City Government

City Leaders Address Concerns Raised by Black Lives Matter Movement

Published

10 years ago

January 30, 2015

Many Oakland residents are saying that the City Council’s public hearing on critical issues that impact African Americans in Oakland is a good first step.

Held last Saturday in City Hall chambers, the packed five-and-half hour meeting did not result directly in policy proposals. But it did lay out a call for collective action by councilmembers and city staff on key concerns that a number of them are already working individually to address.

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Council President Lynette Gibson McElhaney convened the special hearing on Saturday, Jan. 24, along with Council President Pro Tem Larry Reid.

In an email to community leaders, McElhaney discussed the significance of the hearing.

“The City Council had never undertaken a comprehensive examination of the issues that impact Black lives as we did this past Saturday,” she said.

“I want to let you know that thus far, we have received overwhelmingly positive feedback,” McElhaney continued. “Our primary audience – the council members and senior administration – felt that they received comprehensive information and a framework through which to direct their efforts.”

McElhaney said she considers this moment to be an unprecedented opportunity for Oakland to take the lead in dealing with these issues.

“To my knowledge, this was the first time that protesters for any cause were given a welcome mat to bring their grievances directly to the policymakers,” she said.” This is a considerable success for the activists who have sought redress for their grievances.”

Speaking at the hearing, Congresswoman Barbara Lee talked about legislation that Congress can potentially pass, calling on people in Oakland to help create the “street heat” that can make Congressional action a possibility.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee.

“We’ve got to stop this (police violence). It’s time for this to change,” said Lee, calling attention to a bill before Congress that would make it more difficult for district attorneys to use “secret grand jury hearings” to exonerate police accused of killing civilians; and another bill that would stop giving military arms to police departments, “to keep the weapons of war off our streets.”

In an interview with the Oakland Post after the hearing, Councilmember Dan Kalb said he will be working with Alameda County officials to assure that funds for reentry programs reach the formerly incarcerated for whom they are intended.

He also said he would work with the citywide police accountability coalition to develop a measure to create a civilian police oversight commission in Oakland, somewhat like what already exists in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

“I want to work on something (now) so that we will be ready to put a measure on the ballot, (for the next election),” Kalb said. “I think other council members feel the same way.”

Councilmember-at-large Rebecca Kaplan said, “California continues to lead the world in prison spending and destroys lives, families and communities, without adequately funding real prevention and re-entry services.”

“(Therefore), we have work to do,” she said, calling for the city to adopt policies “to hire more Oakland residents and a more diverse group to our police force. We need to stop arresting and prosecuting people for minor nonsense, and end the disparities in sentencing, and the costly war on drugs.”

In addition, she said, “We need to take seriously our job creation efforts and the non-profits who administer programs that create jobs, provide economic access and work force training. There’s been a long history in Oakland, and throughout the nation, of destroying black owned business.”

Kaplan said the city should move ahead on conducting a “legally required disparity study, and take action to make sure local minority-owned businesses get a fair shot at contracts and jobs, and that we truly build a future that values Black lives.”

Councilmember Abel Guillen.

New Councilmember Abel Guillen said he will be looking at ways to address racial profiling in Oakland, “the disproportionate numbers of African Americans and Latinos who are stopped by police.”

In addition he said that as the city hires more police, “We have to make sure that those people that we hire are reflective of the local community.”

Mayor Libby Schaaf, returning to Oakland Saturday morning from a trip to Washington, D.C., attended and participated in the hearing.

The council’s discussion of the issues and proposals for action will continue at the Feb. 3 City Council meeting.

Next Week, Part II, City Leaders Respond to Black Lives Matter Concerns

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Teachers’ Union Thanks Supt. Johnson-Trammell for Service to Schools and Community

“I speak for our Oakland community and the families OEA serves in thanking Supt. Johnson-Trammell for her service. With public schools and immigrant families under attack nationally from Trump and with budget challenges affecting many California school districts, these are tough times demanding the best of what we all have to offer,” said OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer in a statement released Thursday.

Published

4 hours ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

OEA President Kampala Taiz-Rancifer. Courtesy photo.

The union calls for a community-involvement in search for new superintendent

By Post Staff

While pointing out that Supt. Kayla Johnson-Trammell has been planning to resign for a while, the Oakland Education Association (OEA) thanked her for years of service to the schools and called for community involvement in the search for a new superintendent.

“While we disagreed strongly on a number of issues,” said Taiz-Rancifer, “Dr. Johnson-Trammell is a daughter of Oakland and a product of our public schools. We thank her for her service and wish her the best moving forward.”

She said the schools’ community was aware that the superintendent had been planning to leave well before this week’s announcement.

“The superintendent has spoken publicly throughout the year about her planned departure. In August 2024, the previous school board approved a renewed contract raising her compensation to over $600,000 per year and allowing her to step back from daily responsibilities beginning in the 2025-2026 school year,” said Taiz-Rancifer.

She said the teachers’ union has been raising concerns about the need for stability and financial transparency in the district. “For three of the last four years, the district projected major deficits, only to end with millions in reserve.” This year, she said, the district added $90 million to central office overhead expenses.

“Just last month, a majority of school board directors took action to cap expensive consultant costs and develop alternative budget proposals that align spending with community priorities to keep funding in classrooms,” she said.

Taiz-Rancifer said the union stands behind the leadership of Board President Jennifer Brouhard and Boardmembers Valarie Bachelor, Rachel Latta, and VanCedric Williams.

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Alameda County

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

4 hours 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.