At an Oakland school board meeting last night, while Jody London spoke of the need to strengthen ties with the city, it was announced that the new schools chief, Tony Smith, would join the city’s even newer police chief, Anthony Batts, and Mayor Dellums at a town hall meeting Monday night at Prescott school in West Oakland.

Given the number of shootings — fatal and non-fatal — that Oakland public schoolchildren have suffered since August, and the tragic death of 11-year-old Alana Williams, who was struck by a car Oct. 16 while she was in a crosswalk right by her school, it seemed like a good start.

Smith speaks often about the need for everyone to come together to solve Oakland’s seemingly intractable problems, including the perils facing children and families in some neighborhoods. So who better to work with — at least, outside of the district — than Batts?

Maybe that will eventually come to pass.  Read the rest of this entry »

Sports4Kids at Manzanita Community School/Tribune file photo

From a lively, uh, discussion tonight between Oakland school board member Alice Spearman and Chief Academic Officer Brad Stam about Sports4Kids (now Playworks) emerged the beginnings of a philosophical debate about what is “necessary” for Oakland schools in the context of severe and ongoing budget cuts.

Earlier in the evening, the board had discussed the superintendent’s proposed priorities — a set of goals that will theoretically help the board and staff know where to cut $27 million-plus from next year’s budget.

Spearman had also singled out, from a long list of vendors, a few Sports4Kids contracts with individual schools. What she didn’t realize was that in June, before the school district emerged (mostly) from state control, State Administrator Vince Matthews approved a $727,500 master contract with the organization, which runs games and activities at 25 elementary schools in the mornings, after school and at recess.

According to Cindy Wilson, Playworks’ communications director, the organization charges each school a flat fee of $23,500. Since the number of participating Oakland schools went from 40 to 25 this year, Playworks will receive $587,500, less than the total amount allowed under the master contract.

(Side note: An old Sports4Kids Web page lists Oakland Superintendent Tony Smith Read the rest of this entry »

Very soon, the Oakland school district’s superintendent and board will have to figure out where to cut $27 million from a $250 million pot of general purpose funds.

But the challenge won’t stop there, Superintendent Tony Smith said last night. Smith said he expected the district will have to cut $80 to $100 million in the next three or four years as the state budget crisis continues.

“This is not about holding our breath. This is not simply about doing business as usual, and feeling like we can get through this and hang on,” Smith said. He added, “In these conditions you can either turn away from each other, hold on tight to what you have and defend it, or we can figure out how to work together and be a community.”

Smith made those remarks at a special board meeting last night in which CFO Vernon Hal walked the school board members (and interested members of the public) through the district’s complex budget. I wasn’t able to make it in person, but I watched the video. Here are some highlights: Read the rest of this entry »

Ed Report readers, here’s your chance to earn some *EXTRA CREDIT*: 1) Pretend you’re an Oakland school board member. 2) Take a look at these slides, which break down how OUSD spends its money. 3) Tell us where you think the district should cut back. The latest budget cut projection I’ve heard is $28 million.

I have to say, this is by far the most detailed analysis of department-by-department spending I’ve seen in the three years I’ve covered OUSD. Read the rest of this entry »

“Mandatory extended student learning” (after school, Saturdays and during the summer), improved working conditions and support for teachers, college prep courses for all students, and violence reduction efforts are among the proposed strategic priorities outlined in this document, which will be discussed at Wednesday’s school board meeting.

The 5 p.m. meeting will be held in the multipurpose room at Chabot Elementary School in North Oakland, 6686 Chabot Road (off College Avenue in Rockridge), instead of at the usual spot. 

Also on the agenda is the timeline for budget cuts and potential school closures. Three other big issues the board will address in the near future are: Read the rest of this entry »

Photo by Dan Honda/Contra Costa Times

If you look around, you’ll see adult education coming apart, piece by piece. That was the message teachers, students and administrators gave state politicians this morning at a forum in Richmond.

Not only were adult ed programs cut by 22 percent this year, but this spring, the state Legislature gave school districts the go-ahead to spend the money as they wished.

Faced with huge budget shortfalls, districts have been doing just that. According to a new survey taken by the California Council for Adult Education, 85 percent of Bay Area school districts have used at least some adult ed money to balance their 2009-10 books.

Alameda and Contra Costa counties alone are serving 15,000 fewer students this fall as a result of all of these cutbacks, according to the council. Read the rest of this entry »

Here’s a sobering statistic: Of the 2,890-plus Oakland Unified students who live in West Oakland, 1,270 attend schools in other parts of the city, according to school district data.

That’s 44 percent, and it doesn’t count children who go to public charter schools or private schools — or to Berkeley Unified, for that matter.

What to do? A new group of city, school and county officials and community leaders has formed to revitalize public schools in West Oakland during a time of ongoing budget cuts ($27 million out of next year’s OUSD budget).

The group is called the West Oakland Brain Trust, and it was convened this fall by school board member Jumoke Hinton Hodge, who represents District 3.

Some of OUSD’s top dogs came to its Tuesday morning meeting. Superintendent Tony Smith Read the rest of this entry »

NOTE: OUSD spokesman Troy Flint says that while closure or merger is a possibility for each school, the district is not planning to recommend this outcome for all of the focus schools. Other possibilities include increasing enrollment, support, etc. So, the same as in previous years.

OUSD has released an updated list of schools that have not measured up academically, that have too few students to be financially viable, or both. They’re called “Focus Schools,” but as anyone who’s ever been on the list knows, it really spells the possibility of a merger or closure. Especially now, when the district is looking to cut $27 million from next year’s budget.

The list doesn’t look much different from last year’s, even though the criteria have changed slightly: Read the rest of this entry »

Tribune file photo

The legal dispute between the Oakland school district and the Bryant & Brown law firm is over.

I’m still waiting to hear how much money OUSD paid in legal expenses to pursue this case in federal court. What I do know is that the district won $325,000 from Bryant & Brown. The settlement, which was entered last month, did not include any admission of wrongdoing.

A music class at Montclair Elementary School, taken in 2008 by Alex Molloy/Tribune

This morning I headed up the hill to Oakland’s Montclair Elementary School on a research mission, aided by Principal Nancy Bloom.

It all started when a parent pitched a story about the Montclair PTA’s annual all-day fundraiser, the Metrathon (that’s happening Oct. 17), and its tied-for-first-place API score of 957. I don’t normally cover fundraisers – don’t get any ideas! – but after I hung up the phone, I decided to see for myself how the work of a powerhouse parent group can manifest itself at a school.

Let’s start with the front stoop. A large planter overflowing (intentionally, of course) with beautiful greenery. Step inside, and the first thing you see is a bulletin board with photos of parents and families at the Back-to-School Coffee, the New Parent Party, and Play Dates in the Park. Next on the wall are a list of fee-based before and after school language courses: Mandarin, Italian and Spanish. Read the rest of this entry »