"Our children are public school students in Oakland. We are public school parents. We have put our faith in this public good, to prepare them for the future, our futures, yet it is failing them. Only one in three Oakland Unified students are reading at grade level, while just over one in four are proficient in math. For Black and Brown children, who make up over two-thirds of the district, the outcomes are even more alarming."
"In the past seven years we have been through three official strikes. We have watched as our beloved teachers fought for fair wages and improved working conditions while we also dealt with the significant resulting disruptions to our children's learning, family life and community. Yet, somehow, another strike looms. OUSD spends approximately $27,000 per student each year among the highest in California. Yet we lurch from one fiscal emergency to another, all the while eroding quality and confidence in our schools."
"They know the magnitude of the deficit and how it threatens to send Oakland back into state receivership only months after finally regaining local control. But instead of making difficult structural decisions from top to bottom required to stabilize the district, the board majority has chosen to kick the can down the road and relegated us to a death by a thousand cuts: firing critical school staff, removing support for struggling students,"
Oakland public schools show low academic proficiency: only one in three students read at grade level and just over one in four are math proficient. Black and Brown students, who form most of the district, experience even worse outcomes. The district has endured multiple strikes in seven years and faces another potential strike amid disruptions to learning and family life. OUSD spends about $27,000 per student yet cycles through fiscal emergencies that erode quality and confidence. The current board majority has avoided structural solutions, prompting layoffs, reduced supports, canceled programs, and risks of state receivership.
#oakland-unified-school-district #student-achievement #school-board-governance #budget--fiscal-crisis
Read at www.mercurynews.com
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