City Government
Students, Teachers Rally to Save Dewey
Students, teachers and community members held a barbecue Monday to muster their forces to protect Dewey Academy, a longtime continuation high school that is sitting on property at Second Avenue and E. 12th Street that a developer wants to buy.
Between dancing and barbecuing hamburgers and hotdogs on the sidewalk in front of the school, the students held a rally to tell their classmates and supporters what is going on.
“They’re trying to come in and take our home – We’re not going to let them. We’re going to fight back,” said Dewey student Kelvyn Wallis.
“If it weren’t for this school, I probably would not know what I’m doing right now.” said Carrington Taylor, who graduated from Dewey in June.
“People who come here don’t think they have a future, don’t think they are going to go very far in life,” he said, but all that changes when they come to the school. By shutting or moving the school, he said, “you’d be destroying those students’ future. Dewey represents a community and a family, not just a school.”
Dewey is situated in a central location, outside neighborhood gang turf, which makes it a safer for young people, according to the school’s supporters. The present school site is also easily accessible to public transportation.
The City of Oakland has an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with Urban Core to build a 24-story apartment or condominium building on a city parcel by Lake Merritt and next door to Dewey.
The developer is seeking to buy the school property to add to its project. The district in May set up a” 7-11” surplus facilities committee, which under the law would have to declare the property surplus before it could be sold.
The district has also issued a Request for Qualifications (RFQ), seeking proposals for a mixed use development of the site adjacent to Dewey on the Oakland estuary, presently occupied by the OUSD abandoned administration building.
The RFQs are due by Aug. 15, and the final decision on the development is scheduled to be voted on by the school board in mid-September.
According to district officials, Dewey would be temporarily moved to another site until a new Dewey Academy can be build alongside the a new administration building right across the street from Dewey’s present home.
Dewey supporters argue, however, that any move would disrupt the education of vulnerable students whose lives and studies have been disrupted for a variety of reasons all too many times already.
In addition, supporters are concerned that once the school is moved there is no guarantee it would be able to return downtown. Whatever the promises, continuation high students from East and West Oakland ultimately might not be a priority for space on valuable estuary real estate.
According to School Board President David Kakishiba, district property decisions are being driven by an urgent need for funds to build a new administration building,
Ever since the administration building on Second Avenue was wrecked by water damage in January 2013, the district headquarters has been located in rental office space at 1,000 Broadway in downtown Oakland, the monthly payments covered by insurance.
“We are looking for how we can leverage some district property so we can pay for a new central administration facility or pay for the ongoing lease for the facility,” Kakishiba said in an interview with the Post.
“We’re exploring ways to raise enough money to build a new central administration plus build a new Dewey next to the administration building at the site,” he said.
However, Kakishiba said, the district made a mistake when it began to plan to move Dewey without consulting people at the school and listening to their “legitimate concerns.”
“It was an oversight of the board not to engage the school community earlier,” he said. “My sense is that we will not move forward until we first get those school communities ramped up and involved in the process.”
The policy of the board is to keep Dewey downtown, Kakishiba said. “We want Dewey to remain.”
There are several board members who are committed to expanding Dewey’s links to community college courses, and the school is located right next to Laney College, an ideal location for developing those connections, he said.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024
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Alameda County
DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland
Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.
Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.
City Government
Vallejo Welcomes Interim City Manager Beverli Marshall
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10. Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Special to The Post
At Tuesday night’s Council meeting, the Vallejo City Council appointed Beverli Marshall as the interim city manager. Her tenure in the City Manager’s Office began today, Wednesday, April 10.
Mayor Robert McConnell praised Marshall’s extensive background, noting her “wide breadth of experience in many areas that will assist the City and its citizens in understanding the complexity of the many issues that must be solved” in Vallejo.
Current City Manager Michael Malone, whose official departure is slated for April 18, expressed his well wishes. “I wish the City of Vallejo and Interim City Manager Marshall all the best in moving forward on the progress we’ve made to improve service to residents.” Malone expressed his hope that the staff and Council will work closely with ICM Marshall to “ensure success and prosperity for the City.”
According to the Vallejo Sun, Malone stepped into the role of interim city manager in 2021 and became permanent in 2022. Previously, Malone served as the city’s water director and decided to retire from city service e at the end of his contract which is April 18.
“I hope the excellent work of City staff will continue for years to come in Vallejo,” he said. “However, recent developments have led me to this decision to announce my retirement.”
When Malone was appointed, Vallejo was awash in scandals involving the housing division and the police department. A third of the city’s jobs went unfilled during most of his tenure, making for a rocky road for getting things done, the Vallejo Sun reported.
At last night’s council meeting, McConnell explained the selection process, highlighting the council’s confidence in achieving positive outcomes through a collaborative effort, and said this afternoon, “The Council is confident that by working closely together, positive results will be obtained.”
While the search for a permanent city manager is ongoing, an announcement is expected in the coming months.
On behalf of the City Council, Mayor McConnell extended gratitude to the staff, citizen groups, and recruitment firm.
“The Council wishes to thank the staff, the citizens’ group, and the recruitment firm for their diligent work and careful consideration for the selection of what is possibly the most important decision a Council can make on behalf of the betterment of our City,” McConnell said.
The Vallejo Sun contributed to this report.
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