Oakland schools' budget plan plunders earmarks to reduce general fund deficit

"Tensions are running high in Oakland Unified School District as the board faces a quickly approaching deadline to settle next year's budget even as negotiations with the teachers union have reached an impasse. On Wednesday night's meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School, the school board, parents, and hundreds of protesting teachers got their first look at a budget plan put together by a consulting firm the board hired in December after chief business officer Lisa Grant-Dawson resigned."

"The plan they came up with relies heavily on shifting spending from OUSD's unrestricted base fund - where the deficit is - to restricted resources, which typically have earmarked uses or are spent on targeted student groups. That will also mean finding new funding sources to cover expenses that were previously paid for out of the restricted budget, or cutting them altogether."

"Ruben Frutos, one of the fiscal advisors, explained Wednesday that the strategy is to tap out restricted resources first, before spending elsewhere. The district receives more than $100 million in supplemental and concentration funding - state dollars that are intended to support English learners, foster youth, and low-income students. About 82% of OUSD students fall into these categories. "There is no new funding, these are the same budgetary numbers we had, but we are shifting some of the funds in order to protect the unrestricted portion of the budget," Frutos told the board. By shifting these expenses, the consultants managed to reduce next year's general fund deficit to around $50 million. But the restructuring means next year's supplemental and concentration funds - which pay for everything from assistant principals to elective teachers, newcomer teachers, attendance specialists, noon supervisors, case managers, and community"

Oakland Unified School District faces a near-term deadline to finalize next year’s budget while teachers union negotiations remain at an impasse. The board hired Hazard, Attea, Young and Associates to identify $102 million in reductions, resulting in a plan that reallocates expenses from the unrestricted base fund to restricted supplemental and concentration funds. The strategy prioritizes exhausting restricted resources first and then protecting the unrestricted budget. The district receives over $100 million in supplemental funding intended for English learners, foster youth, and low-income students, who represent about 82% of students. The consultants estimate the general fund deficit could fall to around $50 million, but the shifts threaten services paid from restricted funds.

Read at The Oaklandside