Oakland schools don't have enough students and closures are necessary, district says
OAKLAND, Calif. - The Oakland school board's special meeting Monday drew more than 1,800 people to the virtual online meeting, as the district presented the board with recommendations to close schools at the end of the year.
The superintendent said a drop in enrollment means the district will receive fewer funds in the coming years.
"We operate more schools than resources can support," said Dr. Kyla Johnson-Trammell, the OUSD Superintendent. "We now have 19 out of 51 elementary schools that are currently underenrolled. As you all know declining enrollment leads to less ongoing revenue for our district. For the last 20 years we have been addressing our structural deficit using one strategy primarily: reducing resources, cutting staff, and shifting into one-time funds that expire."
The district presented the numbers saying up to $15 million could be saved every year by closing school buildings. The superintendent says that money could be used to reinvest in teachers and services and break a cycle of overspending.
In a statement last Thursday, the district said OUSD has 80 district-run schools serving 33,000 students.
To compare, Fremont Unified has 42 schools serving 34,000 students. San Jose Unified has 41 schools that serve 30,000 students. Stockton has 48 schools serving 35,000 students.
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"While Oakland earns a bit more revenue than all of them, with half as many schools, those other districts can concentrate their funds into fewer schools, with higher compensation for all of their employees," the district said.
The board asked district staff to prepare a list of recommended school closures. Those include: Prescott Elementary, Carl Munck Elementary, Parker, Brookfield Elementary and Grass Valley Elementary. The district staff also recommended mergers of RISE Elementary and New Highland, Westlake Middle School and West Oakland Middle School, and Ralph Bunche and Dewey high schools.
The OUSD staff recommended another round of changes for the following year by 2024 that would close Horace Mann Elementary and Korematsu Discovery Academy, and impact Manzanita Community School and Fruitvale Elementary.
During more than six hours of public comment Monday, many parents and teachers say they're upset there was no outreach earlier.
Outside Manzanita Community School in Oakland, parents and staff organized a watch party for the board meeting. Students got slices of pizza while their parents were able to view the meeting on a large screen in the playground.
"No one knew until Friday afternoon and they were blindsided," said Luz Chavez, a Manzanita Community School Resource Specialist, "Do not close our schools. Our families need the extra support, especially in the middle of a pandemic."
Manzanita staff and parents were upset the district's official notification to the schools and parents was so sudden, only days before the board's meeting.
"The timing does not feel good, especially there are a lot of students that are free lunch students that really need support," said Khephra Molloy, a Manzanita Community School parent.
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"I work graveyards. it depends on what school they're going to do. Maybe they go to a school that is far," said Wendy Medina, a Manzanita Community School parent.
"The district has never done anything to help work with the school to increase enrollment. I have been at Prescott for a decade, been begging for your help. Each and every one of you I have spoken to personally," said Stephanie Parrott, a parent of a student at Prescott Elementary.
"The savings that have been shown could be done in a variety of other ways. Please be creative and think outside the box," said one woman speaking in support for the Korematsu Academy.
"I was very shocked. i was very hurt about the timeline," said Timothy Killings, an OUSD Westlake Middle School case manager who says he worries about his students' lives being disrupted if they have to travel across town to other schools, "We have kids who live in East Oakland. I don't want parents to have to take kids from East Oakland to West Oakland."
There were some people who said they understood the district's need to close schools.
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"OUSD has 15,000 fewer students than it did 20 years ago. Why should it continue to operate roughly the same number of school facilities as it did back then, when similarly sized districts have half the number of schools, pay higher teacher salaries and have stronger student outcomes," said Megan, a parent in District 2. "It doesn't make sense to prioritize keeping so many half-full school buildings open over literally everything else that they cannot afford to do to promote greater quality and equity in the OUSD schools."
Many parents and staff, though, said they are planning protests this coming week to show their anger. Some even vowed to go on a hunger strike in protest. Prescott Elementary parents are planning a rally for Saturday.
At La Escuelita Elementary School, parents said they plan to gather for a protest and rally Tuesday morning along with parents from Westlake and other schools.
"There was no warning whatsoever, they didn't reach out to any of the parents, teachers," said Galen Rivers, whose daughter attends La Escuelita Elementary.