Last summer<\/a>, the district regained full local financial control 20 years after it declared bankruptcy in 2003. But without cuts, interim Superintendent Denise Saddler told the school board this week, OUSD won\u2019t be able to right a $102 million budget deficit projected next year and could risk again needing state assistance.<\/p>\n On Wednesday, the district approved a plan to eliminate almost 400 staff positions through a combination of layoffs, early retirement buyouts and eliminations of roles that are currently vacant. Those cuts will save about $11 million, according to district fiscal advisors. The district is also eyeing plans to reduce schools\u2019 individual budgets, and a lofty proposal to significantly increase the special education services it offers in district schools.<\/p>\n So far, it\u2019s identified about $65<\/a> million in cuts it could make, and is still aiming to identify another $35 million before its budget is due in June. That total dollar amount doesn\u2019t factor in any additional costs associated with a new contract with OEA.<\/p>\n Across other Bay Area school districts<\/a>, rocked by strikes in recent weeks, officials have indicated that spending more on teachers\u2019 contracts could force districts to make deeper cuts during budget planning.<\/p>\n In San Francisco, the deal that educators and the district struck earlier this month increased the district\u2019s expenditures by more than $180 million for two years, and could lead to additional cuts or layoffs<\/a>, according to school leaders there. West Contra Costa County, which also just approved a new labor contract after a four-day strike in December, passed a plan that will slash 10% of its workforce<\/a> at the end of the school year.<\/p>\n When\u2019s the soonest an Oakland teachers strike could take place?<\/p>\n Since mediation has wrapped up, and the union has authorized a walkout, the call for an Oakland teachers strike could come at any time.<\/p>\n OEA has to give the district 48 hours\u2019 notice before taking to picket lines, so the earliest a strike would likely interrupt schools is Monday.<\/p>\n Has this kind of strike ever happened before in Oakland?<\/p>\n Yes. Oakland\u2019s OEA union held similar strikes in both 2019 and 2023.<\/p>\n In 2019<\/a>, the walkout came after Oakland teachers had been working under an expired deal for nearly two years. Lasting a week, the strike ended with a four-year contract that included raises, along with commitments to decrease class sizes and put a monthslong moratorium on school closures.<\/p>\n OUSD operates more small campuses compared to similarly sized districts, and for years has gone back and forth on plans to shutter some schools, often reneging on plans<\/a> after community pushback.<\/p>\n Oakland educators again walked out for about a week in 2023<\/a>, after another monthslong negotiation cycle.<\/p>\n What happens during a teachers strike? Will Oakland schools close?<\/p>\n While San Francisco schools closed earlier this month, Oakland\u2019s could remain open during a walkout.<\/p>\n During the 2023 strike, students who attended school were supervised by principals and central office staff. But little instruction actually occurred, and attendance dropped as low as 4%, according to The Oaklandside<\/a>.<\/p>\n What does \u2018crossing a picket line\u2019 actually mean?<\/p>\n Families sending students to school during a strike<\/p>\n During the SFUSD strike earlier this month, the California Teachers Union <\/a>said that as a parent or guardian, \u201cyou\u2019ll have to decide if you want your child in this environment\u201d of a school that\u2019s in the middle of a strike.<\/p>\n \u201cA strike is most powerful when students do not attend school, because this puts financial pressure on the district to negotiate with educators or lose more money from the state,\u201d the statewide union\u2019s guidance<\/a> for SFUSD families read. CTA has not yet issued specific guidance for OUSD families.<\/p>\n Volunteers teaching in schools during a strike in the absence of teachers<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/21_240517-TKBilingualLearners-80-BL-scaled-e1772135571879.jpg\")
Transitional kindergarten students play outside during recess at the International Community School in Oakland on May 17, 2024. (Beth LaBerge\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/20241211-OUSDMergerVote-JY-026_qed-1.jpg\")
The Oakland Unified School District Board listens to public comment during a meeting at La Escuelita Elementary School in Oakland, California, on Dec. 11, 2024. (Juliana Yamada\/KQED)<\/p>\n![\"Teachers](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/RS65200_05092023_oaklandstrikepresser-214-qut.jpg\")
Oakland teachers, students and supporters march on a picket line in front of Melrose Leadership Academy on May 9, 2023. (Kori Suzuki\/KQED)<\/p>\n
![\"The](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/061121_SummerSchool_AW_CM_06.jpg\")
Rising first graders walk to their classroom at the start of the day during summer session at Laurel Elementary in Oakland on June 11, 2021. (Anne Wernikoff\/CalMatters)<\/p>\n