Bay Area
COMMENTARY: 3 OUSD Board Members ‘Set the Record Straight’ on School Closures, Budget
On March 1, 2023, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a one-sided story, which contained inaccurate and hyperbolic statements, about the decision of the Oakland school board not to enact budget cuts. As OUSD school board directors, we want to set the record straight. We were elected to end a harmful era of unjust school closures and mergers carried out in Oakland’s Black and Brown communities with little to no notice, let alone authentic engagement with impacted communities.
“We were elected to end a harmful era of unjust school closures and mergers carried out in Oakland’s Black and Brown communities”
On March 1, 2023, the San Francisco Chronicle wrote a one-sided story, which contained inaccurate and hyperbolic statements, about the decision of the Oakland school board not to enact budget cuts. As OUSD school board directors, we want to set the record straight.
We were elected to end a harmful era of unjust school closures and mergers carried out in Oakland’s Black and Brown communities with little to no notice, let alone authentic engagement with impacted communities.
Oakland voters understood that research – and their own experiences – show that school closures don’t save money and are harmful to our most vulnerable students. In November, Oakland voters clearly said, “Enough is enough” by voting for school board directors who were committed to ending these harmful practices, and committed to putting our schools on-track to be the safe and racially just spaces that all our students deserve.
Old habits are hard to break, and that became clear last week when special meeting documents were posted with only two days’ notice that contained the proposed merger of 10 schools with no community engagement.
This is the least amount of time that communities have been given notice of school mergers and closures that any of us can remember, and a violation of the OUSD Community Engagement policy, the Reparations for Black Students Resolution, and AB 1912 – which requires an Equity Impact Analysis before any vote to close, consolidate or merge schools.
Mergers would not impact the budget next school year since they would not occur until the 2024-25 school year. This makes the lack of notice and community engagement even more shocking and unnecessary.
The Public Employment Relations Board recently ruled that the way OUSD closed schools last year was illegal. Additionally, California Attorney General Rob Bonta led an ongoing investigation into the recent school closures by OUSD. We believe that a rush to merge schools currently is legally, financially, and ethically irresponsible.
We were also elected to ensure Oakland students have the safe, stable, and racially just community schools that they deserve. Cutting our lowest-paid staff who provide direct services and support to students is not the way to balance a budget, and it’s certainly not what is best for students.
Finally, we were elected to bring stability to a district that has been mismanaged for decades. Thanks to federal COVID funds, historic increases in state education funding, and the payoff of one of our state loans, we are not in a financial crisis.
However, we do have an obligation to be fiscally responsible and direct our resources where they will have the most impact on students. Unfortunately, rushed decision-making on a compressed timeline based on little community input and insufficient data is a pattern in OUSD and one that we were elected to end.
We need to fundamentally change how our district does business.
That change starts with a few things. First, while our teachers are paid less than the Bay Area average, our highest-paid, top-level employees are paid more.That must change.
We have more unrepresented top-level staff than districts of similar size and demographics. That must change. We owe it to our students, teachers, and families to keep all cuts as far away from the classroom as possible.
Additionally, OUSD has a 22.7% reserve, far more than the 2% reserve required by the state or the 3% reserve required by OUSD board policy. We can fund non-represented positions through the money in reserves and not fill positions vacated through attrition.
The reserves would fund these positions for one year and at the end of one year, departments would have to find other sources of funding if they wanted to maintain these positions.
Lastly, as elected officials, we have a responsibility to the public to be professional and honest in our messaging and actions. The words we use carry power, and so we must choose them carefully.
Our teachers, staff, and administrators work hard and deserve our respect. It is unconscionable to make unfounded accusations that educators who oppose these budget cuts are “engineering a strike.”
Educators, whether they are certificated or classified, work together to build school communities that support our students, families, and communities every day. Teachers do not want a raise on the backs of the people they work with to support students.
No one is “engineering a strike,” and these reckless words only seek to divide students, families, educators, and the community.
We call on our colleagues to engage in civil debate over difficult issues, and not use their positions of power to discredit those who show up to work every day for us, our children, and our city.
Oakland Board of Education Members
Jennifer Brouhard, District 2
VanCedric Williams, District 3
Valarie Bachelor, District 6
Bay Area
Gov. Newsom Requests Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Counties Impacted By Storms
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a request Tuesday for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for nine California counties, including Monterey County. If approved, the move will pave the way for federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be provided to local governments and individuals impacted by storms in February and March.
By Thomas Hughes
Bay City News
Gov. Gavin Newsom sent a request Tuesday for a Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for nine California counties, including Monterey County.
If approved, the move will pave the way for federal aid from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to be provided to local governments and individuals impacted by storms in February and March.
In addition to Monterey County, the request included Santa Cruz and San Benito counties, along with Calaveras, Kern, Los Angeles, Mariposa, Tulare and Tuolumne counties.
Four other counties were added to a previous emergency declaration from the governor, including Alameda, Marin, Modoc and Shasta counties.
“Over these past months, state, local and federal partners have worked around the clock to protect our communities from devastating storms that have ravaged every part of our state. We will continue to deploy every tool we have to help Californians rebuild and recover from these storms,” Newsom said.
If approved, aid from FEMA can be used for individual housing assistance, food aid, counseling, medical and legal services. It will also cover some storm-related costs like debris removal.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors has requested additional state aid to help undocumented residents receive direct assistance that they aren’t eligible for from FEMA.
The governor said in a press release that funding from the state’s Rapid Response Fund would be made available to those residents and will ensure that families with mixed immigration status can access federal aid.
A local resources center opened Wednesday at the Watsonville Veterans Memorial Building at 215 E. Beach St. The center will be open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. through April 7. The center is staffed with personnel from the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services and Monterey County emergency staff who will help guide Monterey County residents through the recovery process.
An eviction moratorium was passed by the Monterey County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will provide limited eviction protection for residents who lost income because of the storms. If the Presidential Disaster Declaration is approved, FEMA assistance could help some eligible residents receive money to help pay rent, which will not be forgiven during the moratorium.
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Activism
20 Years Later, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund a Testament to Faith Fancher’s Enduring Legacy
When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming. For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.
By Tammerlin Drummond
When a woman is undergoing treatment for breast cancer, chemotherapy and radiation often make her too weak to work. If she is working a low-paying job or unemployed, the mounting bills can become overwhelming.
For 20 years, the Women’s Cancer Resource Center (WCRC) has provided a lifeline. The Berkeley-based non-profit organization administers the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund, which gives cash grants of up to $595 to low-income women in Alameda and Contra Costa Counties who are battling breast cancer.
Grant recipients have used the money to help pay for food, utilities, rent, car insurance, medical co-pays and other necessities. One woman who was diagnosed with Stage 4 breast cancer said she used her $595 grant to buy an oxygen concentrator.
“You could say the air I breathe is because of your generosity,” she said. “I am so incredibly grateful to you and am feeling better every day.
The fund is named in honor of Faith Fancher, a popular television reporter at KTVU who died in 2003 after a valiant battle against breast disease, the web site says. Fancher saw her own cancer as an opportunity to use her public profile to raise awareness and educate others about the importance of early detection.
Fancher founded an organization called Friends of Faith that was dedicated to raising funds for low-income women with breast cancer.
It was 20 years ago this March that Fancher first approached the Women’s Cancer Resource Center about setting up an emergency grant program for women going through breast cancer treatment.
One of the earliest recipients was a 50-year-old homeless woman who used her $595 grant to pay for moving costs into housing she could afford.
“Faith understood the financial burden that low-income individuals faced when diagnosed with breast cancer,” said Dolores Moorehead, who oversees the fund at the WCRC. “This was the first fund dedicated to financial support being offered in the East Bay.”
Over the past two decades, the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency Fund has given out $992,000 in one-time cash grants. There have been 2,500 beneficiaries, including women and some men with breast cancer.
Ricki Stevenson, a founding member of Friends of Faith, reflected on Fancher’s legacy and the enduring impact of the emergency fund that she created.
“It says that Faith continues to be a presence and it wasn’t just about her,” Stevenson said. “It was so all of the other sisters who come behind us they now have help even though they don’t have the same resources.”
Rosie Allen, another founding member of Friends of Faith, said Fancher left a lasting impact. “Twenty years later Faith is no longer with us, but the breast cancer emergency fund lives on and the need is even greater than ever.”
The Friends of Faith used to host an annual 5K walk/run at Lake Merritt to honor Fancher after she died. It raised funds for the emergency fund and other Bay Area non-profits that provide services to breast cancer survivors.
After Friends of Faith disbanded in 2017, the To Celebrate Life Foundation, former Friends of Faith board members and community members have continued to support the breast cancer emergency fund.
Shyanne Reese used her grant to help pay her rent while she was going through breast cancer treatment.
“I often reflect on how I wish I could share with Faith the impact her life and friends made on me in a non-judgement environment, relieving the financial stress of simply paying the rent so that I could focus on healing,” Reese said.
“With your support, we are able to continue this fund and support our community members when they need us most, said WCRC Executive Director Amy Alanes.
To donate to the Faith Fancher Breast Cancer Emergency fund, visit https://tinyurl.com/FaithFancher.
Activism
Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
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Gov. Newsom Requests Presidential Major Disaster Declaration for Counties Impacted By Storms
20 Years Later, Breast Cancer Emergency Fund a Testament to Faith Fancher’s Enduring Legacy
Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
5 Large-Scale Art Projects Approved for Shields-Reid Park
Fremont: City Appoints First Female Fire Chief
Silicon Valley Students Stranded by Shuttered Schools
National Coalition of 100 Black Women SF ‘Hats and Gloves’ Tea Returns
Menlo Park Residents Fear Loss of Onetta Harris’ Legacy in Facebook Offer to Overhaul Community Center
UC Berkeley Professor Wins World-Renowned Prize for Research on Women and U.S. Slavery
Registration Opens for Richmond’s 1st Annual Citywide Garage Sale
State Attorney General Issues Consumer Alert for Storm Price Gouging
New Bill Would Require Hospitals to Meet Behavioral Health Staffing Standards
Kia, Hyundai Under Scrutiny From Attorneys General Over Lack of Vehicle Anti-Theft Devices
Bay Area Saw Wind Gusts of Up to 88 Mph As Tuesday’s Storm Whipped Through Region
Artificial Intelligence In School: Virtually Chatting With George Washington And Your Personal Gpt-4 Tutor
Oakland Post: Week of March 29 – April 4, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 22 – 28, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 15 – 21, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 8 – 14, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of March 1 – 7, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of February 22 – 28, 2023
Oakland Post: Week of February 15 – 21, 2023
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Holy Names University Hires Real Estate Firm to Sell Campus for High-End Housing
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Reparations: California Legislative Analyst’s Office Proposes “Paths” For Payments
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