Comments on: Oakland school board closer to getting its vote back http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2007/06/05/oakland-school-board-closer-to-getting-its-vote-back/ Katy Murphy's blog on Oakland schools Thu, 23 May 2013 03:27:06 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Chris Dobbins http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/2007/06/05/oakland-school-board-closer-to-getting-its-vote-back/comment-page-1/#comment-14580 Chris Dobbins Wed, 06 Jun 2007 08:48:08 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/education/?p=9#comment-14580 I think the Oakland School Board should have their control back, but it will not be the end-all solution to the District’s problems. Faced with declining enrollment, deteriorating physical schools, and tension between administration and teachers, the Oakland Schools face many challenges in the coming years.

Many people could care less if the School Board received their control back provided that there are good and safe Oakland Public schools. I would agree that any decision made by whomever is in charge should be made for the benefit of students, but with fiscal responsibility.

On the other hand, a locally elected school board has to be accountable to the public, and important decisions (like selecting principals and closing schools) should be done with informed community input. The School Board has been under the control of the state for four+ years and the district is currently in the deficit of $113 million. I support AB 45 to bring back local control and support a moratorium on closing schools and/or selling property until local control is returned.

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