Incumbent Phil Kim’s extensive experience and level-headedness will serve him and the San Francisco district well.

In many cities, school board elections are the kind of down-ballot race voters don’t even think about until Election Day.

Here in San Francisco, we have no such luxury.

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San Francisco Unified School District teachers recently went on strike for the first time in 50 years, keeping kids out of classrooms for five days. Though an agreement was finally reached, it failed to account for the fragile financial state of the district and layoffs now appear inevitable. And that’s just a taste of the turmoil to come.

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There are persistent staffing challenges, payroll issues and the fraught decision to close or merge schools due to underutilization. San Francisco has the highest percentage of students in California enrolled in private school, a trend that continues to head in the wrong direction. Decreased enrollment in the school district has led to ongoing revenue loss, deepening the deficit and leading to operational instability.

Given all this, San Francisco needs school board members who can center fiscal responsibility and the needs of students while delivering calm and competence amid the chaos.

The Chronicle editorial board has begun rolling out its endorsements for California’s June primary election. In the weeks to come, we will publish our assessments of all the state races, including the governor’s race, plus local races and ballot measures. To read more about how the editorial board makes its election endorsements, go here.Plus: Look out for the Chronicle’s Voter Guide........

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