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 items being discussed at the upcoming Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) meeting Wednesday, June 24 at 4pm. We encourage you to attend in person but here is the zoom link to attend as well.
OUSD is in serious financial trouble. The district has a $100 million deficit that it's trying to dig out of over the next few years. Here's the timeline of cuts still needed:
What's already happened: This year, OUSD cut nearly 400 staff positions, mostly from central office support services.
Why an outside agency is worried: The Alameda County Office of Education, which oversees district finances, issued something called a “Going Concern Notice” in April 2026. This as a formal warning label: it means the county thinks OUSD is spending more than it can sustain, to the point where its financial future is in question (“functionally insolvent”).
The teacher contract complication: OUSD just reached a tentative agreement with the teachers' union (OEA) that will cost $105 million over 3 years. ACOE's concern: OUSD hasn't shown where that money will come from and still make required cuts. It's a bit like giving yourself a raise while your bank account is already overdrawn — the intention (paying teachers more) is understandable, but the math needs to be shown.
A quiet but important detail: OUSD keeps pulling money from its general (flexible) fund to cover Special Education costs, which are technically supposed to have separate (“restricted”) funding. This gap keeps growing, which squeezes the rest of the budget every year.
The district needs to cut $41.5 million next year, and some of the cuts on the table include:
What's missing: OUSD hasn't yet explained how these cuts will avoid hurting students. Particularly kids with disabilities! And they haven't explained what “central office cuts” will mean in actual classrooms.
We understand that ACOE is concerned that OUSD is “functionally insolvent” and OUSD must reduce its overall spending. However, we are concerned that OUSD’s Financial Stabilization Implementation Plan (FISP) does not explain how key services like Special Education will not be affected by required budget reductions. Nor does the FISP spell out the tradeoffs that must be made to pay for the OEA contract. OUSD must explain how these budgets will translate into students’ classroom experiences, and ensure that reductions will not worsen academic achievement.
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 for July.
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