Bay Area

Parents and Youth Host Candidate Forum for District 5 OUSD Board Representative

Oakland families gathered at Lazear Charter Academy last Thursday night to meet the candidates running to represent District 5 on the Oakland Unified School District’s school board. The seat became vacant in March when board president Mike Hutchinson transitioned to represent District 4 after previously serving as a D5 representative. Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez and Jorge Lerma were announced as the final candidates for the position in August.

Published

7 months ago

October 11, 2023

Magaly Muñoz

The candidates will continue to campaign for the vacant school board seat until the special election on Nov. 7. All Oakland District 5 voters will be sent ballots to cast their votes by mail.

Stephisha Ycoy-Walton, a parent leader with Families In Action speaks as District 5 School Board candidate Jorge Lerma stands nearby. Photo by Magaly Muñoz.

By Magaly Muñoz

Post Staff

Oakland families gathered at Lazear Charter Academy last Thursday night to meet the candidates running to represent District 5 on the Oakland Unified School District’s school board.

The seat became vacant in March when board president Mike Hutchinson transitioned to represent District 4 after previously serving as a D5 representative. Sasha Ritzie-Hernandez and Jorge Lerma were announced as the final candidates for the position in August.

The forum, at 824 29^th Ave., was sponsored by Families in Action, an organization that supports parents and students in their fight for quality education in Oakland.

The event was well-attended, with every seat in the room filled to hear what each candidate had to say about issues concerning the parents and teachers. However, Lerma was the only candidate present at the forum, leading to disappointment among some organizers about Ritzie-Hernandez’s absence.

“When someone who is running doesn’t have time for the people in the community, it’s very disappointing, it’s like putting our children last versus putting them first,” stated Tunisia Harris, a mother with several family members in D5 schools and a parent leader with Families in Action.

In a follow-up with The Oakland Post, Ritzie-Hernandez explained that her home had been vandalized during the week and she was dealing with the post-traumatic effects of the incident. Despite not being in the best mindset to attend the forum, she mentioned that she had talked to many of the families and organizers and was open to continuing the dialogue.

In lieu of being there in person, Ritzie-Hernandez opted to audio record her responses to the questions, which covered a range of topics from safety to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on education.

When asked about test scores affected by the pandemic, Ritzie-Hernandez said the low scores for kids in Oakland comes from systemic racism and the often limited resources that are available to students of color. She said more attention needs to be put into culturally competent teachings.

Lerma, conversely, stressed that teachings should reflect “the real world.” He argued against blaming the children who are often labeled “defiant or hard to teach” and advocated for providing them with an environment that allows them to grow.

“We always make it seem that kids that are of color or immigrants, are broken. Let’s change that narrative,” Lerma said.

Both candidates shared similar viewpoints in almost all the categories of questions, except for one: charter schools.

Charter schools have been a contentious issue in Oakland for years, as many say that they take away attendance and, consequently, funding from the schools under OUSD.

Ritzie-Hernandez said in her follow-up interview with The Post that while she doesn’t oppose charters in the district, she is against their expansion because it becomes harder to regulate what each individual school is teaching if they aren’t under the district.

“My goal, if I become a board member, is to ensure that we create a robust public education system here in Oakland,” Ritzie-Hernandez said.

In a follow-up conversation, Lerma stated that charters are neither bad nor good, they’re simply options available to parents for their child’s education.

He suggested that instead of framing the conversation on charters as bad vs. good, OUSD should focus on improving schools that are failing to keep kids in the classroom and provide them ample resources to achieve.

“It’s not the charters that are the biggest threat to [OUSD] — it’s failing schools because failing schools then add to truancy,” Lerma said. “The kids start thinking, ‘well, there’s nothing there for me.’ It’s the same old thing. Education is like a mass production assembly line, one size fits all, and that’s exactly what I’m fighting against.”

The candidates will continue to campaign for the vacant school board seat until the special election on Nov. 7. All Oakland District 5 voters will be sent ballots to cast their votes by mail.

Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper.

Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities.

The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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Magaly Muñoz

A graduate of Sacramento State University, Magaly Muñoz’s journalism experience includes working for the State Hornet, the university’s student-run newspaper and conducting research and producing projects for “All Things Considered” at National Public Radio. She also was a community reporter for El Timpano, serving Latino and Mayan communities, and contributed to the Sacramento Observer, the area’s African American newspaper. Muñoz is one of 40 early career journalists who are part of the California Local News Fellowship program, a state-funded initiative designed to strengthen local news reporting in California, with a focus on underserved communities. The fellowship program places journalism fellows throughout the state in two-year, full-time reporting positions.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

19 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

Oakland Post

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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

4 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.

Oakland Post

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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

6 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.”