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In San Francisco, where have all the children gone?

SAN FRANCISCO - Anne Bakstad and Ed Cohen are starting to feel as if their family of four is an endangered species in San Francisco.

Since the couple bought a house five years ago, more than a dozen families in their social circle have left the city for cheaper housing, better schools or both.

The goodbyes are so frequent that Carina, age 4 1/2, has asked when she is going to move, too. Eric, 2 1/2, misses Gus, his playmate from across the street.

"When we get to know people through our kids, we think to ourselves, "Are they renters or owners? Where do they work?' You have to figure out how much time to invest in people," Bakstad said. "It makes you feel like, "Where is everyone going? Stay with us!' "

A similar lament is being heard in San Francisco's half-empty classrooms and in the corridors of City Hall.

San Francisco has the smallest share of small-fry of any major U.S. city; 14.5 percent of its population is younger than 18.

It is no mystery why U.S. cities are losing children. The promise of safer streets, better schools and more space has drawn young families away from cities for as long as America has had suburbs.

But kids are even more scarce in San Francisco than in expensive New York (24 percent) or in retirement havens such as Palm Beach (19 percent).

San Francisco's large gay population - estimated at 20 percent by the city Public Health Department - may be one factor, though gays and lesbians in the city are increasingly raising families.

Another reason San Francisco's children are disappearing: Family housing in the city is especially scarce and expensive. A two-bedroom, 1,000-square-foot starter home is considered a bargain at $760,000.

A recent survey by the city controller found 40 percent of parents said they were considering moving within the next year.

Determined to change things, Mayor Gavin Newsom has put the kid crisis near the top of his agenda, appointing a 27-member policy council to develop plans for keeping families in the city.

Newsom has created a tax credit for working families, and voters have approved measures to aid public schools, which have seen enrollment drop from about 62,000 to 59,000 since 2000.

"We are at a crossroads here," said N'Tanya Lee of the nonprofit Coleman Advocates for Children and Youth. "We are moving toward a place where we could have an infrastructure of children's services and no children."

[Last modified May 25, 2005, 00:41:07]