Uncategorized

Berkeley Public Schools Accused of Harassing and Discriminating Against Employees

Published

10 years ago

September 21, 2015

Teachers and staff in the Berkeley public schools are alleging that the district has engaged in discriminatory hiring and promotion practices against African Americans and older staff.

In a letter to Superintendent Donald Evans dated Sept. 11, Berkeley NAACP President Mansour Id-Deen said the organization has received ongoing complaints from both credentialed staff and classified employees of discrimination in hiring and promotions, improper job classification and rankings on job candidates eligibility lists.

The district’s actions, including retaliation, disproportionately impact African Americans and older staff members, according to the allegations.

“The unwelcoming work environments experienced by BUSD’s African American employees have had a devastating effect on their overall incomes, health and well-being,” Id-Deen wrote.

The “climate of fear” experienced is so extreme, multiple employees contacted declined to comment on the record due to fear of retaliation.

In 2014, the East Bay Express and the Post newspaper reported that BUSD disproportionately disciplined Black and older educators.

When Berkeley High teacher Brian Crowell advocated for ethnic studies to be added to the curriculum, the administrators ordered him to participate in Berkeley’s Peer Assistance and Review (BPAR), a joint district-union program for poorly rated teachers that often results in firings.

Nearly a quarter of those referred to BPAR between 2002 and 2012 were African Americans, despite being less than 7 percent of all teachers in the district.

BPAR also disproportionately included teachers over 54 years old and women. The California Public Employment Relations Board ruled in favor of Crowell. The stress of BPAR and retaliations caused his health to deteriorate.

In September 2013, Crowell took a doctor-ordered medical leave. He has not returned to teach yet, despite winning in a California Public Employment Relations Board hearing.

BUSD Supt. Donald Evans.

The most recent charges of BUSD staff follow a year of other racial controversies. Last academic year, a noose was found hanging on campus, and a Black alum and whistleblower–Ralph Walker–was banned from campus without explanation for the school year.

This past spring, the publishing of a racist phrase in Berkeley High’s yearbook led to a recall of the publication. Additionally, the Berkeley Post reported inequalities in high school graduation rates persist, despite Berkeley’s adoption of a Vision 2020 plan.

Almost 19 percent of Berkeley schools’ students identify as Black. Only 45 of the nearly 686 teachers throughout the district are African American, or 6.5 percent.

Of nearly 200 teachers at Berkeley High, only nine are Black.

Superintendent Evans said in a May letter that he would review complaints of discriminatory hiring and promotions during the 2014-15 school year.

“I am committed to determining whether there is an overall pattern and practice to be aware of…” Evans wrote. He added it was “troubling” that BUSD staff approached the NAACP, “as that indicates that they may not have felt confident in our ability to resolve their concerns.”

The NAACP will meet with Evans soon and has requested the district secure an outside firm to review complaints and provide solutions to the issues, Id-Deen said.

“We want to impress upon your administration at BUSD that absolutely no level of inequity is acceptable,” he said.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Uncategorized

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

7 months ago

June 17, 2025

Oakland Post

Special to The Post

The City of Oakland’s Housing and Community Development Department (Oakland HCD) announced its awardees for the 2024-2025 New Construction of Multifamily Affordable Housing Notice of Funding Availability (New Construction NOFA) today Five permanently affordable housing developments received awards out of 24 applications received by the Department, with award amounts ranging from $7 million to $28 million.

In a statement released on Jan. 16, Oakland’s HCD stated, “Five New Construction Multifamily Affordable Housing Development projects awarded a total of $80.5 million to develop 583 affordable rental homes throughout Oakland. Awardees will leverage the City’s investments to apply for funding from the state and private entities.”

In December, the office of Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 City Councilmember, worked with HCD to allocate an additional $10 Million from Measure U to the funding pool. The legislation also readopted various capital improvement projects including street paving and upgrades to public facilities.

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is the media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Activism

Oakland Housing and Community Development Department Awards $80.5 Million to Affordable Housing Developments

Published

12 months ago

January 30, 2025

Oakland Post

Rebecca Kaplan, interim District 2 city councilmember. File photo.

Special to The Post

The following Oakland affordable housing developments have been awarded in the current round:

Mandela Station Affordable

238 Affordable Units including 60 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $15 million + previously awarded $18 million
Developer: Mandela Station LP (Pacific West Communities, Inc. and Strategic Urban Development Alliance, LLC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 1451 7th St.

Liberation Park Residences

118 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $28 million
Developer: Eden Housing and Black Cultural Zone
City Council District: 6
Address: 7101 Foothill Blvd.

34th & San Pablo

59 Affordable Units including 30 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $7 million
Developer: 34SP Development LP (EBALDC)
City Council District: 3
Address: 3419-3431 San Pablo Ave.

The Eliza

96 Affordable Units, including 20 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $20 million
Developer: Mercy Housing California
City Council District: 3
Address: 2125 Telegraph Ave.

3135 San Pablo

72 Affordable Units including 36 dedicated for Homeless/Special Needs
Award: $10.5 million
Developer: SAHA and St. Mary’s Center
City Council District: 3
Address: 3515 San Pablo Ave.

The source of this story is media reltations office of District 2 City Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan.

Oakland Post

Posts by Oakland Post

Alameda County

Oakland Acquisition Company’s Acquisition of County’s Interest in Coliseum Property on the Verge of Completion

The Board of Supervisors is committed to closing the deal expeditiously, and County staff have worked tirelessly to move the deal forward on mutually agreeable terms. The parties are down to the final details and, with the cooperation of OAC and Coliseum Way Partners, LLC, the Board will take a public vote at an upcoming meeting to seal this transaction.

Published

1 year ago

January 11, 2025

Oakland Post

Alameda County Board of Supervisors Chairman David Haubert. Official photo.

Special to The Post

The County of Alameda announced this week that a deal allowing the Oakland Acquisition Company, LLC, (“OAC”) to acquire the County’s 50% undivided interest in the Oakland- Alameda County Coliseum complex is in the final stages of completion.

Oakland has already finalized a purchase and sale agreement with OAC for its interest in the property. OAC’s acquisition of the County’s property interest will achieve two longstanding goals of the County:

The Oakland-Alameda Coliseum complex will finally be under the control of a sole owner with capacity to make unilateral decisions regarding the property; and
The County will be out of the sports and entertainment business, free to focus and rededicate resources to its core safety net

In an October 2024 press release from the City of Oakland, the former Oakland mayor described the sale of its 50% interest in the property as an “historic achievement” stating that the transaction will “continue to pay dividends for generations to come.”

The Board of Supervisors is pleased to facilitate single-entity ownership of this property uniquely centered in a corridor of East Oakland that has amazing potential.

“The County is committed to bringing its negotiations with OAC to a close,” said Board President David Haubert.