Over 60 Oakland Unified principals tell school board to close schools | EdSource
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Dozens of Oakland school principals, warning of dire conditions in classrooms, urged district leaders this week to close schools and pick a permanent superintendent, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
In a letter to the school board and interim Superintendent Denise Saddler, more than 60 district principals raised a wide range of concerns about district finances and expressed a lack of confidence in current leadership.
It was an unprecedented show of force by a large majority of the district’s site leaders, the newspaper reported.
“We spend more money per pupil than most other districts in California; however, our decisions as a district have resulted in a structural deficit and cash-strapped schools,” the letter said. “Cash-strapped schools will not change the conditions that result in 70% of students reading below grade level.”
The principals also urged the board to hurry to find and replace Saddler with a permanent superintendent.
District officials did not respond to the newspaper’s questions about the principals’ concerns.
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News Brief
Thursday, April 30, 2026 — 8:52 am
April 30, 2026
Dozens of Oakland school principals, warning of dire conditions in classrooms, urged district leaders this week to close schools and pick a permanent superintendent, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.
In a letter to the school board and interim Superintendent Denise Saddler, more than 60 district principals raised a wide range of concerns about district finances and expressed a lack of confidence in current leadership.
It was an unprecedented show of force by a large majority of the district’s site leaders, the newspaper reported.
“We spend more money per pupil than most other districts in California; however, our decisions as a district have resulted in a structural deficit and cash-strapped schools,” the letter said. “Cash-strapped schools will not change the conditions that result in 70% of students reading below grade level.”
The principals also urged the board to hurry to find and replace Saddler with a permanent superintendent.
District officials did not respond to the newspaper’s questions about the principals’ concerns.
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