California Academy of Sciences workers demand audit after layoff notices

At San Francisco City Hall, about 20 current and former California Academy of Sciences workers turned a layoff dispute into a public test of trust. With instruments, noisemakers and handmade crafts, they called for a full audit of the museum’s finances and management decisions after recent notices shook one of Golden Gate Park’s best-known institutions.

The fight matters beyond the payroll. The Academy is not just a private attraction tucked inside the park. It houses an aquarium, planetarium, rainforest and natural history museum under one roof, and its staffing decisions can ripple into school field trips, family visits, science education and the city’s cultural identity.

The pressure comes after the Academy said on April 28 that it was implementing staffing and budget reductions to address a recurring deficit. The museum reported a FY25 cash deficit of $7.3 million and said the current fiscal year’s deficit was projected to exceed $8.0 million. The cuts affected 53 employees, about 9.3% of the staff, including 37 union workers and 16 non-union employees. Another 32 positions were restructured or had hours reduced.

Academy leaders have pointed to rising operating costs, the expense of maintaining the building and caring for 60,000 live animals and nearly 46 million specimens, along with a 20% drop in full-price daytime attendance from FY2019 to FY2025, from 403,004 to 324,332. But workers and union leaders say those numbers do not explain why the burden fell so heavily on staff or why alternatives were not more fully explored.

Marie Angel, a curatorial assistant in geology and chapter secretary for CalAcademy Workers United, and Teddy Vollman, the union president and an enhanced experience facilitator at the museum, have both been part of that pushback. SEIU 1021 said the layoffs were the third round in five years and that some workers first learned of the cuts through news reports. The union also said the Academy’s first contract was ratified in May 2025, underscoring how quickly the relationship has deteriorated after years of organizing.

The leadership turmoil has only sharpened the scrutiny. Executive director Scott Sampson stepped down in May, with his last day set for May 29 and an advisory role through June 30, while Amber Mace took over as interim executive director. The Academy says its FY25 financial statements were independently audited and received an unqualified opinion, but workers are demanding a deeper look at management choices, staffing decisions and the use of public and donor money.

That demand also has a San Francisco precedent. The Board of Supervisors and the city’s Budget and Legislative Analyst have previously reviewed governance and city support for major cultural institutions, including the Academy. For workers outside City Hall, the issue is not just whether the books balance. It is whether a museum that depends on public confidence is being run with the transparency that confidence requires.