Oct 26-Board of Ed. Summary

October 28, 2011

In Board Watch Blog

School Closures
With a 5-2 vote, the School Board adopted a resolution that will close five schools as part of OUSD's restructuring plan.  The following schools will be closed at the end of the current academic year: (1) Lakeview, (2) Lazear, (3) Marshall, (4) Maxwell Park, and (5) Santa Fe.

Additionally, the adopted resolution will expand Burckhalter and Kaiser elementary schools, merge Sobrante Park Elementary and Madison Middle School, and unite several of the small high schools on the Fremont and Castlemont campuses.

By closing schools, District officials expect to save the $2 million annually.  "Currently we are spread way too thin," Smith said.  "Having too many underfunded schools is not a good strategy."

While Smith and his staff have said the closures and reconfigurations are necessary from a financial standpoint, Gallo questioned the numbers the District has put forth.  "I'll be honest, I don't believe the budget numbers," he said.  

Directors Noel Gallo and Alice Spearman voted against the resolution. Director Spearman noted the need to close some schools, but said, "Superintendent, I can't go with it. I don't have it in me."

The vote, which took place just after 11 p.m., came after hours of public comment and board discussion. Public comment was unanimously opposed to the closures and at times was contentious.

During the meeting Smith responded to the public outcry opposing the closures.  "I will say, quite frankly, the things that were said tonight reflect our inadequacies as a central office," he said.  "This district has not produced quality outcomes."

Prior to passing the resolution, the Directors made a few minor changes to the language in the document.  The original resolution can be found here:

Transitioning Students
The District released a plan for transitioning students attending schools that will be closed. The plan explains the process--including expected timelines--transitioning families will go through in getting a new placement.  Key highlights include:

• By October 31, 2011 families will be provided with all estimated spaces available throughout all District schools for 2012‐13.
• Families will have the opportunity to go through the Options process prior the rest of OUSD families, and they will select their top four school choices.
• By the week of December 19th, Families will be provided with a confirmation of their best matched assignment for 2012‐13.
• If the top four schools are not available, the District will, at a minimum, place students at the nearest higher performing school.
• Transition Coordinators will be at each closing school site to work with families through the process.

To view a letter from Smith explaining the Transitions process, click here:

To view the Parent Guide for Transitioning students the District released, click here:

Charter Petitions
Lazear Elementary, ASCEND, and Learning Without Limits, presented petitions to convert to charter schools.

In presenting Lazear's charter to the Board, Clementina Duron, a former Lazear principal, said, "We are willing to be a part of the Oakland Unified School District.  But if not, Lazear parents have written up a charter and we are presenting it tonight."

In addition, teachers and parents from ASCEND and Learning Without Limits said that their decision to convert to a charter school was because they do not feel that the conditions were right for them to be as successful inside of the district as outside of it. Viridiana Mendoza, a parent at ASCEND, told the Board, "With the ongoing budget crisis we don't see things getting better anytime soon . . . as parents we must take action now."

Lillian Lopez, as well as other organizers from Oakland Community Organizations (OCO), said the petition to submit charters was born out of a need for school-site autonomy.  Lopez said, "We demand that each school site be recognized with institutional autonomy."  OCO advocates urged the Board to give school sites control over the:

• Educational programs/curriculums
• School site Budget
• Staffing needs
• School calendars/schedules

The Board took no action on the petitions.

Audit
In new business, the Board approved a contract that enabling the State Controller's Office to perform an audit of the district for the 2010-11 fiscal year.  The audit will confirm whether or not the District's financial statements are accurately presented, and will be the first complete audit of the District since 2003. The District will pay the State Controller's Office $400,000 and the audit will begin in early November and be completed by the end of July 2012.

The audit is a stipulation of the 2003 $100 million loan from the State to the District. 

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Tags: ASCEND, Audit, Gallo, Lazear, Learning Without Limits, school closure, school portfolio management, Smith, Spearman