Education

Students and Board Members Weigh-in on School Changes

Published

12 years ago

January 15, 2015

Student and teacher speakers at Wednesday night’s board meeting raised their concerns about the school redesign process that the district administration has initiated at five Oakland schools.

In interviews with the Oakland Post, school board members also discussed the process that is now getting under way.

Speaking at the meeting Edgar, a Fremont High senior, said, “Fremont is a great school and has a lot of diversity. We are not failing. We are constantly improving.”

He continued: “You need to involve yourself in our community. How can you help us if you don’t involve yourselves in our struggles? We need more books, better facilities and more resources.”

Another Fremont student said, “You guys aren’t scientists, so don’t try to experiment on us. This is not a business – this an education. It’s a necessity.”

So far, this process “was sneaky and not transparent,” said a Fremont instructor. “Our parents and students know what they need. How about giving us more counselors – we only have one.”

“We need (more) quality teachers. We need restorative justice,” the instructor said. We know what we need. Why don’t you put some money behind it?”

Fremont senior Rosa Contreras said, “I do not believe Fremont should be labeled a failing school. You don’t even know us. I want to see the money (promised two years ago) start going to our school now – not later – now.

A student from Castlemont said. “We have not had a steady principal for three years. We don’t know what to trust anymore.”

Another speaker was Mike Hutchinson, who said the district could regain public confidence if the board simply deletes charter school from the redesign process. “The board could remove any language about giving the schools to charters from the policy.”

District 5 Boardmember Roseann Torres said that she was deeply impressed with the leadership exhibited by the students at Fremont High at the community meeting she attended last week and urged the district support the students.

She said that the unity between Latino and African Americans students was wonderful to see, that the racial divisions exist in Oakland are more about the attitudes of adults and based on the past.

In addition, Torres said she does not want to hear any more reports of administrators taking students outside and trying to intimidate them into not speaking their minds at these community meetings.

“I think this (process) is a bit rushed, and it’s a big shock” coming so soon after the school bond Measure N passed in November, she said in an interview with the Post.

“It is somewhat disrespectful (to tell students) you don’t know what’s good for you,” she said. “These kids (at Fremont) know that Oakland Technical High has a lot more money” – for resources such as sports uniforms and after school activities, “But they have nothing, and these are both public schools.”

Board President James Harris, who represents District 7, said the community needs to give the redesign process time to mature, and “You will see what will emerge.”

“This is based on the community. This is not about a top-down decision telling the community what’s best for them,” Harris said.

The district administration is “acknowledging the needs of each school site,” he said. “What’s good for one site” is not necessarily good for another one.

“I’m not going to vote for what the community doesn’t want,” Harris said, pointing that some charters work because they have grassroots buy-in. “There are charters that work and charters that don’t,” he said.

Shanthi Gonzales, who represents District 6, said she is looking forward to the seeing administrative regulations that will govern this process.

“Those are the details about how this process will be carried out, and what I’m especially interested in is transparency. I feel strongly that there should be community representation on the Academic Review Panel that recommends proposals to the board, so that the public is part of the deliberation and sees how these decisions will be made,” she said.

“These schools belong to all of us, and we need to assert our rights to participate in the decisions that are being made about them. That is why I will be looking hard at how we are including the public in every aspect of the process. Not just, can they participate at their schools – which they should – but also in reviewing the proposals and making recommendations to the board.”

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Education

As Progressive Democrats Celebrate ‘Blue Tsunami,’ Oakland Counts Victories

As national Democrats celebrate a significant shift in the midterm elections, local leaders in Oakland are tracking early results from the Alameda County Registrar of Voters. While Mayor Barbara Lee and several City Council incumbents have secured decisive victories, attention remains fixed on high-stakes school board contests. Progressive candidates currently face strong challenges from opponents backed by corporate funding and local political organizations. With many ballots still uncounted, the final composition of the board and several regional transit measures remain in the balance. Read more.

Published

7 days ago

November 6, 2026

Post News Group

By Ken Epstein

Concerns remain over school board races as ‘moderates’ lead progressives

The Alameda County Registrar of Voters has released the first round of election results, though many ballots remain uncounted and results are still incomplete.

Nationally, Democrats, liberals and progressives celebrated Tuesday evening as President Donald Trump was dealt a devastating blow in the midterm election. The Republican Party lost control of the Senate and the House as “Maga” candidates were swept away not just by a ‘blue wave,’ but a ‘blue tsunami.’

In Oakland, incumbent Mayor Barbara Lee, who served two years and ran for a full four-year term, won decisively.

A proposal backed by Lee, Measure EE, also won. The Charter amendment will create a strong mayor system of government while providing the City Council with new checks and balances on mayoral power.

District 2 Councilmember Charlene Wang is leading with 65.62% of the vote. Opponent Nate Adams trails with 34.38%.

District 4 Councilmember Janani Ramachandran, ran unopposed for reelection, receiving 14,029 votes.

District 6 Councilmember Kevin Jenkins bested opponent Nancy Sidebotham and District 2’s Charlene Wang also won reelection.

City Auditor Michael Houston is running unopposed for reelection and won 60,773 votes.

Progressive school board members, Jennifer Brouhard (D2) and Valarie Bachelor (D6), supported by teachers and school activists, face serious challenges from candidates backed by pro-corporate funders and the political organization, Empower Oakland.

Arielle Fleisher leads Brouhard 53.49% to 46.51%.

In District 6 with three contending candidates, Alexandra Williams leads with 38.06% of the vote. Incumbent Bachelor has 36.89%, and Leana Powell is trailing with 25.04%.

In District 4, incumbent Mike Hutchinson is narrowly leading a field of three candidates. He received 40.87% of the vote, while Kathryn Camp has 39.92%, and Sylvia Pfeiffer Williams has 19.21%.

In the races for AC Transit Board, Director Joel Young (Ward 3) leads with 53.11% of the vote, Sarah Syed (Ward 4) is ahead with 78.37% of the vote, and Murphy McCalley (Ward 5) leads with 63.07%.

Regional Transit Measure RTM, which would increase sales taxes in five Bay Area counties to shore up BART and other regional transit, was leading in five counties by a combined 62% of the vote.

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COMMENTARY: Oakland’s Black Students Have Gained Ground: We Shouldn’t Stop Now

New state data reveals that Black students in the Oakland Unified School District are making academic gains in reading and math at rates significantly faster than their peers statewide. These improvements follow a 2023 decision by board leadership to cancel school closures and instead invest in the Black Thriving Community Schools program. While the district continues to address budget challenges, proponents argue that maintaining these targeted resources is essential to narrowing long-standing achievement gaps. Read more about the specific policies driving these results.

Published

1 week ago

November 3, 2026

Post News Group

By Walter Riley

Oakland’s Black students are making faster gains in reading and math than Black students statewide, according to state data released Oct. 15.

Those gains followed decisions by school board President Jennifer Brouhard and Vice President Valarie Bachelor to keep schools open, invest in Black students and support teachers.

Since 2023, Black students in Oakland Unified School District have gained about 31 points in English and math on the California School Dashboard — roughly three times the statewide English gain and more than twice the math gain. Our students still trail their statewide peers, but they have narrowed that gap by about a third.

In 2022, the previous board voted to close or reduce grades at 11 schools, mostly serving Black and Brown families. A state civil rights investigation later found the plan would have unlawfully discriminated against Black, low-income and disabled students. Brouhard and Bachelor opposed those closures and, after winning election, voted to cancel remaining plans in January 2023.

The board then expanded support through Black Thriving Community Schools, providing additional resources where Black enrollment exceeds 40%, and funded teachers dedicated to Black students and families. Its reparations policy requires schools to develop plans for Black student achievement.

Meanwhile, the district reduced a $100 million budget shortfall to about $30 million without closing schools, cut central office positions and approved its first balanced budget in 22 years. More than 99% of teaching positions were filled when this school year began.

These investments must grow. Black Thriving Community Schools still reach only some students who need them. Every Oakland child deserves a safe, racially just neighborhood school staffed by qualified teachers who can afford to stay.

The opposing slate argues closures should remain an option to address budget pressures. But a Stanford study found closures do not improve district finances because departing families take student funding with them. Other research links closures to lower college attendance and adult earnings. Majority-Black schools nationally are more than three times as likely to close.

Oakland knows the consequences. There is another path. Brouhard and Bachelor have begun moving Oakland in that direction, protecting classroom investments while confronting financial pressures.

Progress deserves continued public support. We cannot afford to reverse course.

About the Author

Walter Riley is a civil rights attorney and longtime community organizer in Oakland.

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OPINION: OUSD Kids Are Eager to Learn. Our Board Is Holding Them Back

Oakland Unified School District students are facing a literacy crisis, with fewer than one in three reading at grade level. Despite receiving significant per-pupil funding, the district is struggling with what county officials describe as a decision-making problem rather than a lack of revenue. Oakland Parents for Quality Education and the local NAACP are now sounding the alarm over fiscal instability, alleging that board leadership has failed to identify necessary budget cuts while ignoring warnings from school principals. To understand how these leadership decisions are impacting campus resources and student equity, read more.

Published

1 week ago

November 3, 2026

Post News Group

Oakland Parents for Quality Education joined the NAACP Oakland Branch at a press conference outside MetWest High School in August calling for greater accountability and transparency in OUSD Board leadership, improved school safety, and responsible fiscal oversight. Courtesy photo.

By Edmond Chun Special to The Post

Oakland Unified students are falling behind: fewer than 1 in 3 read at grade level, and the numbers are worse for Black and Latino students. This is happening in a district that has received more per student than even the highest-funded states. As Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Alysse Castro has said, “OUSD’s biggest problem isn’t a revenue problem. It’s a decision-making problem.”

That is why Grace Park-Bradbury and I, two OUSD parents, started Oakland Parents for Quality Education, the ParentPAC. We believe our kids deserve a school board that faces hard decisions honestly. This board has not.

The county has warned them repeatedly. Earlier this year Castro said the new teachers’ contract “endangers” the district’s fiscal stability. That wasn’t because of the raises, but because the district was counting on cuts it had not identified.

Days later the board passed a budget that assumed $30 million in still-unnamed reductions. Board President Jennifer Brouhard and Vice President Valarie Bachelor voted yes. Director Mike Hutchinson voted no. The plan to name those cuts isn’t scheduled until mid-December, after the election.

The Oakland NAACP called for public forums and honest answers about the management of public funds. This fall Castro approved the budget only conditionally, noting that “a budget can be balanced but not be good for kids.”

Principals have spoken out as well. In January, 30 school leaders wrote that asking schools to do more with less “erodes the dignity of our profession” and “unconscionably compromises the quality of education our students receive.”

In April, 60 principals raised concerns that “have diminished our confidence in our current leadership,” warning that district decisions had produced “a structural deficit and cash-strapped schools.”

In June, all 15 high school principals objected to using voter-approved Measure N and H reserves for expenses already in the budget. The district did it anyway. The measures’ citizen oversight commission has demanded the money back. Auditors found the board had the legal authority, but as Castro observed, legality does not settle whether it was what voters thought they were approving.

Opponents claim we want to close schools. Our candidates do not all agree on consolidation. Hutchinson has fought closures for years, yet he also wrote the 3Rs proposal examining how many schools the district should operate.

What our candidates share is a willingness to weigh every option openly. This board told the superintendent not to even consider consolidation, and every school is being cut instead. As principals representing two-thirds of OUSD schools wrote, “the gradual starvation of our schools is also an equity issue.” Closures disrupt families, especially in Black and Brown neighborhoods. So does starving every campus.

You may have seen ads calling us a front for out-of-town billionaires. Every contribution is publicly reported, and 140 Oakland families have given. The people sounding the alarm are principals, citizen commissioners, the county superintendent, and the NAACP. None of them are billionaires. They are the people who see our schools up close.

Oakland schools are staffed by excellent principals and teachers. Our kids are like kids everywhere: eager to learn if given a real chance. They are being held back by a board that will not make hard choices.

In District 2, vote for Arielle Fleisher. In District 4, rank Kathryn Camp and Mike Hutchinson first and second. In District 6, rank Alexandra Williams and LeAna Powell first and second. Leave your third choice blank.

Vote like our children’s future depends on it. Because it does.

Edmund Chun co-founded Oakland Parents for Quality Education and is an OUSD parent.