LITTLE HEAVIER TODAY ON SAN FRANCISCO CITY STREETS, THAT'S BECAUSE TODAY WAS BACK TO SCHOOL FOR NEARLY 50,000 KIDS. >> THERE WAS A LOT OF EXCITEMENT, BUT ALSO A LOT OF CONCERN. AND UNCERTAINTY BECAUSE OF A TEACHER SHORTAGE AND MASSIVE BUDGET CUTS. ABC SEVEN NEWS REPORTER GLORIA RODRIGUEZ IS LIVE AT A MARINA SCHOOL WITH MORE ON THIS FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL. GLORIA >> GOOD MORNING. YEAH, THE SUPERINTENDENT WAS HERE TODAY, AND WHILE HE DID ANSWER MY QUESTIONS ABOUT THE TEACHER SHORTAGES AND ALSO THE UPCOMING SCHOOL CLOSURES, HE SAID THE FOCUS TODAY WAS ON THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AND WELCOMING STUDENT. THESE SNAPS, HELPING STUDENTS MARK THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL AT TULE ELK PARK EARLY EDUCATION SCHOOL IN SAN FRANCISCO. THE SAN FRANCISCO UNIFIED SCHOOL DISTRICT, WELCOMING SOME 50,000 STUDENTS ON MONDAY. >> I'M EXCITED FOR THE SCHOOL YEAR TO START. >> FORMER WARRIORS PLAYER AND SPORTS COMMENTATOR FESTUS EZELI WAS ON HAND TO GIVE STUDENTS A SPECIAL MESSAGE. >> HAVE FUN BECAUSE SCHOOL IS MEANT TO BE FUN. AS SOMEONE WHO HAS EDUCATORS AS PARENTS, I KNOW HOW IMPORTANT THIS ALL THIS, THIS WHOLE PROCESS IS. SO THANK YOU TO THE TEACHERS AS WELL. AND LET'S HAVE A GREAT YEAR. >> EACH CLASSROOM HAS TWO DOORS. >> PRINCIPAL NANCY LAMBERT CAMPBELL GAVE US A TOUR OF TULE ELK. >> WE ARE VERY EXCITED TO KICK OFF OUR THIRD YEAR IN THIS BUILDING WITH THESE RENOVATIONS. DUE TO THE BOND PROGRAM, BUT THE DISTRICT IS STARTING THE SCHOOL YEAR WITH ABOUT 120 TEACHER VACANCIES AND A HIRING FREEZE, EXCEPT FOR ESSENTIAL STAFF TO KEEP A SCHOOL RUNNING. >> WE'RE WORKING HARD TO MAKE SURE ALL OF OUR CLASSROOMS HAVE PERMANENT CLASSROOM TEACHERS. WE'RE COVERING CLASSROOMS TODAY WHERE WE HAVE VACANCIES. WE'RE IN A BETTER PLACE THAN WE WERE LAST YEAR, BUT WE KNOW WE STILL HAVE WORK TO DO TO ENSURE THAT WE ARE FULLY STAFFED. >> IN ADDITION, DUE TO DECLINING ENROLLMENT, THE DISTRICT IS PLANNING TO CLOSE A NUMBER OF THEIR SCHOOLS TO BETTER REALIGN THEIR RESOURCES. WHILE THEY HAVEN'T SAID HOW MANY. THE RECOMMENDED LIST OF SCHOOLS WILL BE RELEASED BY SEPTEMBER 18TH AND WILL TAKE EFFECT FOR THE NEXT SCHOOL YEAR. >> WE'RE KIND OF SEEING AN ASSESSING, STEP BY STEP HOW IT WILL PROGRESS AND PLAY OUT, BECAUSE OUR SCHOOL IS A NEIGHBORHOOD SCHOOL FOR US, IT'S WE HAVEN'T BEEN IMPACTED BY THAT CLOSURE, BUT I'M SURE IT WILL CHANGE THE DYNAMICS OF THE SCHOOLS AND, RIGHT NOW WE CAN JUST BE REALLY GRATEFUL FOR THE FLEXIBILITY OF THE STAFF AS WELL, BECAUSE THAT'S A BIG SHIFT FOR THEM. AND SO THEIR THEIR DEDICATION TO THESE STUDENTS IS REALLY IMPORTANT. >> AND THE SUPERINTENDENT SAYS THEY ARE WORKING HARD TO SET UP THE DISTRICT TO BE STABLE AND READY FOR THE