City Government

Council Delays Decision on Selling Public Land to Build Charter School

Published

6 years ago

July 13, 2018

The Oakland school board asked the City Council not to sell the property to the charter school

Thirty-six people were signed up to speak at this week’s City Council meeting for and against the proposed sale of public land to an out-of-state developer to build a large charter school in the Fruitvale District.

However, the council pulled the item from the agenda, indicating that they needed to talk first to the school district before selling the parcel.

“We received notice from the Oakland Unified School District that we would confer on this matter. I think it is prudent for us to do so before undertaking action. I would ask that we defer action on this and bring it back to (the Rules Committee) for rescheduling,” said Councilmember Lynette Gibson McElhaney.

Though councilmembers did not discuss or vote on the issue, speakers went ahead with their public comments.

Derby Street property in the Fruitvale District.

Supporting the sale were children, parents, teachers and administrators of Aspire Eres Academy, a charter elementary school serving 217 students, currently located near Fremont High School in East Oakland.

They are seeking to build a new home for their school, which is too small and in poor physical condition.

Kimi Kean, Bay Area Superintendent at Aspire Public (Charter) Schools, said that students at Eres Academy “have waited far too long for an acceptable facility… They need and deserve a new facility.”

She said Aspire has an ongoing working relationship with the city staff to build the school.

“We have been honored to collaborate with the City of Oakland for the last three years to develop a state of the art facility,” she said.

Opposing the sale were school activists, leaders of the Oakland teachers’ union who supported affordable housing at the site and teachers and families from district schools that would be negatively impacted if the large new charter was built near their schools, as well as the Oakland Board of Education.

“I want to thank you for postponing the vote tonight,” said School Board President Aimee Eng, who summarized a resolution passed by the board on June 27 opposing the city’s sale of the land for a charter school.

“The school board does not support the sale of the property for the purpose of building an education complex that would house 620 students, which is triple the size of the current school population,” she said.

In the nearby area to the proposed school site, “there are already 18 district and charter schools, serving a similar population,” she said. “The demographic data also does not support the need for a school this large.”

A school district analysis indicates that a high number of families in the area already go to neighborhood schools. A huge new school at that location would directly compete with existing schools in the area, she said.

Pamela Long, a veteran teacher at International Community School, said, “I support their need for a new building, but we are asking that it not be two short blocks from our thriving schools.

The land should be used for affordable housing, she said.

Bethany Meyer, a special education teacher and member of the executive board of the teachers’ union, said, “This charter school is going to take about 625 students out of the school district, which is about $7 million in lost revenue.”

“From what I am reading, the city stands to gain about $200,000 from the sale, which doesn’t seem to justify the amount of opposition you’re going to be facing,” she said.

School activist Mike Hutchinson said, “It is the not the responsibility of the City Council to sell (Aspire charter schools) public property, a parcel that was never put out to competitive bid.”
The parcel first had an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement (ENA) with the city in October 2015, but “there’s no record of that ENA being extended,” Hutchinson said.

The original ENA included affordable housing on this parcel, and the developer has already knocked down existing affordable housing on adjacent property to make room for this project, he said.

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City Government

San Pablo Appoints New Economic Development and Housing Manager

Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo. Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Kieron Slaughter. Photo courtesy of the City of San Pablo

The Richmond Standard

Kieron Slaughter has been appointed as the economic development & housing manager for the City of San Pablo.

Since 2017, Slaughter has served as chief strategic officer for economic innovation in the City of Berkeley’s Office of Economic Development. Previously, he served in a 2.5-year appointment in the Pacific West Region as one of 10 Urban Fellows in the United States National Park Service.

Before that he was an associate planner in the City of Richmond’s Planning and Building Services Department from 2007-2015.

San Pablo City Manager Matt Rodriguez lauded Slaughter’s extensive experience in economic development, housing and planning, saying he will add a “valuable perspective to the City Manager’s Office.”

Slaughter, a Berkeley resident, will start in his new role on Nov. 12, with a base annual salary of $164,928, according to the City of San Pablo.

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City Government

Aaron Osorio Rises Up Ranks to Become Richmond’s Fire Chief

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10. “I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.” Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Published

16 hours ago

November 4, 2024

Oakland Post

Richmond Fire Department Chief Aaron Osorio. Courtesy photo

By Mike Kinney

The Richmond Standard

For Aaron Osorio, it started with a ride along on a firetruck at age 10.

“I thought it was the coolest job,” he said, adding, “I knew being in fire service would make a big difference in the community.”

Now a 27-year fire service veteran, Osorio appears to approach his work with the same youthful exuberance. And that’s good for the city as Osorio was recently named chief of the historic Richmond Fire Department.

Osorio is a San Francisco native who rose up the ranks in the Richmond Fire Department over the last 21 years before being elevated to chief.

He joined the department in 2002 and has served in multiple roles including firefighters, engineer, captain, battalion chief, training director and deputy fire chief. He said he truly loves working in this community.

While it isn’t common for a fire department to hire a chief that came up through its ranks, Osorio was credited by the city for serving Richmond well during uncommon times.

The city lauded him for developing internal policies and vaccination clinics during the initial COVID response, for supporting activation of the emergency operations center in response to a potential mudslide disaster in Seacliff last year, helping to draft mutual aid agreements and working to increase fire response capabilities for industrial incidents.

He’s also led departmental hiring and recruitment since 2018.

Osorio said it is an honor to be hired as chief and has big plans for the department moving forward. He said he wants to continue hiring and promoting for vacant positions, and also completing a strategic plan guiding the direction of the organization.

He also aims to replace and renovate a number of fire department facilities placed on the Capital Improvement Plan and create new ways to recruit that will enhance the diversity of the department.

Osorio said his experience within, and love for, the city of Richmond puts him in a good position to lead the department. He says he knows what is needed and also the challenges that are unique to the city.

“I look forward to utilizing that institutional knowledge to move the fire department forward in a positive direction and enhance the services we provide to the community,” the chief said.

Osorio holds a bachelor of science degree in Fire Administration and is also a California State Fire Marshal-certified chief officer, company officer, and state instructor.

He also holds numerous certifications in fire, rescue, hazardous material, and incident command.

The chief has been married to his wife, Maria, for 26 years and they have two sons, Roman and Mateo.

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Bay Area

Oakland Awarded $28 Million Grant from Governor Newsom to Sustain Long-Term Solutions Addressing Homelessness

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program. This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Published

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Oakland Post

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao

Governor Gavin Newsom announced the City of Oakland has won a$28,446,565.83 grant as part of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) grant program.

This program provides flexible grant funding to help communities support people experiencing homelessness by creating permanent housing, rental and move-in assistance, case management services, and rental subsidies, among other eligible uses.

Oakland Mayor Sheng Thao and the Oakland City Administrator’s Office staff held a press conference today to discuss the grant and the City’s successful implementing of the Mayor’s Executive Order on the Encampment Management Policy.