2.15 22-0062 Subject: Calling On State To Prevent School Closures
From: Vice Mayor Kaplan, Council President Bas, Councilmember Fife, And Pro Tem Thao
Recommendation: Adopt A Resolution Calling On The California Governor And Legislature To Protect Our Schools And Our Public Health And Community By: (1) Amending The State Budget To Protect Our Hardest Hit Communities By Preventing School Closures And Eliminating Debt; (2) To Amend State Law, To Revise The "Average Daily Attendance" Formula, To Remove Penalizing Schools When Students Are Sick; And (3) To Direct The City Administrator To Share A Copy Of This Resolution With The Governor, Oakland's State Representatives And Oakland Lobbyist
I am a D4 resident and oppose this resolution. The handful of closures and consolidations affect schools with extremely low enrollment and therefore cost more to run than they bring in per student. This has been a long time coming, and for the City Council to sabotage the hard work and difficult decisions made by our Board of Education is frankly insulting. You should be ashamed of yourselves. You are not activists in this role, which may come as a surprise- you have been entrusted to follow and enforce laws, not use your constituents’ money to do with as you wish. If you expect to go against the rational plan the school board has already put in action, your actual constituents expect you to put it to a VOTE of the people. It is OUR MONEY after all. Shame on you.
I am District 1 resident and commenting in support of this resolution. I am deeply opposed to the proposed school closures and hope every council member will vote in favor of this resolution and listen to the Oakland community and their desire to keep these schools open. We need to be investing more in schools, not closing them.
I'm a D3 resident and strongly support this resolution. Thank you council members Fife, Bas, Kaplan, and Thao. Our community has voiced strong opposition to OUSD's proposed school closures which will disproportionately impact Black and brown students. Closing schools is not an appropriate solution to the OUSD board’s funding deficits and mismanagement of funds. I urge every council member to please support Oakland's students through passage of this resolution.
I am commenting in support of Oakland schools and this resolution. I am in complete opposition to the proposed school closures within Oakland Unified School District and — in solidarity with thousands of students, families, and educators — demand that all appropriate measures be taken to halt the displacement of Black and brown students within Oakland.
Please support this resolution to protect majority Black schools in Oakland. I am a district 3 resident and work at one of the impacted schools. We should be investing in our schools and students, not displacing them. These closures would cause so much harm to our students, teachers, and communities. The community has expressed outrage at these closures and spoke in great opposition to it, yet the school board went forward with their decision to close schools. Please listen to the Oakland community and support this resolution.
Commenting in support and solidarity with OUSD public schools. Oakland schools belong to its students, families, and staff. NO child should have to protest or plead for an education or for their school to stay open. No cuts, no closures. Please pass this resolution and protect our Black and Brown communities and those most heavily impacted by these decades-long unjust, obviously targeted decisions.
Thank you council for supporting Oakland's public school students through this resolution. These closures will disproportionately impact our most marginalized students, low-income Black and Brown families, English learners, foster youth and students with disabilities.
Please support OUSD schools and this Resolution. OUSD is targeting low-income majority Black and Brown schools in a rushed process that will displace families, not just for schools but potentially from neighborhoods and from Oakland itself.
D3 resident strongly in support of this resolution! School closures would harm children and communities immensely, especially Black and Brown communities, who would be most impacted by the proposed closures. Please save our schools!
D4 resident in full support of this resolution. Investment in the youth, and schools is foundational to healthy communities. Stop the closures! Grateful for the leadership of Council members Fife, Bas, Kaplan, and Thao. Protect the students and families impacted by these predatory budget shortfall "solutions". Build up our schools!
I’m a D3 resident who can see how destructive these school closures will be for not only our students, but our neighborhoods & communities and this city.
Please save our schools.
Hi, my name is Jenny Pollack and I am a resident of District 3. I am writing to voice my strong support of this resolution and to urge all of the council members to vote for its passage. The community has spoken in huge opposition to this proposal which is blatantly harmful to Black and Brown children and not an appropriate solution to the OUSD board’s funding deficits and mismanagement of funds. Their poor leadership is not an excuse to justify the irreversible damage that closing our schools has and will continue to have on our students and families for generations. In a state with the 5th largest economy in the world, and the largest in the United States, funding for children furthest from opportunity should be the priority, and not a barrier to provide them with a quality education in their own neighborhoods.
Hello, My name is nell scott and I'm writing in from D4 to strongly support this resolution, one that is really on the side of OUSD students and families. Closing community schools that serve majority Black and Brown students is harmful and unhealthy in so many ways - it's got to be stopped. Now is a good time for some real repair and resource from the state because there's sure a lot to make right. I very much appreciate Vice Mayor Kaplan, Council President Bas, Councilmember Fife, And Pro Tem Thao for this resolution, hope every Councilmember supports it, and that we all will see these important actions taken in a timely way to support Oakland's students and families.
Hi, my name is Jenny Tighe and I am a District 2 resident. I am in favor of this resolution so that we can preserve our communities, and keep families healthier by keeping schools open in the community. I am concerned about the impacts to Oakland and how we may see further safety issues if we close these schools. Please vote to support this resolution.
I am a D4 resident and oppose this resolution. The handful of closures and consolidations affect schools with extremely low enrollment and therefore cost more to run than they bring in per student. This has been a long time coming, and for the City Council to sabotage the hard work and difficult decisions made by our Board of Education is frankly insulting. You should be ashamed of yourselves. You are not activists in this role, which may come as a surprise- you have been entrusted to follow and enforce laws, not use your constituents’ money to do with as you wish. If you expect to go against the rational plan the school board has already put in action, your actual constituents expect you to put it to a VOTE of the people. It is OUR MONEY after all. Shame on you.
I am District 1 resident and commenting in support of this resolution. I am deeply opposed to the proposed school closures and hope every council member will vote in favor of this resolution and listen to the Oakland community and their desire to keep these schools open. We need to be investing more in schools, not closing them.
I'm a D3 resident and strongly support this resolution. Thank you council members Fife, Bas, Kaplan, and Thao. Our community has voiced strong opposition to OUSD's proposed school closures which will disproportionately impact Black and brown students. Closing schools is not an appropriate solution to the OUSD board’s funding deficits and mismanagement of funds. I urge every council member to please support Oakland's students through passage of this resolution.
I am commenting in support of Oakland schools and this resolution. I am in complete opposition to the proposed school closures within Oakland Unified School District and — in solidarity with thousands of students, families, and educators — demand that all appropriate measures be taken to halt the displacement of Black and brown students within Oakland.
I support this resolution.
Please support this resolution to protect majority Black schools in Oakland. I am a district 3 resident and work at one of the impacted schools. We should be investing in our schools and students, not displacing them. These closures would cause so much harm to our students, teachers, and communities. The community has expressed outrage at these closures and spoke in great opposition to it, yet the school board went forward with their decision to close schools. Please listen to the Oakland community and support this resolution.
Commenting in support and solidarity with OUSD public schools. Oakland schools belong to its students, families, and staff. NO child should have to protest or plead for an education or for their school to stay open. No cuts, no closures. Please pass this resolution and protect our Black and Brown communities and those most heavily impacted by these decades-long unjust, obviously targeted decisions.
Thank you council for supporting Oakland's public school students through this resolution. These closures will disproportionately impact our most marginalized students, low-income Black and Brown families, English learners, foster youth and students with disabilities.
Please support OUSD schools and this Resolution. OUSD is targeting low-income majority Black and Brown schools in a rushed process that will displace families, not just for schools but potentially from neighborhoods and from Oakland itself.
D3 resident strongly in support of this resolution! School closures would harm children and communities immensely, especially Black and Brown communities, who would be most impacted by the proposed closures. Please save our schools!
D4 resident in full support of this resolution. Investment in the youth, and schools is foundational to healthy communities. Stop the closures! Grateful for the leadership of Council members Fife, Bas, Kaplan, and Thao. Protect the students and families impacted by these predatory budget shortfall "solutions". Build up our schools!
I’m a D3 resident who can see how destructive these school closures will be for not only our students, but our neighborhoods & communities and this city.
Please save our schools.
Hi, my name is Jenny Pollack and I am a resident of District 3. I am writing to voice my strong support of this resolution and to urge all of the council members to vote for its passage. The community has spoken in huge opposition to this proposal which is blatantly harmful to Black and Brown children and not an appropriate solution to the OUSD board’s funding deficits and mismanagement of funds. Their poor leadership is not an excuse to justify the irreversible damage that closing our schools has and will continue to have on our students and families for generations. In a state with the 5th largest economy in the world, and the largest in the United States, funding for children furthest from opportunity should be the priority, and not a barrier to provide them with a quality education in their own neighborhoods.
Hello, My name is nell scott and I'm writing in from D4 to strongly support this resolution, one that is really on the side of OUSD students and families. Closing community schools that serve majority Black and Brown students is harmful and unhealthy in so many ways - it's got to be stopped. Now is a good time for some real repair and resource from the state because there's sure a lot to make right. I very much appreciate Vice Mayor Kaplan, Council President Bas, Councilmember Fife, And Pro Tem Thao for this resolution, hope every Councilmember supports it, and that we all will see these important actions taken in a timely way to support Oakland's students and families.
Hi, my name is Jenny Tighe and I am a District 2 resident. I am in favor of this resolution so that we can preserve our communities, and keep families healthier by keeping schools open in the community. I am concerned about the impacts to Oakland and how we may see further safety issues if we close these schools. Please vote to support this resolution.
Don't close schools. We should try everything we can to protect students.