Bay Area

Local Leaders, Activists Angered as State Enforces Permanent School Closings

“There needs to be a concerted effort to do more than complaint about this,” he said. “There is no contention that the district is incompetent to govern its own affairs. The trusteeship should be ended.”

Published

5 years ago

April 8, 2021

Mia Lane

Carroll Fife

Dan Siegel

Nirali Jani

A number of Oakland community leaders and activists are calling for removing the Oakland Unified School District’s state-imposed trustee and the semi-private Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT), which are enforcing a regime of austerity budgets and the closure of flatland, neighborhood public schools.

The state trustee, Chris Learned, recently came to a public school board meeting to say he would “stay” or rescind a school board decision if the board went ahead with a vote to halt the closing of schools in predominately Black neighborhoods. In the face of the threat, the board majority withdrew the disputed language.

“As a homeowner, I pay three OUSD parcel taxes: Measure N, Measure G1 and Measure G. Why am I paying parcel taxes to Oakland schools so FCMAT can turn around and tell the district to close them,” said Brian Crowell, an activist and member of the Oakland Education Association, speaking in an interview to the Oakland Post.

“Where were FCMAT and the trustee when (former Superintendent) Antwan Wilson was blowing through the budget a few years ago? They were silent and complicit.”

Crowell continued: “Now all of a sudden, FCMAT is raising its profile after the board threatened to stop closing schools. Now, they want to exercise oversight. They aren’t protecting students. They need to be audited and dismantled.”

The state overseers, who have never been audited or held to account, have been overseeing Oakland since 2003, requiring the district to lay off countless employees and closing as many as 20 schools, though unable to point to any evidence that school closings save money.

In the 2003 takeover, the state imposed a receiver, who usurped the power of the superintendent and the school board and unilaterally spent a $100 million state loan, which the district did not ask for and did not need. At the time, the district had about a $37 million deficit but also had sufficient money in a restricted fund, which it could lend itself to cover the debt.

The state did not allow OUSD to lend itself this money, though the practice was common in other districts, thereby ensuring state domination, which has continued to this day.

In 2009, receivership ended and the authority of the board was reinstated largely due to the work of former Mayor Ron Dellums and then Assemblyman Sandré Swanson. However, the state trustee and the authority to overrule school board decisions has remained in place.

Carroll Fife, a member of the Oakland City Council and a public-school parent, told the Oakland Post that FCMAT and the trustee are part of the structures that perpetuate educational harm to Oakland students.

“They are part of the structure that keeps repeating the same outcomes for our students,” she said.

“They see public education as a cash cow, something that’s commodified. They see it as a market to be exploited,” Fife said.

Fife said the district should create a Department of Race and Equity, similar to what Desley Brooks was able to enact in the city while she was on the City Council. With such a department, OUSD would examine the race and equity implications of its decisions, rather than enacting “the extreme opposite” like the school closings advocated by FCMAT and the trustee.

Civil rights attorney Dan Siegel was formerly OUSD’s legal counsel and later a school board member. He was on the board in 2003 when the state took over the district.

“The effort has not been made by the local legislative delegation to get the state to back off,” Siegel told the Oakland Post. “There is a behind-the-scenes power structure that has the ability to come in and upset local decisions. It has the ability to overrule decisions they disagree with.”

“It’s discriminatory that state government and the people in power treat Oakland as second–class (citizens),” he said. “Like in other districts, why can’t the board be trusted to make those decisions?”

“There needs to be a concerted effort to do more than complain about this,” he said. “There is no contention that the district is incompetent to govern its own affairs. The trusteeship should be ended.”

Nirali Jani, an education professor at Holy Names University and former OUSD teacher, has examined the role of FCMAT and its role as an enforcer of economic austerity in districts across the state.

“FCMAT does not have public oversight. It is a semi-private, extra–governmental organization that receives state funding” she said, arguing that FCMAT has done nothing positive although the district has spent millions of dollars to support the FCMAT’s staff.

With nearly two decades of FCMAT’s operations in Oakland, the district is still being asked to close schools and cut its budget, even though OUSD is receiving over $200 million in federal stimulus funds, she said.

Mia Lane

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Activism

Big God Ministry Gives Away Toys in Marin City

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grow up.

Published

8 hours ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

From top left: Pastor David Hall asking the children what they want to be when they grow up. Worship team Jake Monaghan, Ruby Friedman, and Keri Carpenter. Children lining up to receive their presents. Photos by Godfrey Lee.

By Godfrey Lee

Big God Ministries, pastored by David Hall, gave toys to the children in Marin City on Monday, Dec. 15, on the lawn near the corner of Drake Avenue and Donahue Street.

Pastor Hall also gave a message of encouragement to the crowd, thanking Jesus for the “best year of their lives.” He asked each of the children what they wanted to be when they grew up.

Around 75 parents and children were there to receive the presents, which consisted mainly of Gideon Bibles, Cat in the Hat pillows, Barbie dolls, Tonka trucks, and Lego building sets.

A half dozen volunteers from the Big God Ministry, including Donnie Roary, helped to set up the tables for the toy giveaway. The worship music was sung by Ruby Friedman, Keri Carpenter, and Jake Monaghan, who also played the accordion.

Big God Ministries meets on Sundays at 10 a.m. at the Mill Valley Community Center, 180 Camino Alto, Mill Valley, CA Their phone number is (415) 797-2567.

Oakland Post

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Activism

First 5 Alameda County Distributes Over $8 Million in First Wave of Critical Relief Funds for Historically Underpaid Caregivers

“Family, Friend, and Neighbor caregivers are lifelines for so many children and families in Alameda County,” said Kristin Spanos, CEO, First 5 Alameda County. “Yet, they often go unrecognized and undercompensated for their labor and ability to give individualized, culturally connected care. At First 5, we support the conditions that allow families to thrive, and getting this money into the hands of these caregivers and families at a time of heightened financial stress for parents is part of that commitment.”

Published

8 hours ago

December 29, 2025

Oakland Post

Costco. Courtesy image.

Family, Friend, and Neighbor Caregivers Can Now Opt Into $4,000 Grants to Help Bolster Economic Stability and Strengthen Early Learning Experiences

By Post Staff

Today, First 5 Alameda County announced the distribution of $4,000 relief grants to more than 2,000 Family, Friend, and Neighbor (FFN) caregivers, totaling over $8 million in the first round of funding. Over the full course of the funding initiative, First 5 Alameda County anticipates supporting over 3,000 FFN caregivers, who collectively care for an estimated 5,200 children across Alameda County. These grants are only a portion of the estimated $190 million being invested into expanding our early childcare system through direct caregiver relief to upcoming facilities, shelter, and long-term sustainability investments for providers fromMeasure C in its first year. This investment builds on the early rollout of Measure C and reflects a comprehensive, system-wide strategy to strengthen Alameda County’s early childhood ecosystem so families can rely on sustainable, accessible care,

These important caregivers provide child care in Alameda County to their relatives, friends, and neighbors. While public benefits continue to decrease for families, and inflation and the cost of living continue to rise, these grants provide direct economic support for FFN caregivers, whose wages have historically been very low or nonexistent, and very few of whom receive benefits. As families continue to face growing financial pressures, especially during the winter and holiday season, these grants will help these caregivers with living expenses such as rent, utilities, supplies, and food.

The funding for these relief grants comes from Measure C, a local voter-approved sales tax in Alameda County that invests in young children, their families, communities, providers, and caregivers. Within the first year of First 5’s 5-Year Plan for Measure C, in addition to the relief grants to informal FFN caregivers, other significant investments will benefit licensed child care providers. These investments include over $40 million in Early Care and Education (ECE) Emergency Grants, which have already flowed to nearly 800 center-based and family child care providers. As part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, preparations are also underway to distribute facilities grants early next year for child care providers who need to make urgent repairs or improvements, and to launch the Emergency Revolving Fund in Spring 2026 to support licensed child care providers in Alameda County who are at risk of closure.

The FFN Relief Grants recognize and support the essential work that an estimated 3,000 FFN caregivers provide to 5,200 children in Alameda County. There is still an opportunity to receive funds for FFN caregivers who have not yet received them.

In partnership with First 5 Alameda County, Child Care Payment Agencies play a critical role in identifying eligible caregivers and leading coordinated outreach efforts to ensure FFN caregivers are informed of and able to access these relief funds.FFN caregivers are eligible for the grant if they receive a child care payment from an Alameda County Child Care Payment Agency, 4Cs of Alameda County, BANANAS, Hively, and Davis Street, and are currently caring for a child 12 years old or younger in Alameda County. Additionally, FFN caregivers who provided care for a child 12 years or younger at any time since April 1, 2025, but are no longer doing so, are also eligible for the funds. Eligible caregivers are being contacted by their Child Care Payment Agency on a rolling basis, beginning with those who provided care between April and July 2025.

“This money is coming to me at a critical time of heightened economic strain,” said Jill Morton, a caregiver in Oakland, California. “Since I am a non-licensed childcare provider, I didn’t think I was eligible for this financial support. I was relieved that this money can help pay my rent, purchase learning materials for the children as well as enhance childcare, buy groceries and take care of grandchildren.”

Eligible FFN caregivers who provided care at any time between April 1, 2025 and July 31, 2025, who haven’t yet opted into the process, are encouraged to check their mail and email for an eligibility letter. Those who have cared for a child after this period should expect to receive communications from their child care payment agency in the coming months. FFN caregivers with questions may also contact the agency they work with to receive child care payments, or the First 5 Alameda help desk, Monday through Friday, from 9 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. PST, at 510-227-6964. The help desk will be closed 12/25/25 – 1/1/26. Additional grant payments will be made on a rolling basis as opt-ins are received by the four child care payment agencies in Alameda County.

Beginning in the second year of Measure C implementation, FFN caregivers who care for a child from birth to age five and receive an Alameda County subsidized voucher will get an additional $500 per month. This amounts to an annual increase of about $6,000 per child receiving a subsidy. Together with more Measure C funding expected to flow back into the community as part of First 5’s 5-Year Plan, investments will continue to become available in the coming year for addressing the needs of childcare providers in Alameda County.

About First 5 Alameda County

First 5 Alameda County builds the local childhood systems and supports needed to ensure our county’s youngest children are safe, healthy, and ready to succeed in school and life.

Our Mission

In partnership with the community, we support a county-wide continuous prevention and early intervention system that promotes optimal health and development, narrows disparities, and improves the lives of children from birth to age five and their families.

Our Vision

Every child in Alameda County will have optimal health, development, and well-being to reach their greatest potential.

Learn more at www.first5alameda.org.