City Government

Affordable Housing Proposal Moves Ahead at Oak Knoll Development

Published

7 years ago

November 17, 2017

During the debate about the development of housing at Oak Knoll, in the hills of East Oakland, many in the community expressed the importance of including affordable housing in this area as well. Councilmember Rebecca Kaplan has been a long-time advocate for affordable housing and agreed with the expressed concerns, saying it is important to include affordable housing throughout our communities, both to expand the total supply of vitally-needed affordable housing, and to ensure that it is not segregated only into one area, but included throughout Oakland.

During the debate about Oak Knoll, Councilmember Kaplan asked for, and successfully received, an amendment to make it possible to include affordable housing in that area. Councilmembers agreed to Kaplan’s amendment removing a zoning provision that had been included by the administration, which would have prevented the development of affordable housing in the area by zoning all of it exclusively for single-family detached homes, which are hard to provide on an affordable basis.

This week, Councilmembers Kaplan and Larry Reid successfully took the next step to provide affordable housing in the Oak Knoll area, introducing a request at the council’s Rules Committee, which would direct the administration to issue a Request for Proposals for the development of affordable housing on the 5.4-acre parcel of property owned by the City of Oakland, known as the “Barcelona” parcel, at Oak Knoll.

This item was scheduled for the Dec. 5 Community Economic Development (CED) Committee.

“It is vital that we expand development of affordable housing, to reduce displacement and maintain the vibrancy and diversity of our community,” said Kaplan. “Because we need thousands more affordable housing units than we have, we must expand our horizons to make more publicly-owned parcels throughout our community available for affordable housing development.”

She added, “By making the city-owned Barcelona parcel available for affordable housing, we can ensure that Oak Knoll is inclusive of all of our community, and expand affordable housing development throughout Oakland.”

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OUSD Supt. Chief Kyla Johnson-Trammell to Step Down on July 1

The district’s progress under Johnson-Trammell’s leadership “provides a strong foundation for the transition and work ahead,” according to the joint statement. “The plan has always prioritized a smooth and thoughtful transition. A formal search for a permanent superintendent was (originally) scheduled to begin in fall 2025,” but now the board is “initiating this process focusing on transparency and deep community involvement.”

Published

7 minutes ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Kyla Johnson-Trammell. File photo.

By Post Staff

The Oakland Unified School District announced this week that Supt. Kyla Johnson-Trammell will leave her position on July 1 after serving for eight years.

In closed session on Wednesday evening, the school board approved a voluntary separation agreement by a 4-3 vote, said Board President Jennifer Brouhard.

The board will begin searching immediately for an interim superintendent who will start on July 1. Johnson-Trammell will continue as superintendent emeritus from July 1 to Jan. 15, 2026, to help with the transition, according to a joint statement released by Johnson-Trammell and the Board.

In a personal statement to the community, Johnson-Trammell said:

“As I prepare to step away from my role as your superintendent on June 30, I do so with immense pride in what we’ve accomplished together. The last eight years have brought some of the most challenging — and most defining — moments in our district’s history. Through it all, Oakland has shown what’s possible when we stay grounded in our mission and vision and work in partnership for our students.”

The joint statement from Johnson-Trammell and the Board modifies her existing contract. According to the joint statement: “in August 2024, the OUSD Board of Education approved a three-year transitional contract for Superintendent Johnson-Trammell, with the next school year (2025-2026) allowing for a shift in responsibilities to support the transition to a permanent superintendent at the start of the 2026-2027 school year.”

Praising Johnson-Trammell’s accomplishments, the joint statement said, “(She) has done an extraordinary job over the past eight years, a historic tenure marked by stability, strong fiscal oversight, and improvements in student achievement.”

According to the statement, her achievements include:

increased graduation rates
improved literacy
increased student attendance rates,
“exemplary” COVID pandemic leadership,
“historic” pay raises to educators,
Improvement in OUSD’s facilities bond program,
ensuring strong fiscal systems and budgeting

As Johnson-Trammell’s years of service are coming to an end, there remain significant unresolved challenges facing the district, including a $95 million budget deficit and the threat of school closings and employee layoffs, as well as contract negotiations with the Oakland Education Association (OEA), the teachers’ union.

Another ongoing controversy has been the superintendent’s extremely high salary, which was negotiated less than a year ago under the leadership of Boardmember Mike Hutchinson and former Boardmember Sam Davis.

Johnson-Trammell is one of the highest-paid superintendents in California and the country, earning a total compensation package of $637,036.42 a year.

The contract had granted her a pay raise and a final three-year contract extension through the 2027 school year.

Under that contract, she would only continue as superintendent during the current school year, and then for two additional years she would work on research projects and prepare the district for a new superintendent, at the same rate of pay she now earns, plus raises.

During those two years, a temporary superintendent would be hired to handle the responsibilities of running the school district.