Alameda County
Oakland City and School Candidates Talk Big Ticket School Issues at Engagement Forum
Families in Action hosted one of the many candidate forums being conducted locally with less than two months left before Election Day on Nov. 5. Families and students piled into the auditorium of Learning Without Limits Elementary School to hear directly from candidates for both City Council and Oakland Unified School District seats about issues plaguing students and families in Oakland.
By Magaly Muñoz
Families in Action hosted one of the many candidate forums being conducted locally with less than two months left before Election Day on Nov. 5.
Families and students piled into the auditorium of Learning Without Limits Elementary School to hear directly from candidates for both City Council and Oakland Unified School District seats about issues plaguing students and families in Oakland.
Seats up for grabs this November include City Council districts 1, 3, 5, 7 and at-large and OUSD districts 1, 3, 5, and 7.
Because candidates were limited to a minute and a half for responses, and many gave similar remarks to others, here are the main highlights from the forum:
College and Career Readiness
Most of the candidates agreed that communication was essential when preparing students for their journey into higher education. Several emphasized the importance of early education literacy programs and continuing to cater as much as possible to individual students’ needs as they arise.
Candidates like Charlene Wang, at-large candidate, and Warren Logan, City Council District 3 candidate, mentioned traditional investment methods of preparedness such as summer internship programs so that students can gain experience as young as possible.
Patrice Berry, running for OUSD District 5, suggested the district implement a data transparency system that tracks where the funding is going and how much; where is their need for funding, and what resources are and aren’t working for students across all Oakland schools.
“We should know the extent to which [resources] are successful so that we can make decisions about how we can leverage the limited resources we do have to make sure every student’s needs are met,” Berry said.
Noel Gallo, incumbent for City Council District 5 and a former school board member, suggested using resources outside of school hours to allow students a place to study or interact with their peers.
He recalled his own experience attending Oakland schools and how having access to recreational centers and libraries after schools closed helped shape him as a student.
Gallo said he’s working on a plan with Parks and Recreation to keep facilities around the city open longer for students to be able to get out of the house because they are not getting their education by staying at home all day. He’s also urging schools to have their campuses open longer and have after-school assistance available for those who need it.
“We need to get our educational system back in order and open, so all of our children are able to learn, read or write, and at the same time enjoy the city,” Gallo said.
City and School Deficit
The City of Oakland and the school district are both dealing with budget deficits of well over $100 million. The city was able to reduce losses through the risky Oakland Coliseum sale, which was officially signed earlier this month.
OUSD has resorted to closing schools and cutting resources in order to reduce their debt to the state after being in receivership for 20 years.
LeRonne Armstrong, former Oakland police chief and candidate for the at-large seat, said he wants to conduct an independent audit of city resources to understand where the money is going and what is actually working. He believes the city needs to prioritize public safety and housing for residents.
Candidates Wang and Logan echoed similar ideas for an audit, insisting that people need to know how funds are being budgeted.
Several candidates, such as Berry and Dwayne Aikens, also suggested finding ways to bring in more revenue into Oakland, as opposed to only thinking about how the city can cut essential programs.
Gallo claimed that the current budget crisis is due to poor leadership in city government. He added that the City and County also need to do a better job at communicating because, as it stands, there is no cooperation, alluding to how the two governments handled the Coliseum deal.
Gallo, who previously worked in OUSD, said they also need to find a way to keep students in Oakland schools because the district is hemorrhaging in enrollment every year.
Candidates Upset by FIA Choice
After the forum concluded, Merika Goolsby, who had not originally been asked to speak at the event, told the Post that FIA excluded many City Council candidates from the discussion. She spoke only because fellow opponent Marcie Hodge gave up her spot for her.
Goolsby said FIA had chosen the “top two” candidates from each race and invited them to speak. She expressed disappointment that the organization would essentially “make a choice for voters” instead of creating an opportunity for each candidate to campaign to residents.
FIA said in an email that because of the large pool of candidates, only two to three people per race were asked to speak. The organization narrows down which candidates to pick “through a process of evaluating fundraising to date, endorsements and campaign infrastructure.”
“Unfortunately, with up to nine candidates in each race, we were unable to host all candidates due to time limitations of one hour to host candidates in seven races. This is a very common challenge for organizations who host forums,” Kimi Kean, CEO of FIA, wrote.
