Dear Oakland families,
Here is the latest FIA4JUSTICE Board Accountability Watch, your tool to change power in public education by making school board meetings accessible and actionable.
What’s in this Accountability Watch?
We wanted to bring your attention to several important agenda itemsbeing discussed at the upcoming Oakland Unified School District(OUSD) meeting Wednesday, June 10 at 4pm. We encourage you toattend in person but here is the zoom link to attend as well.
This is the second public hearing on next year's budget, which meansthis is another chance for families to speak up before the final vote onJune 24th.
Nothing has changed on this front either. The same reductions are stillin the proposed budget with literacy and math tutors. And we are stillseeing the district spending about $39 million more than it brings in fornext school year.
1. Were schools actually consulted? It's still unclear whether principalsand teachers at the affected schools had any say in these cuts, orwhether they've been given a chance to update their schoolimprovement plans to reflect the new reality.
2. New programs still won't be evaluated. OUSD is adding 5 newinitiatives next year, but because they're being introduced in the last year of a 3-year planning cycle, there's no mechanism to track whether theyactually help students. It's new spending with no accountability built in.
The district still hasn't answered the most important question forfamilies: if the tutors, specialists, and support staff are gone, how willall students (especially in reading and math) get the help they need?
The final budget vote is June 24th. If you have concerns, come to theOUSD board meeting today at La Escuelita Education Center (1050 2ndAvenue, Oakland, CA 94606) to make your voice heard.
Thank you for taking the time to review these updates. We can't wait to see you show up for our students and make sure our voices are being heard! Please note the OUSD board does goes on summer recess forJuly.
Your Tool for School Board Accountability
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