What is going on with Oakland public schools?
Oakland fired its superintendent, teachers almost went on strike, and afterschool funding could be cut by up to 80% — all in the past month
Oakland’s school board has been in hot water lately and parents are taking notice. Here’s what happened in just the past month…
Fired: Last month, the OUSD school board abruptly parted ways with Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell, despite two years left on her contract and no successor in place. Johnson-Trammell played a pivotal role in steering OUSD out of 22 years of state receivership and repaying a $100M state bailout loan, but often clashed with the union over layoffs and potential school closures.
Strike: A week later, 2,500 Oakland public educators nearly walked off the job. The teachers’ union (OEA) called for a one-day strike over alleged unfair labor practices, but it was averted at the last minute.
Cuts: This past week, the school board realized they approved a budget adjustment that would "inadvertently" cut up to 80% of OUSD’s afterschool funding. More than half of Oakland’s 33K public school students rely on afterschool programs.
How we got here: The root problems are decades in the making — and it largely has to do with a fundamental mismatch between OUSD funding and spending.
In California, school districts get state funding largely driven by enrollment (total number of students) and attendance (how often they show up).
OUSD enrollment has declined by over 40% since its peak in the late 1990s, yet the district still operates 80 schools — nearly double the number of similar sized districts.
The combination of fewer students and chronic absenteeism is costing the district tens of millions of dollars annually.
Here’s the kicker: Oakland spends more per student than any major district in California — but gets less in return because we operate too many schools for too few students. The result:
Highest cost per student among the 50 largest districts
Lowest teacher salaries among the state’s largest districts
Fewest students per campus among the 50 largest districts
Poorest academic outcomes among similar size districts
How it got so bad: It’s eerily similar to the City of Oakland’s budget problems — a pattern of irresponsible budget decisions that hurts both teachers and students.
For example, following the teachers’ strike in 2023, the school board agreed to a 10% raise for teachers and one-time bonuses of $5,000. This alone cost the district $70M over three years.
It’s worth noting that Oakland teachers are still among the lowest paid in the state in large part due to the high fixed costs of operating too many schools.
Budgeting problems: Initially, OUSD faced a $95M deficit for the 2025/26 school year, which has since been narrowed, but a deficit remains.
The school board said it planned to close the gap by eliminating nearly 100 jobs, among other cuts.
They also emphasized that more than one-third of the projected savings came from one-time solutions, which means structural deficit issues will persist in future years.
Near strike: In response, OEA threatened to go on strike, saying the district withheld certain budget documents, violating their right to bargain and resulting in unfair labor practices.
This matters because without an unfair labor practice claim, OEA can’t legally strike without first going through a lengthy state-run process.
It’s a tactic OEA has used a number of times in recent years to strike or threaten a strike.
But when teachers strike, attendance typically plummets, which means less funding from the state (poor attendance = less money).
The strike was called off at the last minute following concessions from the school board.
Afterschool disaster: Back in March, school board president Jennifer Brouhard and vice president Valarie Bachelor proposed capping spending on certain budget items to help close the deficit.
Last week, it became clear that this cap would cut funding for afterschool programs by at least 50% (and possibly up to 80%) starting next school year.
Board members now say this wasn’t the intended outcome and hundreds of parents mobilized in protest.
But internal emails show that OUSD’s chief business officer and the district’s state-appointed fiscal trustee had explicitly warned the board about the impact — and criticized them for pushing through such a major budget decision so late in the process.
Seat at the table: Much of this chaos is the result of tensions between OUSD leadership, OEA, and the 7-member school board, 4 of which were elected with the help and backing of OEA. Meanwhile, parents are largely out of the equation — but not for lack of trying.
In 2022, a coalition of Oakland parents, including groups like The Oakland REACH and CA Parent Power, pushed for a resolution that would give families a voice in contract negotiations with the teachers’ union.
The board rejected it, leaving parents without a seat at the table when tough decisions are being made.
Feeling the consequences: The result of this chaos is a school system that feels unpredictable — the last thing we want for our kids’ education.
Families are left with few options: they can stay and deal with the uncertainty, move out of the district, or opt for private education — none of which leads to better outcomes for our public schools.
What needs to change: OUSD doesn’t have a money problem — we already spend more per student than any major district in the state. It’s a leadership problem.
OUSD school board seats 2, 4, and 6 (including president and VP) are up for election in November 2026.
In the meantime, you can take immediate action by emailing your OUSD school board representative and demand that they:
Pass a sustainable budget that reflects current enrollment and attendance realities.
Make tough but necessary decisions, like responsibly consolidating under-enrolled schools.
Rebuild trust with parents by ensuring transparency and putting students first.
This is a well written, accurate article. The best I’ve seen. I’m a long time Oakland resident and retired teacher from the district. Why the under enrolled schools are still being used I just don’t understand. Why the 4 board members supported by OEA can’t/won’t do the right thing, I don’t understand. Why OEA threatens strikes that are unnecessary and threaten students and parents, I don’t understand. What a sad district where the union is only for its self, not students.
A labor union like OEA has a place, but they have a narrow set of interests in trying to protect their own members' jobs. We see what happens when they are effectively negotiating against themselves on the school board: chaotic management that actually harms the interests of the whole district. They need to be put back in their proper place, and the school board needs to make the tough calls to bring the district back to financial health.