The Oakland Unified School District this week said it is financially stable, weeks after a massive deficit.
Don Feria/For the S.F. Chronicle
Oakland’s top education officials insisted this week the district’s finances have improved so significantly in the past few months — or weeks — that the city should celebrate what is a moment of “real pride.”
In short, the district is expected to be financially stable and meet all its financial obligations this year and the next two, according to new budget numbers officials released Wednesday.
It would be a miraculous turnaround if true, given Oakland Unified’s recent brushes with fiscal insolvency, including a mid-April notice of “going concern” from Alameda County Superintendent Alysse Castro, triggering a pending financial review by outside fiscal experts.
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Outside of district headquarters, however, a large contingent of parents, community leaders and at least a couple of school board members weren’t buying it. Many said the math just didn’t add up.
In part that’s because the district has a $100 million deficit this school year, which has required using half its savings to cover the shortfall.
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Yet, somehow, according to the new budget numbers, district fiscal staff believe spending will decrease by $109 million next year, despite new labor agreements adding about $100 million in retroactive pay and future raises. In 2027-2028, the budget will spike again, according to the report.
The math left skeptics scratching their heads while district officials declined to offer explanations.
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“I’ve been following this ridiculously closely,” said parent Arielle Fleisher, who has two children in district schools. “I do not get it. There’s no clear picture of where we stand.”
Edmund Chan has been an involved parent in the district for over a decade, including a stint on a parcel tax oversight commission, yet the new budget numbers “came out of nowhere,” he said.
“It’s really hard to believe and understand,” he said. “I think I’m being gaslit.”
Former school board member Sam Davis was more direct about his suspicions related to the budget numbers.
“Don’t pee on my leg and tell me it’s raining,” he said.
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The special board meeting Wednesday to approve the updated financials included testy exchanges, including one between staff and board member Mike Hutchinson, who asked how a district with a massive deficit and expensive labor agreements could suddenly be celebrating.
“There should be an explanation that everyone can understand,” he said. “If people can’t answer the question then people are hiding the answer or they can’t answer the question.”
Specifics, however, were never forthcoming.
“I can understand some confusion how we got from where we were and where we are now,” said Tara Gard, deputy superintendent of Business and Operations. “I’m looking at operations. I’m looking at staffing.”
District officials and school board President Jennifer Brouhard, who was among the five members who approved the budget report, did not respond to requests for comment Wednesday or Thursday.
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The report is now in the hands of the county Office of Education, which oversees district budgets. Castro is expected to respond to Oakland’s fiscal assessment in the coming days.
Parent Rebekah Otto, whose two children attend East Oakland schools, said a broad grasp of the budget is critical to helping the community understand what will happen to their classrooms in the fall and beyond.
That includes confusion over the teachers contract. While the district and labor union reached a tentative agreement in February, there is still no official cost analysis of it, which is required before the school board can vote to approve it. Retroactive raises remain on hold and all costs will likely be pushed into the next budget year.
It’s unclear what that will mean in terms of additional spending cuts or other repercussions, said Otto, who is a parent editor for The Dig, which posts online Oakland school board meeting recaps. That was one of many questions Wednesday.
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“They couldn’t or wouldn’t answer really basic questions,” she said. “I think that Oakland parents and school staff, including teachers, are owed an understanding of the specifics.”