#oakland-unified

#oakland-unified

In a letter sent to the community Thursday, Saddler - who stepped into the top role over the summer after the school board ousted longtime superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell - said that $100 million must be cut from the 2026-27 budget in order for the district to stay afloat. "People we know and care about will lose their jobs. Programs our students love will be reduced or eliminated," Saddler said.

The board voted to have the district's general counsel Jenine Lindsey negotiate a contract for up to $150,000 with Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, an education consulting firm that has placed 76 superintendents in California over the last 10 years. According to its application packet, Hazard, Young helped Oakland hire its director of special education, deputy chief of talent, and deputy chief of facilities in 2015.

Three months after OUSD exited state receivership, Alysse Castro, the Alameda County superintendent, is upping pressure on district leaders to balance the budget, pointing to continued deficit spending and depleted reserves. She said that by Oct. 1, OUSD must provide the county a target amount of spending reductions for the 2025-2026 school year that accounts for recent budget projections. Separately, interim superintendent Denise Saddler has asked the board to give direction to the district's finance team by Oct. 8

"Without violating closed session, just where we have to be aligned in terms of what it takes to continue to sustain financial stability, right, to get to the academic outcomes..."