OPINION Great things are happening in the San Francisco public schools, but the current school-closure process is putting them at risk.

On Jan. 12 the Board of Education will be deciding which schools from among a list of about 19 to either close outright or merge. The district gives two reasons for the closures: the budget crisis and declining enrollment.

Many ingredients have gone into cooking this financial mess, particularly the infamous Proposition 13 and the governor's takeaway from the Proposition 98 set-aside funds. Much-needed salary increases for support staff this fall, and hopefully for teachers this spring, have also affected our bottom line.

And for several years there has been a recognized trend of about 1,000 students per year leaving the district, a pattern projected to last several more years into the future.

But the fiscal and enrollment downturns are old news that could have been factored into plans for the district years ago. While this year's process is better than last year's, it's still fundamentally flawed. First, it has lacked structure. Specific target dates should have been established up front, starting with the final decision date for picking schools to close, so that affected families could realistically find new schools.

Second, the community-input process has been poorly organized. The district's community meetings took place during the final week, with representatives from as many as seven schools forced to make their cases in short session. Not all commissioners attended each meeting.

Third, the list of schools identified as meeting the criteria for possible closure or merger has disproportionately affected some communities, most notably elementary school children, African American and Latino students, and geographically, the Western Addition and neighborhoods in the eastern part of the city.

The list also includes many growing, successful schools that are keeping families in the district (and therefore increasing revenue to the district). These schools also happen to be doing right by students who have no other options and are most at risk of academic failure. In a horrible ironic twist, we are considering closing schools in which African American and Latino students are thriving, just when our general failure with such students has been reconfirmed by the federal consent decree monitor.

We have exemplary schools throughout the district, serving kids from all communities. We can draw on these principals and teachers to help spread successful educational practices in every neighborhood.

But until we have a clear plan, we should make as few closures and mergers possible. Tapping into our legally required reserve fund, currently about $9 million, is an option that might allow this.

Using the reserve fund is a gamble, requiring tremendous leadership from the school board and particularly district staff to really focus on building a plan in an inclusive, proactive, and efficient way. But without taking this step we will destroy communities, lose students to private schools thereby weakening the district as a whole, and take more away from our most vulnerable kids.

Lisa Schiff