#oakland-school-district

#oakland-school-district

The fire burned portions of the Camron-Stanford House, a three-story Victorian on the southern end of the lake. Firefighters were able to save the home, but preservationists have questions about how the fire started.

Parents allege that the Sequoia Union High School Board circumvented the state's open meeting laws by discussing the school's closure in private text messages, which they claim violates the Brown Act.

This contract reflects a newfound commitment by the OUSD superintendent and school board to prioritize resources toward classrooms. The agreement includes smaller caseloads for school counselors, a book allowance for teacher librarians, and improved workloads for school nurses, representing gains across multiple educator categories and support roles.

This is the worst crisis OUSD has ever faced. Period. We don't even know what's possible yet. We never did the work to see what are our options. These are big questions. And I don't have any of the answers. And I have issue with that.

Right now, OUSD educators are the lowest paid in the region, and as a result, the District loses nearly 400 hardworking, dedicated educators per year, costing the district $7.5 million annually, President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer said in a news release. This is a waste of resources, destabilizes classrooms, and especially hurts our most vulnerable students. Oakland educators have been in this fight for the schools our students deserve for a long timeand we remain committed to stabilizing our schools.

Oakland leaders have declined for the second time to reappoint two incumbents to the Police Commission, the civilian body overseeing the Oakland Police Department. At the City Council meeting Tuesday night, all but two council members - Carroll Fife and Noel Gallo - voted to reject the nominees submitted by the Police Commission Selection Panel in December: Ricardo Garcia-Acosta, chair of the commission, and Omar Farmer, an alternate commissioner. The commissioners' terms expired in October, but both have continued to serve in a holdover capacity.

But the city only committed funding through the current 2025-2026 school year, and city leaders made it clear that this was a pilot program they would support for the first few years and then hand over to the district to build into its budget or seek outside funding. That funding cliff has arrived just as OUSD navigates a serious budget deficit and needs to trim $100 million from next year's budget.

Schools are back in session this week after a much needed break for all, and Alameda Unified School District officials are happy to report that our campuses weathered the deluge of rain relatively well. We hope that everyone in the AUSD community stayed dry, cozy and not too stir-crazy during this extended stretch of rain! A few updates: First, at the Dec. 9 AUSD Board of Education meeting, Board Member Ryan LaLonde became the board's new president,

The union last week reportedly rejected a three-year deal dubbed a "stability package," which included a 6% raise spread over three years. The union is also seeking contract language protecting undocumented students and those from mixed-status families, and a reduction in case loads for paraeducators. The union is seeking 9% raises for certified teachers, spread over two years, and 14% hikes for paraeducators.

While some school districts have simple zone systems in which students are automatically enrolled in their neighborhood school, Oakland has a choice system that allows families to apply to any school in the city. That can mean more work as families go on multiple tours and sift through information about dozens of school programs, specialties, and enrichment offerings - while trying to navigate what can feel like an opaque enrollment process.

Oakland Unified School District leaders see attendance rates as critical to their plan to address a $100 million budget gap. Increasing attendance by even 1% overall could add $5 million in revenue. That's because state funds, which make up the biggest pot of money for the district, are based on a funding formula that uses students' average daily attendance rates. Raising attendance a few percentage points could mean millions more for a district searching for a way out of its structural deficit.

Enrollment in Oakland Unified School District is on the rebound, but continued gains are uncertain as the district faces large unresolved deficits. During the first regular school board meeting of the year on Wednesday, OUSD's executive director of enrollment Kilian Betlach reported increases in transitional kindergarten enrollment, enrollment gains from charter school closures, and a collapse in enrollment by newcomer students. This year, OUSD's enrollment exceeded projections by more than 500 students, which means roughly $7 million more in state funding for the district.

Teachers have almost no authority over student behaviors or academic grading, and are given little, if any, respect from administrators, parents or even students. Instead, students have all the authority but no responsibility for their success. Students do (or don't do) whatever they wish, while empty-handed teachers are left to take the blame. Teachers no longer have the ultimate tool of flunking students.