OUSD proposes merging 10 schools to cut costs

OAKLAND, Calif. - Oakland school leaders are meeting on Wednesday to discuss consolidating 10 school campuses as a way to cut costs to adjust to a rising budget deficit.

The issue is a little Deja vu for Oakland Unified parents, many who have fought hard to keep their schools open.

But this proposal is a bit different from what has been floated in the past.

Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammel is proposing consolidating 10 schools down to five. And these schools, like Manzanita Community School and Seed Elementary, already share a campus.

So the plan is to merge these schools that already share a space into one larger school.

The district argues that under this plan families would not need to travel to anywhere different and would actually combine resources to create stronger educational programs. 
Johnson-Trammell is attempting to stop the bleeding from the worsening budget deficit, which the district predicts will total close to $79 million at the end of this year and could worsen to more than$90 million next year.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the total annual savings is about $3 million if the 10 schools are merged into five. 

In January 2022, OUSD had planned to close nearly a dozen schools, sparking protests and the occupation of a school site. 

When a new school board took office, some of those closure and merger plans were scaled back. Ultimately, two schools closed, one merged, and one K-8 school had its middle school grades eliminated.

OUSD currently serves about 34,000 students across 77 schools, from elementary through high school. 

Enrollment at OUSD is down, about 16,000 fewer students are in the district compared to about 20 years ago.

Other Bay Area school districts in San Francisco and San Jose have also been discussing closing and merging schools for similar reasons. 

Johnson-Trammel will formally introduce this list to the school board on Wednesday, and then town halls will be held over the next few weeks.

A final vote isn't expected until December.

Here are the planned mergers:

• Manzanita Community School and Manzanita SEED Elementary
• Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy and Esperanza Elementary School
• Think College Now and International Community School
• Life Academy and United For Success Academy
• EnCompass Academy and Acorn Woodland Elementary