budget cuts – Oakland North

Jennifer Martinez, a sophomore at Skyline High School in foster care, outside a school board where she challenged the board to save her case manager's position.

There are just under 400 foster youth attending Oakland schools, and for many, one person at their school is dedicated to them: their case manager. This counselor provides support and offers one-on-one guidance—academically and for other issues that may arise outside of school. The Oakland Unified School District has four case managers for foster youth,…

Classified workers represented by SEIU were on the picket lines with teachers during their strike in February. Now, classified workers are challenging layoffs and low pay.

Melvin Phillips has worked in Oakland schools for the last 27 years. He is currently the lead school security officer at Fremont High School and he is one of hundreds of classified employees in the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD). Classified workers include instructional specialists like classroom support staff and tutors, administrative workers, custodians, security…

Hundreds of Oakland students protested budget cuts at a school board meeting in March. Last week, Oakland City Council restored funding for student programs affected by those cuts. Photo by Nikka Singh.

Last Tuesday, the Oakland City Council passed a resolution to provide $1.2 million in funding for the Oakland Unified School District’s (OUSD) restorative justice program, foster youth case manager positions, and school libraries. All three programs were at risk of enacting widespread layoffs or reductions to the services they provide following the Oakland school board’s…

While the teachers’ strike ended weeks ago, the Oakland Unified School District’s financial troubles are far from over. Less than 24 hours after the strike, on March 4, the school board narrowly voted to cut $22 million dollars from next year’s budget. The move was to keep the district from financial ruin, but school libraries…

Hundreds of Oakland high school students marched to the school board meeting to demand no cuts to student programs. They told the board how the programs affected their lives.

The Oakland teachers’ strike officially ended on Sunday evening, but the debate over their contract and district budget cuts is still not over. The vote on Sunday was far from unanimous. Members of the teachers’ union—the Oakland Education Association—gathered at the Paramount Theater for four hours of debate before voting on whether or not to…

Adelaide Rios (right), the parent of a seventh grader at Roots International Academy, and Roots students disrupt the board meeting to call on parents to show show solidarity with Roots by keeping their kids home from school on Friday.

At an emotional meeting Monday night, the Oakland Board of Education voted to close Roots International Academy, a middle school in East Oakland, despite Roots students, parents, teachers, and staff imploring them to keep the school open.

OUSD Chief Business Officer Marcus Battle updates the Board on the district's finances. (Photo by Mickey Capper)

At an Oakland Unified School Board meeting on Wednesday, it was revealed that the district ended the 2017-18 school year ended with a $29 million surplus, instead of the estimated $1.4 million deficit.

Students Alana Rust and Robert Green share their experiences with how teacher turnover affected their education. (Photo by Mickey Capper)

A committee meeting on Thursday explored the high turnover rate among staff and teachers in OUSD and its effect on student achievement.

Delisa Lynch, mother of RB Marshawn, encourages Edana Anderson, mother of student golfer Hannah.

Despite receiving hundreds of thousands of dollars from community donors to support high school athletes, district officials have no plans to continue funding bowling.

A crowd of over 100 students, teachers and community members march from the Lake Merritt Amphitheater to La Escuelita to protest the impending school-site budget cuts. Photo by Anne Wernikoff

In a six to one vote, the Oakland Unified School District school board voted to cut $9 million from the district’s budget on Wednesday night. Earlier in the afternoon, members of the Oakland Education Association assembled at Lake Merritt to protest the proposed cuts, then marched down the streets toward La Escuelita Elementary School, where…

Child development teacher Natalia Hernandez carries signs and chants 'no cuts to kids,' during a protest against budget cuts at the OUSD school board meeting on Monday evening at La Escuelita. Photo by Anne Wernikoff

Proposed $15.1 million school budget cut sparks protest

Students spoke at an open forum with members of the Mills administration to talk about possible curriculum cuts.

Inside the OPL's Rockridge Branch

Oakland Public Library, home to much more than books and shelves, encounters an old foe – funding.

Students graduate from GED class at OUSD

Oakland Unified School District is fighting to preserve essential adult education services despite severe cuts. Join in the discussion.

The Oakland City Council passed a budget Tuesday night that will eliminate 80 city jobs. But thanks to a last-minute proposal from four councilmembers, funding for art and culture programs that had been on the chopping block was spared.

The state Supreme Court heard oral arguments in a lawsuit challenging Gov. Brown's plans to dissolve redevelopment agencies and divert their funds to school districts. Screenshot courtesy of www.calchannel.com, which webcasted the hearing Thursday.

As the Oakland School Board moves forward with its plan to close five elementary schools in order to save $2 million, the California Supreme Court is considering whether redevelopment agencies should be required to give up some of their funding to support school districts and county services.