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
To adopt a policy so disruptive to the community in light of widespread community opposition makes successful implementation of the plan extremely problematic.
Due to the haste in which this policy is being adopted in response to pressure from the OUSD Administration, the County Superintendent, and FCMAT, I am concerned that the Board is engaged in groupthink, a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group when the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in a dysfunctional decision-making outcome that may be fueled by a particular agenda.
I strongly recommend the Board declare a moratorium on school consolidations and order the Administration to hire an unbiased, independent group of experts to evaluate the proposed plan (e.g., the National Education Policy Center).
Quite disgusting to see the position of some of the board members supporting school closures. We do not buy the excuse of not generating enough revenue. The board is allowing FCMAT to bully them and the Superintendent and our Black and Brown children are having to pay the price for decisions that this incompetent board is making. You do not have to close schools to give teachers and staff raises. You do not have to close schools and merge schools to save money. Start by terminating the lease at 1000 Broadway if you want to save money. Start by not hiring and paying so many consultants thousands of dollars to tell you what the community has been screaming you for years. Stop trying to balance the books off the backs of our Black and Brown babies and start giving our schools the same resources that you provide to the schools in the hills. Not once have you even considered closing one of those schools. Shame on you OUSD board and superintendent, you are heartless and it is disgusting.
I strongly oppose the consolidations of schools. Most of the schools are in Black and Brown communities. If you close their nearest school, then it may be harder for them to get to another school. We don't have school buses to transport them like Berkeley and other cities do. Not everyone can afford AC Transit or have access to transportation. Also, you're showing these students and families that you serve that our needs and services aren't important. Please truly think about the families in the neighborhoods. For the last 20 years, we've seen so many schools close and students pushed to other districts and charters because Oakland doesn't seem to care about the community.
You don't save money from closing schools, but you can from cutting from the top positions. We need teachers and other staff members on the front lines and we're losing them because you're turning them away and not increasing their pay. Please find other ways to save money by looking at personnel and other expenses.
This continued closure of schools with high Black, Indigenous, and other P.O.C. populations further reinforces the historical legacy of white supremacy and systematic erasure of BIPOC students in Education.
Mahal Kita.
Tu eres mi otro yo.
Keep schools open and invest in the education of the future for all of us.
Thank you,
Griffen Rizoulis Castillo
Former All City Council Vice President
OUSD Alumni
Community advocate
If you can't provide evidence that these closures will actually result in financial savings I have absolutely no idea why you would move forward with them.
Hi! I am a West Oakland resident and live very near Prescott Elementary. Please do not close Prescott - it will disproportionately affect the kids who need our support most. We should work with the state to find a compromise that helps these schools thrive, rather than constantly underfunds them and threatens closure. Thank you!
To the OUSD Superintendent & Administrators and the Oakland School Board - I urge you to vote NO on this measure. School closures & consolidations cause harm to students and families -- disrupting stability including negative mental health impacts, creating additional barriers for students with social and behavioral needs, and eroding trust. OUSD leadership and the Board have an ethical duty to respect the best interest of students and families, particularly those who identify from historically marginalized communities and live with barriers to educational equity; to hear the voices of students and families by providing adequate time for community input; to follow their own guidelines to perform an Equity Impact Analysis; to obtain and disclose an appropriately sophisticated analysis of the fiscal benefits of all options; and to attempt less harmful alternatives before closure/consolidation. OUSD and the Board have not fulfilled these duties. Please vote NO this evening.
Keep La Escuelita open!!! Do not close any schools in Oakland!!! La escuelita is a small school that supports many amazing kids. They deserve the right to keep their school open and get educated wherever they feel comfortable at. Don’t disrespect our community and our kids by making your own decision without approval. We will protect our kids and ask for you to do the same. No school closures!!! No school closures!!!! We will not tolerate it and that is not a good move to make while many kids are struggling with stress, mental health and medical issues. Focus on supporting these kids the right way not by adding more fear or stress on them. Focus on rebuilding the community not hurting our Oakland kids and families. No to school closures! Keep La Escuelita and all other schools open!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
School Psychologist here at Brookfield Elementary School. We have four SDC classes at Brookfield and many of our students are from the neighborhood, having strategically been put there to make it easier on their families. Some of our special needs students can't tolerate the bus and rely on their parents to take them to school. Our parents also appreciate being close to their students in the event of a medical emergency as many of these students have particular health needs. With this population being dispersed to different programs throughout district, I would not be surprised if some stop attending entirely due to parent inability to get them there. The special needs population, particularly our ID and Autistic students, rely on routine and familiarity with staff to function at their best. A closure would be soo harmful to their progress and sense of safety.
My name is Minister Cherri Murphy and I am a faith rooted organizer for Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (FAME) an initiative of East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE). I am also a member of Heart and Soul Center of Light, Oakland. I call on the Board to conduct an Equity analysis to reach a fair and just solution. It is clear that the District would not be harmed by delaying this vote and conducting an Equity analysis. School Board Superintendant and Directors, our children are not for sale. At FAME are rejoining the Black Reparations Campaign & doubling our efforts in calling on OUSD to recommit to working with the Reparations Task Force to create the racial equity impact analysis BEFORE any vote is taken.
The Board must complete an Equity Impact Analysis. Where is this analysis and what are the findings? How will closing these schools save the district money? If it does, will the students that are forced to change schools benefit from those savings? A two week review is inappropriate for something that will severely impact so many people's lives, especially the struggling students who need stability now more than ever.
I was born in Oakland, worked in an OUSD classroom, and I’m an Oakland resident. I oppose these closures, and your insensitive delivery of the devastating news. Please consider dialogue, and hear the voices of our valuable community.
The 14 schools directly affected have 14 different stories and each story needs a deep engagement with the communities involved. There may be other ways to solve the OUSD problems beside drastic devastating closures. There has not been enough time to dive into this huge decision. Postpone this decision and let’s all engage deeply first.
I’m against closing Prescott as this is the only school serving our children- without this school our kids will not be able to walk to school and will need to find another way to school
Education is a basic human right. Oakland students all deserve an accessible education and closing schools would create massive barriers to access and compromise their opportunities.
No school closures! We need to support our youth and their early education.
Do not close primarily brown and Black schools! Invest in Oakland youth!
To adopt a policy so disruptive to the community in light of widespread community opposition makes successful implementation of the plan extremely problematic.
Due to the haste in which this policy is being adopted in response to pressure from the OUSD Administration, the County Superintendent, and FCMAT, I am concerned that the Board is engaged in groupthink, a psychological phenomenon that occurs within a group when the desire for harmony or conformity in the group results in a dysfunctional decision-making outcome that may be fueled by a particular agenda.
I strongly recommend the Board declare a moratorium on school consolidations and order the Administration to hire an unbiased, independent group of experts to evaluate the proposed plan (e.g., the National Education Policy Center).
Quite disgusting to see the position of some of the board members supporting school closures. We do not buy the excuse of not generating enough revenue. The board is allowing FCMAT to bully them and the Superintendent and our Black and Brown children are having to pay the price for decisions that this incompetent board is making. You do not have to close schools to give teachers and staff raises. You do not have to close schools and merge schools to save money. Start by terminating the lease at 1000 Broadway if you want to save money. Start by not hiring and paying so many consultants thousands of dollars to tell you what the community has been screaming you for years. Stop trying to balance the books off the backs of our Black and Brown babies and start giving our schools the same resources that you provide to the schools in the hills. Not once have you even considered closing one of those schools. Shame on you OUSD board and superintendent, you are heartless and it is disgusting.
Please do not close South Prescott Elementary. It would be detrimental to West Oakland.
I strongly oppose the consolidations of schools. Most of the schools are in Black and Brown communities. If you close their nearest school, then it may be harder for them to get to another school. We don't have school buses to transport them like Berkeley and other cities do. Not everyone can afford AC Transit or have access to transportation. Also, you're showing these students and families that you serve that our needs and services aren't important. Please truly think about the families in the neighborhoods. For the last 20 years, we've seen so many schools close and students pushed to other districts and charters because Oakland doesn't seem to care about the community.
You don't save money from closing schools, but you can from cutting from the top positions. We need teachers and other staff members on the front lines and we're losing them because you're turning them away and not increasing their pay. Please find other ways to save money by looking at personnel and other expenses.
I don’t want Dewey to move because I like the set up of the school and how peaceful it is now.
This continued closure of schools with high Black, Indigenous, and other P.O.C. populations further reinforces the historical legacy of white supremacy and systematic erasure of BIPOC students in Education.
Mahal Kita.
Tu eres mi otro yo.
Keep schools open and invest in the education of the future for all of us.
Thank you,
Griffen Rizoulis Castillo
Former All City Council Vice President
OUSD Alumni
Community advocate
If you can't provide evidence that these closures will actually result in financial savings I have absolutely no idea why you would move forward with them.
Hi! I am a West Oakland resident and live very near Prescott Elementary. Please do not close Prescott - it will disproportionately affect the kids who need our support most. We should work with the state to find a compromise that helps these schools thrive, rather than constantly underfunds them and threatens closure. Thank you!
I am an Oakland resident in District 1. I oppose closing the schools.
To the OUSD Superintendent & Administrators and the Oakland School Board - I urge you to vote NO on this measure. School closures & consolidations cause harm to students and families -- disrupting stability including negative mental health impacts, creating additional barriers for students with social and behavioral needs, and eroding trust. OUSD leadership and the Board have an ethical duty to respect the best interest of students and families, particularly those who identify from historically marginalized communities and live with barriers to educational equity; to hear the voices of students and families by providing adequate time for community input; to follow their own guidelines to perform an Equity Impact Analysis; to obtain and disclose an appropriately sophisticated analysis of the fiscal benefits of all options; and to attempt less harmful alternatives before closure/consolidation. OUSD and the Board have not fulfilled these duties. Please vote NO this evening.
Keep La Escuelita open!!! Do not close any schools in Oakland!!! La escuelita is a small school that supports many amazing kids. They deserve the right to keep their school open and get educated wherever they feel comfortable at. Don’t disrespect our community and our kids by making your own decision without approval. We will protect our kids and ask for you to do the same. No school closures!!! No school closures!!!! We will not tolerate it and that is not a good move to make while many kids are struggling with stress, mental health and medical issues. Focus on supporting these kids the right way not by adding more fear or stress on them. Focus on rebuilding the community not hurting our Oakland kids and families. No to school closures! Keep La Escuelita and all other schools open!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
No To School Closures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
School Psychologist here at Brookfield Elementary School. We have four SDC classes at Brookfield and many of our students are from the neighborhood, having strategically been put there to make it easier on their families. Some of our special needs students can't tolerate the bus and rely on their parents to take them to school. Our parents also appreciate being close to their students in the event of a medical emergency as many of these students have particular health needs. With this population being dispersed to different programs throughout district, I would not be surprised if some stop attending entirely due to parent inability to get them there. The special needs population, particularly our ID and Autistic students, rely on routine and familiarity with staff to function at their best. A closure would be soo harmful to their progress and sense of safety.
My name is Minister Cherri Murphy and I am a faith rooted organizer for Faith Alliance for a Moral Economy (FAME) an initiative of East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE). I am also a member of Heart and Soul Center of Light, Oakland. I call on the Board to conduct an Equity analysis to reach a fair and just solution. It is clear that the District would not be harmed by delaying this vote and conducting an Equity analysis. School Board Superintendant and Directors, our children are not for sale. At FAME are rejoining the Black Reparations Campaign & doubling our efforts in calling on OUSD to recommit to working with the Reparations Task Force to create the racial equity impact analysis BEFORE any vote is taken.
The Board must complete an Equity Impact Analysis. Where is this analysis and what are the findings? How will closing these schools save the district money? If it does, will the students that are forced to change schools benefit from those savings? A two week review is inappropriate for something that will severely impact so many people's lives, especially the struggling students who need stability now more than ever.
I was born in Oakland, worked in an OUSD classroom, and I’m an Oakland resident. I oppose these closures, and your insensitive delivery of the devastating news. Please consider dialogue, and hear the voices of our valuable community.
The 14 schools directly affected have 14 different stories and each story needs a deep engagement with the communities involved. There may be other ways to solve the OUSD problems beside drastic devastating closures. There has not been enough time to dive into this huge decision. Postpone this decision and let’s all engage deeply first.
I’m against closing Prescott as this is the only school serving our children- without this school our kids will not be able to walk to school and will need to find another way to school
Education is a basic human right. Oakland students all deserve an accessible education and closing schools would create massive barriers to access and compromise their opportunities.