Alameda County turns up the heat on OUSD to balance its budget 

The Oakland Unified Faculty District Board has fewer than two weeks to give you a plan to scale back the expenditure for each this yr and subsequent yr and need to stay the tax solvent.

Three months after OUSD had left the state humiliation, Alysse Castro, the superintendent of Alameda County, will increase the stress on district leaders to steadiness the price range, pointing to steady scarcity spending and exhausted reserves. She stated that by October 1, OUSD ought to present the province a goal quantity of expenditure reductions for the 2025-2026 college yr that’s answerable for latest price range projections.

Individually, Interim superintendent Denise Saddler requested the board to create the monetary crew of the district earlier than 8 October on the place the varsity yr 2026-2027 to make cuts, a price range that’s situated within the early phases of growth.

Subsequent yr’s price range should embrace round $ 80 million in reductions, or about 9 to 10% of the district expenditure, Castro stated. Will probably be the primary price range that the board has been developed since she has left the reception of the recipient, however “a lot of the similar issues which have created the recipient,” stated Castro throughout a presentation throughout a Monday afternoon joint assembly of town council and the varsity board.

“Ousd continues to be spending on scarcity of the scarcity, nonetheless spending extra yearly than it is available in,” she stated.

At current, OUSD spends $ 4 million greater than it receives each month, stated Chief Enterprise Officer Lisa Grant-Dawson in a Message to the public Earlier this month.

Through the common college board assembly on Wednesday, Jennifer Brouhard and Valarie Bachelor, President and Vice President of the Council launched a decision that was meant to begin the dialog about subsequent yr’s price range that employees asks to current three eventualities for the Government Board. The decision identifies six areas to analyze on cuts or probably to strengthen to extend earnings.

These areas embrace: restructuring the central workplace; bettering the presence of scholars, which might improve the state of earnings; Depend on exterior companies to offer companies; bettering monetary techniques; analysis of district applications on their affect on college students’ efficiency; and centralizing contracts, as an alternative of permitting college websites to have autonomy.

“I need to see what employees is coming, as a result of I believe they perceive the district far more than our voluntary board members and provide us the eventualities,” stated Bachelor. “It was very tough for me to have these conversations with my neighborhood, as a result of we do not have a lot of the data we’d like, particularly round restructuring on the central workplace.”

Bachelor inspired different college board members to suggest adjustments to the decision as quickly because it stands for the council’s price range and monetary committee on 2 October and throughout the subsequent common assembly of the board on 8 October.

Director Mike Hutchinson, who represents District 4 and is chairman of the Finances and Finance Committee, has been sounding an alarm concerning the horrible funds of the district for months.

“The longer it takes earlier than there’s a answer and for the directions which are given, this yr’s injury will go to subsequent yr,” stated Hutchinson throughout Wednesday’s assembly. “This injury will not be just for our college students, however for our households and our staff.”

A wager on stimulating the presence

Growing the presence percentages by 1% may stimulate gross sales by round $ 5 million, in keeping with the decision of Brouhard and Bachelor. In California, college districts obtain authorities financing based mostly on the common day by day presence percentages of scholars. Prior to now yr, OUSD has seen a modest rise within the variety of presence and Saddler, the interim -superintendent, has made a falling power absenteeism – when college students miss greater than 10% of the varsity yr – a spotlight of its time period of workplace. This yr all faculties need to scale back power absenteeism by 3 share factors.

“Though we nonetheless need to return to our pre-Pandemic attendance ranges, we noticed a revenue this yr,” stated Saddler throughout the assembly. “Lacking solely two days a month implies that 10% of the varsity yr is missed.”

Final yr the presence share of the district was 90.5%, a rise of 89.8% the earlier yr. Six years in the past, throughout the 2019-2020 college yr, when OUSD and different districts have been fully distant, the presence was 93%. Through the 2024-2025 college yr, 29% of scholars have been chronically absent, a lower of 32% the earlier yr and 61% throughout the 2022-2023 college yr, when academics went a seven-day strike.

There are variations in numbers and varieties; Highschool college students have a decrease presence share than youthful college students, whereas Pacific Islander, African, Indian and Latino college students have decrease than common presence charges.

In price range discussions this yr, college directors have requested for restructure eventualities that don’t embrace college closures or dismissals, techniques that the board has pursued in earlier years to avoid wasting prices. Final December, the board didn’t take any motion on a plan, launched in November, to merge 10 co-location main faculties.

Patrice Berry, the board consultant of District 5, urged the board to do greater than figuring out the place they make cuts, by planning find out how to construct a sustainable price range.

“I’d encourage ourselves to present some course that strikes us after this yr’s price range and builds up the monetary well being of the lengthy -term district,” she stated. “To present employees the inventive flexibility, I believe to a sure extent essential to us to clarify accompanying rules. If we are saying that we would like the elementary community to be restructured, why? If we need to restrict contract spending, why is that?”

Within the coming weeks, administrative administrators will search for suggestions on the price range of the varsity district. Vancedric Williams, who represents District 3, will probably be within the Kinfolx espresso store for casual conversations with voters on Saturday morning, 27 September and on Prescott Market that afternoon. Administrators Brouhard and Bachelor will probably be current The 100 -year anniversary of Crocker Highland Elementary On Saturday 27 September and Rachel Latta, who represents District 1, is deliberate Town hall over the budget On the Santa Fe Faculty on Tuesday 30 September at 5:30 pm

Tackling empty properties

This week, the board additionally permitted a feasibility research for 3 vacant district properties, wherein they consider whether or not they can be appropriate for employees housing, inexpensive housing or to be used as a useful resource hub for college students transferring from foster care.

OUSD at present has 10 empty properties and has beforehand permitted lease contracts with builders to construct the event of personnel and growth for blended use on two of them. However little progress has been made. Housing for academics and district employees turns into a well-liked technique for Bay Space districts that need to reuse empty property and recruit and retain employees on an costly housing market.

“One of many issues we now have heard quite a bit in our neighborhood assignments is:” What are you going to do with empty buildings and empty land? “” Stated Brouhard. “I consider {that a} feasibility research is the beginning. All of us have completely different concepts about what we wish to see.”

As well as, the board unanimously permitted an up to date decision of the sanctuary, with the emphasis on the dedication of the district to guard immigrant college students, LGBTQ+ college students, black college students and different susceptible scholar teams and commit the district to coach all staff and different hand -handed individuals.