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
It is unjust to close majority Black schools and not others. Listen to your students. Give Black students the education they need rather than displacing them to other schools and increasing their barriers to education.
As a parent of an OUSD student, Oppose this measure! We request a moratorium on this decision on February 8, 2022 while we are in a middle of a pandemic & do not have a true path for participation from the public. This measure is rushed & not transparent. The release of “Recommendation for School Consolidations” on January 31, 2022: Resolution 2122-0026 & a call to a vote on February 8, 2022 , is less than 10 days for any participation. Yet this is a critical decision that impacts student lives & direction 4 OUSD. The lack of time to have community feed back not only from the immediate schools impacted but the “Welcoming Schools” that are expected to absorb additional students, nor the general school community and the community at large shows little regard to the Oakland community. If not this creates instability and lack of trust. We need to understand that we are ensuring fair and equitable decisions that does not penalize certain communities namely Black &Brown students.
I am against the school closures. It is unjustified and unnecessary. Parents, teachers, and students are very clear in their opposition to this. Support the schools and help them serve their students! This is extremely damaging to so many people’s lives.
I oppose the closing of more schools. We should be investing in better public education, not funneling more kids towards charter schools, and overtaxing fewer teachers.
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 am abhorrent over the closure of OUSD schools in the midst of a global pandemic where children have continued to experience trauma. The closure of Oakland schools is racist, classist, and ableist. Not only do these school closures affect predominantly Black and Brown communities, but it also predominantly affects students who have learning disabilities, as a majority of these schools serve large populations of Special Education students. The community stands united - there have been literally thousands of comments and people and students protesting against these school closures. How can you not listen to them? These are your constituents, who you are supposed to represent. You cannot say that you have the community in mind when the community is unanimously opposed to this action. There has been no transparency, community engagement, or plan. Sharing "welcoming schools" with the distance between the schools is not a plan and allowing the public to comment is NOT community engagement.
I'm a resident of District 3 and strongly opposed to OUSD school closures. The supposed savings presented last week are small compared to the trauma and dishevel that would be caused to disproportionately Black students. The suggestions given by the community for other ways to address funding concerns.
I’m a retired OUSD special education teacher and I strongly oppose this proposal to close and merge any OUSD schools. From what I’ve read there has been a huge lack of process and a deliberate disregard of engaging the OUSD community in developing solutions to a possible budget deficit other than closing schools. Oakland already is the most privatized school district in California, and by closing public schools many families will “chose” a neighborhood charter over enrolling in an OUSD school farther away. Pay for OUSD administration is 500% more than the average in California and pay to consultants over 300% more. Start cutting there, and vote no on the proposal to close schools.
I oppose the OUSD school closures.
I have been listening to the testimony on tonight’s (2/8/22) OUSD special meeting, and EVERY opinion I’ve heard voiced has been in opposition to closing and consolidating Oakland schools. For a board member to hear all of those voices, stories, pleas; to hear testaments of history, logic, and grounded reasoning from those who would truly understand the impacts of school closures; for a board member to hear all of that and still vote against the will of EVERYONE in their community is unthinkable, offensive, and inhumane. This plan is not well enough thought out, planned, or reasoned, to go against the will of the majority. If you planned to vote for school closures tonight, change that decision now, listen to your community, and save these schools. You can start drafting a better plan tomorrow, WITH the input of your community and those who know better than you.
I am against the school closures. I do not understand this false and made up sense of urgency to make a decision on this matter. The savings presented last week seem very small in contrast to the amount of uncertainty and upheaval school closures would cause for students and families. Support the schools and help them serve their students. Find money somewhere else in this extremely rich state. Listen to the community speaking up.
As a community member, I oppose these school closures. Students are already suffering due to the trauma of the pandemic and consolidations that occurred earlier this year. These students deserve better than this. They deserve schools that can provide safe spaces for the community. These school closures would greatly impact our students and would impact some students ability to access a public education. COVID has already impacted them enough. Please do not make the mistake of putting these students and families through additional trauma by closing their community schools.
It is unjust to close majority Black schools and not others. Listen to your students. Give Black students the education they need rather than displacing them to other schools and increasing their barriers to education.
As a parent of an OUSD student, Oppose this measure! We request a moratorium on this decision on February 8, 2022 while we are in a middle of a pandemic & do not have a true path for participation from the public. This measure is rushed & not transparent. The release of “Recommendation for School Consolidations” on January 31, 2022: Resolution 2122-0026 & a call to a vote on February 8, 2022 , is less than 10 days for any participation. Yet this is a critical decision that impacts student lives & direction 4 OUSD. The lack of time to have community feed back not only from the immediate schools impacted but the “Welcoming Schools” that are expected to absorb additional students, nor the general school community and the community at large shows little regard to the Oakland community. If not this creates instability and lack of trust. We need to understand that we are ensuring fair and equitable decisions that does not penalize certain communities namely Black &Brown students.
I am opposed to these school closures. Invest in our students!
I am against the school closures. It is unjustified and unnecessary. Parents, teachers, and students are very clear in their opposition to this. Support the schools and help them serve their students! This is extremely damaging to so many people’s lives.
Please listen to your constituents—they’ve spoken quite clearly.
Oppose!
I oppose the closing of more schools. We should be investing in better public education, not funneling more kids towards charter schools, and overtaxing fewer teachers.
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 am abhorrent over the closure of OUSD schools in the midst of a global pandemic where children have continued to experience trauma. The closure of Oakland schools is racist, classist, and ableist. Not only do these school closures affect predominantly Black and Brown communities, but it also predominantly affects students who have learning disabilities, as a majority of these schools serve large populations of Special Education students. The community stands united - there have been literally thousands of comments and people and students protesting against these school closures. How can you not listen to them? These are your constituents, who you are supposed to represent. You cannot say that you have the community in mind when the community is unanimously opposed to this action. There has been no transparency, community engagement, or plan. Sharing "welcoming schools" with the distance between the schools is not a plan and allowing the public to comment is NOT community engagement.
I'm a resident of District 3 and strongly opposed to OUSD school closures. The supposed savings presented last week are small compared to the trauma and dishevel that would be caused to disproportionately Black students. The suggestions given by the community for other ways to address funding concerns.
I’m a retired OUSD special education teacher and I strongly oppose this proposal to close and merge any OUSD schools. From what I’ve read there has been a huge lack of process and a deliberate disregard of engaging the OUSD community in developing solutions to a possible budget deficit other than closing schools. Oakland already is the most privatized school district in California, and by closing public schools many families will “chose” a neighborhood charter over enrolling in an OUSD school farther away. Pay for OUSD administration is 500% more than the average in California and pay to consultants over 300% more. Start cutting there, and vote no on the proposal to close schools.
I oppose the OUSD school closures.
I have been listening to the testimony on tonight’s (2/8/22) OUSD special meeting, and EVERY opinion I’ve heard voiced has been in opposition to closing and consolidating Oakland schools. For a board member to hear all of those voices, stories, pleas; to hear testaments of history, logic, and grounded reasoning from those who would truly understand the impacts of school closures; for a board member to hear all of that and still vote against the will of EVERYONE in their community is unthinkable, offensive, and inhumane. This plan is not well enough thought out, planned, or reasoned, to go against the will of the majority. If you planned to vote for school closures tonight, change that decision now, listen to your community, and save these schools. You can start drafting a better plan tomorrow, WITH the input of your community and those who know better than you.
I strongly oppose the closure of more public schools in Oakland.
Please save our schools Prescott especially
Please do not close Oakland schools.
Do not further traumatize communities and children. Create safe spaces for all kids to grow & learn. I am very opposed to the school closures.
I oppose school closures!
I oppose. This is horrific and racist and I am BEYOND disappointed. How could you!!!!!
I am against the school closures. I do not understand this false and made up sense of urgency to make a decision on this matter. The savings presented last week seem very small in contrast to the amount of uncertainty and upheaval school closures would cause for students and families. Support the schools and help them serve their students. Find money somewhere else in this extremely rich state. Listen to the community speaking up.
As a community member, I oppose these school closures. Students are already suffering due to the trauma of the pandemic and consolidations that occurred earlier this year. These students deserve better than this. They deserve schools that can provide safe spaces for the community. These school closures would greatly impact our students and would impact some students ability to access a public education. COVID has already impacted them enough. Please do not make the mistake of putting these students and families through additional trauma by closing their community schools.