22-0243 Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 2122-0030 - School Consolidations for Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24.
· Presentation by the Superintendent of Schools of recommendations for School Consolidations for Fiscal Years 2022-23 and 2023-24
· Public Comments on proposed School Consolidations
· Discussion of the Board by and between Members and/or the Superintendent of Schools and/or designee(s)
· Action by Board on Resolution No. 2122-0030
I am one of many supporters of the Reparations for Black Students Resolution and am opposed to OUSD’s attempt to balance the budget on the backs of our Black students. This board has failed to engage the community tonight's decision will impact nor has the board conducted a necessary equity impact analysis. There are other ways to handle a budget crisis and OUSD’s own history of school closures is a clear indicator that closing schools will not produce the desired district savings. Hands off our schools!
Closures haven't helped in the past, certainly not compared to the hurt they have caused.
A 2% savings is not going to give our schools significantly more resources. There is no trust that it would be spent wisely.
And to rush this so, in a pandemic, is just garbage.
Please show kids that all their activism can make a difference, rather than showing them you don't give a crap about them about them. I was forced to edit my language for that last sentence, How is that word more offensive than what you're even proposing to do to schools?!
I am one of many supporters of the Reparations for Black Students Resolution and am opposed to OUSD’s attempt to balance the budget on the backs of our Black students. This board has failed to engage the community tonight's decision will impact nor has the board conducted a necessary equity impact analysis. There are other ways to handle a budget crisis and OUSD’s own history of school closures is a clear indicator that closing schools will not produce the desired district savings. Hands off our schools!
I'm a D5 resident and two local schools, including my child's school, are affected. I also sit on the Oakland Public Safety and Services Commission and Reimagine Safety Taskforce 2021. Shifts in our community that are detrimental to Black, brown and under-resourced ares in Oakland have a detrimental impact in families ability to thrive presently and in the future. Over and over again, Oakland has been calling for stability and increased resources in these parts of our community. Among many adverse consequences, I believe these school closures will contribute to an increase violence and less personal, interpersonal and community safety of children, families and members in my neighborhood.
Don't rush this process. Students, families, and neighborhoods deserve a careful planning process for addressing the budget, and ideally one that doesn't close/merge so many schools. Please consider the benefits these dispersed locations provide and listen to those who will be greatly affected. During the pandemic we saw many ways in which K-12 school locations provided resources on top of classroom learning to people who need it.
What racist, classist proposals? Where will these students go- farther away from home so there will be lower enrollment and attendance. Why only schools in the flats?
As an OUSD alum and someone working in professional development for elementary educators—I find the proposal shameful and blatantly discriminatory. I support the Reparations for Black Students Resolution, and am disgusted by this attempt to further disadvantage Oakland students—during what is already a trying and traumatizing school year. This Board has really showed their true colors through this lack of community-rooted process, data-driven planning, and care for Oakland children, families, and extraordinarily hard working teachers. If the Board would like like to cut costs, perhaps they could move their HQ to one of the vacant buildings in their holdings instead of paying exorbitant rent on Broadway.
Keep majority Black schools open and to honor the Reparations for Black Students resolution that OUSD approved last year. Closures disproportionately impact Black families and thus are a racist measure that will make it harder for Black families to access schools. Until you figure out a better way to cut costs, closing these schools is irresponsible and violates community and parent trust in OUSD.
Please vote down the measure to close schools. True enrollment numbers are skewed by the effects of the pandemic. This is a decision that will impact thousands of students and their families with not nearly enough community involvement and insufficient financial analysis. Don't add extra stress on families that have already been through so much due to the pandemic by closing our schools! What were the outcomes for students the last time schools were closed? What evidence is your 10% enrollment drop based upon? So many questions have not been answered. These are just a few questions that should be sufficiently answered before the drastic move to close schools occurs.
This board voted to extend the lease at 1000 Broadway for another year costing the district an additional 2.5 million dollars. There is no reason for OUSD to be renting property when there are literally several vacant properties that can be used as office space. 1000 broadway has been severely underutilized especially during the pandemic and has cost the district over 20 million dollars since negotiating the lease back in 2014. Find alternative ways to balance the budget. Hands off our schools.
The average distance a student/family would have to travel to get to these proposed welcoming schools is over 2 miles. Some of these welcoming schools are in completely different neighborhoods, some require our students to walk across dangerous high traffic streets and intersections. The safety of our children was not considered at all in this district's planning. Hands off our schools!
I oppose school closures particularly when they are in less "advantaged" neighborhoods. We must not add burdens to folks who may already be struggling. I wonder if the intention is to gentrify and make life less workable for the less than affluent? I fear that this may just be more racism, driving away people who are perceived as less desirable in the city. It is unfair to make children travel farther to school or be in schools with more students per class. If enrollment is dropping, wonderful, that means more teachers per student!
I understand there is no justifiable fiscal reason for closing these schools, so WHY is this being considered? Someone wants to make a lot of money selling the property?
All this is highly suspect. NO CLOSURES
Vote no on the proposal to close and merge nine majority-Black and Latine schools, many of which are also majority free and reduced price lunch, and focused in the flatlands of Oakland! Last year, the OUSD board passed the Reparations for Black Students resolution, requiring impact reports before closures. This needs to be done before this vote is even considered. Please vote no and follow through with these commitments.
These closures are racists, classist, anti-democratic actions being taken by a board who would rather waste taxpayer money on consultants from LA than listen to the thousands of Oakland residents who have spoken out against them. Oakland deserves elected officials who will actually stand up for students and teachers and listen to what the community wants over their campaign donors and political allies.
These proposed closures are a blatant attack on public schools and Oaklands Black and Brown students. Your previous school closures have not solved any budget issues but have consistently led to turning valuable land over to charter schools for low rent. These closures have also consistently targeted schools with mainly Black and Brown students. Closing these schools will harm Oaklands students short term and long term and will function to dismantle public schools in Oakland. At the last school board meeting we heard story after story of how the schools you plan to close embody our slogan of community schools, thriving students. And yet you will close them for a short term financial gain of less than 2% of our budget. The long term financial loss of losing the school properties is obviously greater. More importantly the losses incurred regarding students social emotional wellbeing and education are obviously much larger than any financial gains these racist closures would gain us.
VOTE NO on school closures! It is clear there is conflicting information being considered, even by different members of the board at different times, not to mention the "facts" being delivered in haste to the public and still not supporting OUSD's claims about financial crisis and the reasons behind these considered closures and consolidations. It is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students. VOTE NO and support the wises of the people who elected you to speak for US
I am writing to say that I oppose the closure of Hillcrest Middle School. The school is doing a great job of educating my 3rd grade daughter, and we look forward to having her younger sister join her in a few years as a student. It is a wonderful resource in our neighborhood, and we would love to be able to send both our children to Hillcrest through middle school.
I'm not convinced that the plan as designed will save the district money (even after looking at this latest financial analysis which includes TK revenue). What it will certainly do is (1) see families leave OUSD and (2) tear down a middle school that was functioning incredibly well. Where are the parents begging to trade the middle school for TK since this is such a great idea? I have a TK child myself, and while I'd love for her to be able to go to school closer to home for that year, I'd much rather she be able to attend Hillcrest Middle School for 3 years.
Do not close our school!!! OUSD always has finance problems, why? Clearly administration does not know how to manage finance. Why is it that to clear the debt that OUSD created, you always intend to hurt our black and brown communities. As a parent stop hurting our children in education. Crowder classrooms means more work for our teachers and too many children to teach at one time. Cut budget somewhere else not schools. Start by selling the building where you have your office, cut any assistants that you may have on work that can be done by yourself. Why does President Yee needs someone to helping him to start a timer for the public to speak something he can do on his own. Or better yet cut your own salary since you are not doing a good job in managing our schools. Stop closing our neighborhood schools. No on school closures. Take all the comments in consideration it should count for something. This board needs to get audit by the State of California, period!!!!!
Balancing the budget by reducing services and creating hardships for majority Black students does a disservice not only to the students and parents, but our neighborhoods and community. The average distance a student/family would have to travel to get to these proposed welcoming schools is over 2 miles. Some of these welcoming schools are in completely different neighborhoods, some require our students to walk across dangerous high traffic streets and intersection.
There MUST be a better way without throwing Black children under the proverbial bus.
You spend $102,000 a month for central office rent and you say schools are too expensive? Where are your priorities?
I am one of many supporters of the Reparations for Black Students Resolution and am opposed to OUSD’s attempt to balance the budget on the backs of our Black students. This board has failed to engage the community tonight's decision will impact nor has the board conducted a necessary equity impact analysis. There are other ways to handle a budget crisis and OUSD’s own history of school closures is a clear indicator that closing schools will not produce the desired district savings. Hands off our schools!
Seriously, what is your real motivation?
Closures haven't helped in the past, certainly not compared to the hurt they have caused.
A 2% savings is not going to give our schools significantly more resources. There is no trust that it would be spent wisely.
And to rush this so, in a pandemic, is just garbage.
Please show kids that all their activism can make a difference, rather than showing them you don't give a crap about them about them. I was forced to edit my language for that last sentence, How is that word more offensive than what you're even proposing to do to schools?!
I am one of many supporters of the Reparations for Black Students Resolution and am opposed to OUSD’s attempt to balance the budget on the backs of our Black students. This board has failed to engage the community tonight's decision will impact nor has the board conducted a necessary equity impact analysis. There are other ways to handle a budget crisis and OUSD’s own history of school closures is a clear indicator that closing schools will not produce the desired district savings. Hands off our schools!
I'm a D5 resident and two local schools, including my child's school, are affected. I also sit on the Oakland Public Safety and Services Commission and Reimagine Safety Taskforce 2021. Shifts in our community that are detrimental to Black, brown and under-resourced ares in Oakland have a detrimental impact in families ability to thrive presently and in the future. Over and over again, Oakland has been calling for stability and increased resources in these parts of our community. Among many adverse consequences, I believe these school closures will contribute to an increase violence and less personal, interpersonal and community safety of children, families and members in my neighborhood.
Don't rush this process. Students, families, and neighborhoods deserve a careful planning process for addressing the budget, and ideally one that doesn't close/merge so many schools. Please consider the benefits these dispersed locations provide and listen to those who will be greatly affected. During the pandemic we saw many ways in which K-12 school locations provided resources on top of classroom learning to people who need it.
What racist, classist proposals? Where will these students go- farther away from home so there will be lower enrollment and attendance. Why only schools in the flats?
As an OUSD alum and someone working in professional development for elementary educators—I find the proposal shameful and blatantly discriminatory. I support the Reparations for Black Students Resolution, and am disgusted by this attempt to further disadvantage Oakland students—during what is already a trying and traumatizing school year. This Board has really showed their true colors through this lack of community-rooted process, data-driven planning, and care for Oakland children, families, and extraordinarily hard working teachers. If the Board would like like to cut costs, perhaps they could move their HQ to one of the vacant buildings in their holdings instead of paying exorbitant rent on Broadway.
Keep majority Black schools open and to honor the Reparations for Black Students resolution that OUSD approved last year. Closures disproportionately impact Black families and thus are a racist measure that will make it harder for Black families to access schools. Until you figure out a better way to cut costs, closing these schools is irresponsible and violates community and parent trust in OUSD.
Please vote down the measure to close schools. True enrollment numbers are skewed by the effects of the pandemic. This is a decision that will impact thousands of students and their families with not nearly enough community involvement and insufficient financial analysis. Don't add extra stress on families that have already been through so much due to the pandemic by closing our schools! What were the outcomes for students the last time schools were closed? What evidence is your 10% enrollment drop based upon? So many questions have not been answered. These are just a few questions that should be sufficiently answered before the drastic move to close schools occurs.
This board voted to extend the lease at 1000 Broadway for another year costing the district an additional 2.5 million dollars. There is no reason for OUSD to be renting property when there are literally several vacant properties that can be used as office space. 1000 broadway has been severely underutilized especially during the pandemic and has cost the district over 20 million dollars since negotiating the lease back in 2014. Find alternative ways to balance the budget. Hands off our schools.
The average distance a student/family would have to travel to get to these proposed welcoming schools is over 2 miles. Some of these welcoming schools are in completely different neighborhoods, some require our students to walk across dangerous high traffic streets and intersections. The safety of our children was not considered at all in this district's planning. Hands off our schools!
I oppose school closures particularly when they are in less "advantaged" neighborhoods. We must not add burdens to folks who may already be struggling. I wonder if the intention is to gentrify and make life less workable for the less than affluent? I fear that this may just be more racism, driving away people who are perceived as less desirable in the city. It is unfair to make children travel farther to school or be in schools with more students per class. If enrollment is dropping, wonderful, that means more teachers per student!
I understand there is no justifiable fiscal reason for closing these schools, so WHY is this being considered? Someone wants to make a lot of money selling the property?
All this is highly suspect. NO CLOSURES
Vote no on the proposal to close and merge nine majority-Black and Latine schools, many of which are also majority free and reduced price lunch, and focused in the flatlands of Oakland! Last year, the OUSD board passed the Reparations for Black Students resolution, requiring impact reports before closures. This needs to be done before this vote is even considered. Please vote no and follow through with these commitments.
These closures are racists, classist, anti-democratic actions being taken by a board who would rather waste taxpayer money on consultants from LA than listen to the thousands of Oakland residents who have spoken out against them. Oakland deserves elected officials who will actually stand up for students and teachers and listen to what the community wants over their campaign donors and political allies.
These proposed closures are a blatant attack on public schools and Oaklands Black and Brown students. Your previous school closures have not solved any budget issues but have consistently led to turning valuable land over to charter schools for low rent. These closures have also consistently targeted schools with mainly Black and Brown students. Closing these schools will harm Oaklands students short term and long term and will function to dismantle public schools in Oakland. At the last school board meeting we heard story after story of how the schools you plan to close embody our slogan of community schools, thriving students. And yet you will close them for a short term financial gain of less than 2% of our budget. The long term financial loss of losing the school properties is obviously greater. More importantly the losses incurred regarding students social emotional wellbeing and education are obviously much larger than any financial gains these racist closures would gain us.
VOTE NO on school closures! It is clear there is conflicting information being considered, even by different members of the board at different times, not to mention the "facts" being delivered in haste to the public and still not supporting OUSD's claims about financial crisis and the reasons behind these considered closures and consolidations. It is not clear that OUSD has adequately considered alternatives to closures. Nationwide studies have shown school closures do not save money nor do they improve outcomes for impacted students. VOTE NO and support the wises of the people who elected you to speak for US
I am writing to say that I oppose the closure of Hillcrest Middle School. The school is doing a great job of educating my 3rd grade daughter, and we look forward to having her younger sister join her in a few years as a student. It is a wonderful resource in our neighborhood, and we would love to be able to send both our children to Hillcrest through middle school.
I'm not convinced that the plan as designed will save the district money (even after looking at this latest financial analysis which includes TK revenue). What it will certainly do is (1) see families leave OUSD and (2) tear down a middle school that was functioning incredibly well. Where are the parents begging to trade the middle school for TK since this is such a great idea? I have a TK child myself, and while I'd love for her to be able to go to school closer to home for that year, I'd much rather she be able to attend Hillcrest Middle School for 3 years.
This is unacceptable. You should demand more money from the state and hold them accountable.
Do not close our school!!! OUSD always has finance problems, why? Clearly administration does not know how to manage finance. Why is it that to clear the debt that OUSD created, you always intend to hurt our black and brown communities. As a parent stop hurting our children in education. Crowder classrooms means more work for our teachers and too many children to teach at one time. Cut budget somewhere else not schools. Start by selling the building where you have your office, cut any assistants that you may have on work that can be done by yourself. Why does President Yee needs someone to helping him to start a timer for the public to speak something he can do on his own. Or better yet cut your own salary since you are not doing a good job in managing our schools. Stop closing our neighborhood schools. No on school closures. Take all the comments in consideration it should count for something. This board needs to get audit by the State of California, period!!!!!
Balancing the budget by reducing services and creating hardships for majority Black students does a disservice not only to the students and parents, but our neighborhoods and community. The average distance a student/family would have to travel to get to these proposed welcoming schools is over 2 miles. Some of these welcoming schools are in completely different neighborhoods, some require our students to walk across dangerous high traffic streets and intersection.
There MUST be a better way without throwing Black children under the proverbial bus.