring freezes. you're going to see schools being closed and also consolidated. i think the superintendent is left with four things. according to my sources, he has to find people he can trust, people with experience and people with knowledge and great enthusiasm, okay. hard to do. yes. >> certainly. is liane. thank you. >> sure. well, moving on. two people are recovering after a wild chase through several different san francisco neighborhoods this morning. police say it started in the tenderloin. and that's when an employee for urban alchemy was hit near market and jones streets. the driverhen kept on goinand also hit a 14 year old middle school student. officers eventually caught up to the driver along the embarcadero. abc seven news reporter suzanne fawn has more. >> i saw the car coming back down francisco street, going very fast around 930 this

morning. >> bonnie mcgee spotted a car speeding through her north beach neighborhood, and it made a very sharp, fast turn. according to police, the driver hit a 14 year old as she crossed francisco street. authorities tell us she has a broken shoulder and cuts on her head. >> the class is in session, but the student was crossing from one side of the street to the other. >> but everything began just before 8 a.m. around 755 this morning. >> there was a individual driving a car and he hit and injured an urban alchemy employee at market and jones. police say the driver struck the person in the tenderloin. >> officers spotted the driver running red lights and driving recklessly more than an hour later, other officers spotted the driver again in the tenderloin. they initiated a pursuit toward north beach. police say that's when the driver hit a student by francisco middle school. the driver didn't stop and took off toward the embarcadero. he got stuck in traffic and officers detained and arrested him at embarcadero and green streets.

>> our officers did a tremendous job and took him into custody, assistant chief lazar says. >> officers decided to pursue the suspect today because the driver was involved in a hit and run incident that creates that felony hit and run gives us the authority to pursue. >> of course, we have to weigh out the risk of harm to others. >> voters pass measure e in march, offering officers more latitude when it comes to car chases. chief lazer says that measure has not taken effect yet. supervisor aaron peskin weighed in. >> frankly, policing should be left to the police and their oversight body. but let's be clear this is a very dense, congested city, and whether it's police officers or individuals driving at high speeds, it's very, very dangerous and has to be done very, very carefully. >> police say it's a good thing the driver was stopped and arrested and that more people weren't hurt. in san francisco. suzanne forn, abc seven news in san jose a bicyclist was killed in a chain reaction collision

this morning. >> police say the crash was caused by a speeding red light runner. it happened on east capitol expressway at center road, just outside andrew hill high school. at 730. the accused red light runner was behind the wheel of a red pickup. police say the driver slammed into a white box truck which was pushed into the cyclist. the driver of the box truck was injured in the crash. police say the driver of the red pickup attempted to run from the scene, but was taken into custody. the cyclists who was killed was an adult and not a student at the nearby high school in the east bay. >> sky seven was over a fire that damaged at least two buildings this afternoon in oakland. this is at the intersection of east eighth street and sixth avenue, where you can see the flames just shooting out of an apartment building on the corner. there and then spread to a home next door as bad as this fire looks, the oakland fire department says no one was hurt, but 12 people inside the home were displaced. it is not clear if anyone was living inside the apartment building. it was covered in graffiti and had boarded up

windows. the cause of the fire is under investigation. >> coming up, a plan to buy homes for farmworkers on the peninsula. we'll tell you how many and how it will help some of the families impacted by last year's half moon bay shooting, plus the latest on campus protests. >> today's message from president biden and the impact they could have on some graduation plans. st

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today, as the us works with israel to reopen the flow of aid into gaza, israeli troops have seized control of the rafah border crossing with egypt, cutting off aid and critical fuel there. the united nations says without new shipments, the three hospitals in rafah could be out of commission within hours. today marks seven months since hamas's october 7th attack on israel. president biden spoke at a holocaust remembrance ceremony at the us capitol, condemning a surge in

anti-semitism in the u.s, including on college campuses. >> there is no place on any campus in america, any place in america, for anti-semitism or hate speech or threats of violence of any kind. >> the president denounced violence and destruction of property tied to the college. pro-palestinian protests. in nearly three weeks of protests, police across the country have arrested more than 2600 people. a pro-palestinian encampment is forming at pomona college in southern california, a month after arrests of a student sit in. last time, it was the university president's office, and tonight it's on the graduation stage, reporter rob mcmillan, at our sister station in los angeles takes a look at the impact to commencement. >> five days until commencement at pomona college in claremont. question is, will the pomp and circumstance of graduation be disrupted by a pro-palestinian protest set up right in front of the main stage? >> i have no speculations, but

just know that we are prepared for any outcome, kwame nkrumah says the camp went up early monday morning. community members who are in support can come for popular political education programing, come to enjoy food, come to enjoy music, resistance, music, resistance, dance and just be in solidarity with the space. >> how long are you going to stay here? >> until pomona college? divests so even if that means commencement this sunday, you'll be here. yeah, we will not rest. >> pomona college releasing this statement to eyewitness news, quote, our students, faculty, staff and alumni hold a range of viewpoints throughout the year. college leaders have offered to meet with student protesters and will continue to do so. we will promote safety for all members of our community and pursue our educational mission. considering the full range of viewpoints, pomona college has been front and center for pro-palestinian protests, with one of the first encampments to form nationwide. more than a month ago. nearly two dozen students were arrested after storming the

administration building and occupying the president's office. >> it's really unfortunate that the students and staff are not able to, you know, sort of have meaningful dialog. >> adil mohammed is opposed to the encampment, possibly disrupting commencement this weekend. >> i can understand where they're coming from. but again, you know, this class didn't have a 2020 graduation. and, you know, now they might not even have a 2024 graduation. of course, my family wants to see me graduate. you know, we didn't have a graduation in 2020. that being said, you know, it's just a graduation. >> i mean, you know, i still get my degree. i'm still out of here. >> rob mcmillan, abc seven news. >> coming up, it hasn't even hit the road yet. but already designers are unveiling a new model car to be used in contra costa county. we will show you the upgrades that could soon be part of an

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families displaced in the aftermath of the mass shooting in half moon bay. the board of supervisors unanimously passed the plan today to buy 47 manufactured homes and install them on a lot, about a mile outside downtown half moon bay. 19 of them will be for families from the farm where the shooting happened last january, seven workers, you may remember, were killed and the terrible state of their housing came to light in the aftermath. >> a conference on the future of automated transportation brought officials from across the state and nation to san ramon today, and it gave local leaders an opportunity to see the newest car model that could soon be used in contra costa counties. proposed micro transit system. abc seven news reporter anser hassan has a look. >> it feels like a new car and it smells like a new car. and it. and it feels like the future. >> the new car. antioch mayor lamar hernandez thorpe is sitting in is the latest model of guideways new transportation system being designed to connect pittsburgh, antioch, brentwood

and oakley with the aim of reducing traffic. >> and they are some of the fastest growing cities in northern california. we have to be cognizant of the fact that we have to provide relief to folks in eastern contra costa county. >> the new car was unveiled at a transportation summit in san ramon. it's bigger than the one first introduced in november. it will travel up to 30 miles an hour on a 28 mile circuit, with more than 50 boarding stations connecting passengers to major transportation hubs like bart, the downtowns and los medanos college. >> so you can parallel park just so the key flexibility of the vehicle and how it can maneuver is key to ensuring your infrastructure as small as possible. >> it's often compared to driverless cars, but glide ceo gokul hamad says this system is different since the cars will travel on a closed system. it doesn't require the same level of technology. >> we said, why don't we start with technology that is here and now and then move to a place in the future when technology becomes more robust? >> this mode of transportation

is really looking at the first and last mile problem in contra costa county. >> tim hill is the executive director of the contra costa transportation authority. he says the system is designed to complement, not replace, public transportation. he says instead of taking the bus to bart, a glide waste car will be much faster because there are no planned stops and no traffic. >> if we can make our existing system more accessible and more convenient, then we're going to increase ridership not only on the guideway system, but on the entire system at a cost of $450 million. >> hale says it's still a fraction of the cost of a capital improvement project like widening a freeway or expanding bart, and it's one of the first ventures involving private equity in a transportation project in california. it's set to launch in 2030, in san ramon, anser hassan, abc seven news. >> all right, moving on to the weather and things just keep getting better. >> they do. are they going to stay this way? meteorologist sandhya patel is here. sandhya. yeah. >> i take it you both really are enjoying the weather, diane. and we're going to take those temperatures up even higher than

where we are today. you might want to hit the beach. as you will notice in santa cruz, it is just a sea of blue. just a beautiful day, right now, as we take a look at high pressure over the pacific, it is slowly going to build over the next few days. area of low pressure over the northern rockies is going to drop down over the great basin, and so we get squeezed a little bit in between. but that northerly wind flow means that there is going to be some gusty wind around. but this is going to be a warmer wind. it is in effect for lake solano counties and the north bay valleys and mountains. so it doesn't start yet. 11 p.m. tonight until 8 a.m. thursday, solano county. the rest of the region will begin at 1 a.m, and we're talking about gusts up to 45 miles an hour. so if you do have any backyard furniture that you want to secure, you might want to do it now because it could get blown around as you look hour by hour. tomorrow morning, 25 to 30 mile an hour winds out of the north. that is a downsloping wind. it will warm us up. temperatures will come up

as a result of the northerly winds. still gusty at noontime. as we head into the evening hours, we are looking at 29 to 34 mile an hour winds right around the north bay, 29 santa rosa. elsewhere. it's not going to be that windy right now. we still have an onshore breeze. gusts to 23 at half moon bay case. you're wondering why it has still been a little too cool at the ocean temperatures have come up compared to yesterday. up eight degrees in santa rosa and concord, three degrees warmer in san jose. a gorgeous day from our pier 39 camera. we're looking at a lot of people there, a lot of the sea lions there as well. 63 in the city, 67. oakland, 70s for san jose, redwood city. clear skies from our emeryville camera. certainly a shaky view. temperatures in the 70s for everyone except petaluma. there at 66 degrees and from our exploratorium camera, we're seeing sunshine next several days. sunny. the warmth builds thursday through saturday. we're talking about summer like heat, and for mother's day, the heat eases, fog returns. it will still be pleasant as we go, hour by hour. tonight. if you want to step

outside. still really nice weather as we head towards tomorrow morning. temperatures don't drop a whole lot and they rapidly rise by noontime into the 60s and 70s in the early afternoon. we're talking about temperatures that will be in the 70s. i'll show you where they ultimately end up 40s and 50s in the morning. the windiest locations will be in the north bay. as we look at the afternoon highs in the south bay noticeably warmer, 80 in san jose and gilroy on the peninsula , 79 in redwood city, 65 in half moon bay, the coast is clear. daly city 71. downtown san francisco 74. north bay numbers 80 and novato, 82. in santa rosa, just a beautiful day in the east bay 78, oakland 80 for you in fremont. head inland 80. concord and livermore. look at the heat building on thursday. we're talking about upper 80s by friday, 90s for our hottest inland valleys. and then the temperatures do come down slightly on saturday. the accuweather seven day forecast. it's going to start to feel like summer later on this week, with some 80s and 90s in the forecast

. mother's day is going to be pleasant for all the moms, but just not as warm. and then those temperatures will come down a few more degrees early next week. i'm indian, all right. >> we're enjoying it. thank you. sandhya >> well, a significant move today by the wnba that shows the league's rapid growth. it's going to fund full time chartered flights for the next two seasons. teams have routinely flown commercial, and there was even an incident last season where someone confronted brittney griner at the airport in dallas. the chartered flights are expected to cost a total of $25 million. >> coming up, we recently told you about a surge in sea lions at pier 39. as we take a look now, you'll see there are significantl my name is david. i've been a pharmacist for 44 years. when i have customers come in

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our abc seven bay area streaming tv app. all you have to do is search abc seven bay area and download it. >> well, finally, now a week after the pier 39 reported a surge in sea lions, the docks are looking a little emptier today. yeah, they really are. >> taking a live look at our pier 39 camera. you can see those empty ones. the harbor master's office tells us there were so many sea lions hanging out there. the floating docks needed repairs. crews had to herd those sea lions away as

they fixed the docks. >> right now the repairs are done, but the harbor master says some of the sea lions may be a little cautious about coming back. just look at the comparison to one week ago. oh, yeah. night and day. >> wow. the harbor master told us they counted about 1000 sea lions on the docks. the most they have seen in 15 years. >> how fun is that? hopefully they come back. yes. all right, well, we do have much more news ahead. at 530 on abc seven bay area streaming tv. if you're watching us on tv, world news tonight with david muir is next for sandhya patel. >> all of us here. thank you for joining us. >> i'm ama daetz and i'm dionne lim. we'll see you in just about 30 minutes for abc seven news at six.

tonight, breaking news. face-to-face in court. stormy daniels takes the stand across from former president trump. what she reveals. also, the new tornado threat right now across several states. the deadly outbreak already, including an ef-4. and the home explosion, a husband and wife killed.