Forced to cut $100M from budget, OUSD looks ‘to do less with less’

The Oakland Unified College District board faces a tricky street to discovering consensus on the way to reduce $100 million from the price range for the 2026-2027 faculty yr.

On Wednesday, the board and the general public received their first take a look at two price range situations, every of which is properly beneath the goal quantity wanted to steadiness subsequent yr’s price range, about 20% of the final fund. The proposals primarily concern redundancies and restructuring on the head workplace. The primary bundle would contain a discount of roughly 54 positions at district headquarters, leading to financial savings of roughly $22 million. The second bundle, which protects some key employees positions, would get rid of 48 positions, saving about $17 million.

All through the night, district leaders and group members emphasised that the method could be painful.

“We’re undoubtedly in a spot the place we have to do much less with much less,” mentioned Dan Bellino, the district’s chief of employees who joined OUSD this summer season. “We can not proceed to do the identical work with much less. These usually are not essentially suggestions, however proposals to attain a balanced price range. We all know these usually are not the issues any of us truly need. However that is the place we’re at present.”

The board has till December 10 to vote on a bundle of cuts.

“There is no such thing as a solution to reduce $100 million, roughly 20% of our unrestricted common fund, with out vital ache,” mentioned Denise Saddler, OUSD interim superintendent. “Our monetary state of affairs is actually pressing. If we do not make some adjustments, we are going to seemingly return to state receivership inside two years. If we lose native management, the state will make choices for us and our group voice will disappear.”

Saddler urged the board to work collectively, not level fingers or blame, and work with the group on the way to transfer ahead.

She talked about the Immigration and Customs Enforcement sighting earlier within the day in West Oakland close to Hoover Elementary, the place shortly after an alert went out, lots of of group members mobilized to patrol the college, act as escorts for college kids and households and type picket strains.

“Right away, everybody got here collectively to serve our college students and households,” she mentioned.

‘The clock is ticking’

In October, the board, in a break up vote, directed district employees to organize two price range cuts that depend upon restructuring the headquarters, the place departments corresponding to lecturers, enrollment, finance, human sources, services and labor are positioned. The decision, launched by Jennifer Brouhard and Valarie Bachelor, chair and vice chair of the board, directs employees to not view faculty closures or mergers as a cost-cutting measure, and to maintain the cuts away from faculty areas. These restrictions do not depart a lot to boost $100 million from.

The vast majority of OUSD’s unrestricted income comes from the state, by the Native Management Funding Formulation. At OUSD, 60% of these {dollars} go instantly to colleges — funding the board would not wish to contact.

Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro retains a detailed eye on the board’s choices. The district left state receivership in July after spending 22 years repaying a $100 million state mortgage. District leaders and group members warned that one other takeover is looming if the board would not give you a very good plan.

“The clock is ticking,” mentioned Mike Hutchinson, the director of District 4. “Individuals wish to name what is going on on proper now austerity measures… I assure you that if we take out a mortgage from the federal government, they are going to implement any austerity measure as a result of they are not going to offer us 20 years to pay it again.”

OUSD’s chief tutorial officer, Sondra Aguilera, reminded the board that federal funding cuts are seemingly, though that is still unsure.

“We’re listening to that there’ll seemingly be an finish to Titles II by IV, and a 15% discount in Title I,” Aguilera mentioned, referring to federal funds that assist low-income college students, immigrant college students and English learners. “So we have now to take this under consideration once we take into consideration providers.”

Whereas nearly all of the college board has taken faculty closures off the desk, some group members have urged the board to think about it.

“You are underneath great political stress, and it is a very troublesome choice, however we have now to look very fastidiously on the footprint of our college and take into consideration whether or not the websites we function are actually delivering for our college students and whether or not that is the precise approach to try this,” mentioned Emily Wasserman, the guardian of a preschooler and a transitional kindergartener. “We have to have a dialog about restructuring, and we want to consider how we will do this in a approach that’s equitable, student-centered, and serves our college students.”

On the finish of the night, the board permitted a brand new decision, launched by Brouhard and Bachelor, that directs employees to attract up extra plans that would result in deeper cuts: a plan to rein in marketing consultant contracts and spending, a plan to enhance attendance, and a 3rd price range situation that has no restrictions, in contrast to the earlier two. The decision asks county employees to incorporate state grants and leftover funds from native tax measures in plans to steadiness the price range. These choices will likely be introduced on the Dec. 3 and Dec. 10 faculty board conferences.

Director Hutchinson voted towards the decision and District 5 Director Patrice Berry was absent. Bachelor, who represents District 6, urged her colleagues and group members to not give in to pessimism in regards to the district’s monetary state of affairs.

“I would like our group to essentially take into consideration not becoming a member of within the downfall, that as a district we’re doomed, that we have to go into receivership, that we won’t deal with our personal enterprise,” she mentioned. “We should persevere and work collectively.”