Oakland Unified approves layoffs to address budget deficit
By Katie Nielsen
The Oakland Unified School District on Wednesday approved layoffs as it faces a budget deficit, but the decision and the time it took to get there were concerning, one parent said.
Parent Arielle Fleisher has a daughter at Crocker Highlands Elementary School. She has been attending school board meeting after meeting, trying to ask the board to focus on what’s best for students.
“We need to be doing everything we can to improve student outcomes. I can’t figure out why we are working so hard to protect the status quo,” Fleishner said.
She said the board should have made a plan to balance the budget months ago instead of waiting until the last minute.
“We have to make hard choices. There are going to be trade-offs. The board didn’t show that leadership. They didn’t do any of that hard work. They kicked the can down the road, and now we’re in this place of crisis,” she told CBS News Bay Area.
About 80% of the district’s entire budget goes toward paying staff, administrators to teachers to support staff. So, layoffs were one of the options, and it was one they took on Wednesday night, voting 5-2 to layoff hundreds of staff members.
And Wednesday was the last day to decide on which positions to cut because, according to state law, anyone being laid off needs a certain amount of advanced notice. So, any positions not cut tonight must be funded next school year
“We do not have the ability to pass a balanced budget for next school year, and most likely the only option is for the county superintendent to take over at least the district’s finances,” said Mike Hutchinson, an OUSD Board Member, ahead of the meeting.
Hutchinson said he feels that the other board members need to consider budget solutions other than layoffs tonight.
“There’s no dollar amount attached to it. There’s no rhyme or reason to it, and it’s not part of a comprehensive plan, so what we should be looking at is every option available to us as a district to achieve the budget savings that we need to find,” Hutchinson said.
For parents like Fleishner, she can’t understand why the board is only looking at staff cuts and not at the bigger picture.
“Every single school is going to be down to the bare bones, and to what end,” she asked.
