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.

Published

1 year ago

March 9, 2023

Oakland Post

Jennifer Brouhard, District 2, VanCedric Williams, District 3 Valarie Bachelor, District 6

“We were elected to end a harmful era of unjust school closures and mergers carried out in Oakland’s Black and Brown communities”

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

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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.

Published

2 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

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.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”

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Bay Area

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

Published

4 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

Mayor London Breed

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Contact: Mayor’s Office of Communications, mayorspressoffice@sfgov.org

***PRESS RELEASE***

MAYOR BREED ANNOUNCES $53 MILLION FEDERAL GRANT FOR SAN FRANCISCO’S HOMELESS PROGRAMS

HUD’s Continuum of Care grant will support the City’s range of critical services and programs, including permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and improved access to housing for survivors of domestic violence

San Francisco, CA – Mayor London N. Breed today announced that the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has awarded the city a $53.7 million grant to support efforts to renew and expand critical services and housing for people experiencing homelessness in San Francisco.

HUD’s Continuum of Care (CoC) program is designed to support local programs with the goal of ending homelessness for individuals, families, and Transitional Age Youth.

This funding supports the city’s ongoing efforts that have helped more than 15,000 people exit homelessness since 2018 through City programs including direct housing placements and relocation assistance. During that time San Francisco has also increased housing slots by 50%. San Francisco has the most permanent supportive housing of any county in the Bay Area, and the second most slots per capita than any city in the country.

“In San Francisco, we have worked aggressively to increase housing, shelter, and services for people experiencing homelessness, and we are building on these efforts every day,” said Mayor London Breed. “Every day our encampment outreach workers are going out to bring people indoors and our City workers are connecting people to housing and shelter. This support from the federal government is critical and will allow us to serve people in need and address encampments in our neighborhoods.”

The funding towards supporting the renewal projects in San Francisco include financial support for a mix of permanent supportive housing, rapid re-housing, and transitional housing projects. In addition, the CoC award will support Coordinated Entry projects to centralize the City’s various efforts to address homelessness. This includes $2.1 million in funding for the Coordinated Entry system to improve access to housing for youth and survivors of domestic violence.

“This is a good day for San Francisco,” said Shireen McSpadden, executive director of the Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing. “HUD’s Continuum of Care funding provides vital resources to a diversity of programs and projects that have helped people to stabilize in our community. This funding is a testament to our work and the work of our nonprofit partners.”

The 2024 Continuum of Care Renewal Awards Include:

$42.2 million for 29 renewal PSH projects that serve chronically homeless, veterans, and youth
$318,000 for one new PSH project, which will provide 98 affordable homes for low-income seniors in the Richmond District
$445,00 for one Transitional Housing (TH) project serving youth
$6.4 million dedicated to four Rapid Rehousing (RRH) projects that serve families, youth, and survivors of domestic violence
$750,00 for two Homeless Management Information System (HMIS) projects
$2.1 million for three Coordinated Entry projects that serve families, youth, chronically homeless, and survivors of domestic violence

In addition, the 2023 CoC Planning Grant, now increased to $1,500,000 from $1,250,000, was also approved. Planning grants are submitted non-competitively and may be used to carry out the duties of operating a CoC, such as system evaluation and planning, monitoring, project and system performance improvement, providing trainings, partner collaborations, and conducting the PIT Count.

“We are very appreciative of HUD’s support in fulfilling our funding request for these critically important projects for San Francisco that help so many people trying to exit homelessness,” said Del Seymour, co-chair of the Local Homeless Coordinating Board. “This funding will make a real difference to people seeking services and support in their journey out of homelessness.”

In comparison to last year’s competition, this represents a $770,000 increase in funding, due to a new PSH project that was funded, an increase in some unit type Fair Market Rents (FMRs) and the larger CoC Planning Grant. In a year where more projects had to compete nationally against other communities, this represents a significant increase.

Nationally, HUD awarded nearly $3.16 billion for over 7,000 local homeless housing and service programs including new projects and renewals across the United States.