News

Would Closing Schools in Oakland Save Money or Raise Academic Achievement?

Published

7 years ago

January 8, 2018

Speakers line up at Oakland Board of Education meeting. Photo by Oakland North.

Despite the calls to close schools in Oakland and other cities – as a way to conserve money and focus resources on the remaining schools – there exists little evidence that shutting down campuses is a successful strategy for fiscal solvency or increasing student academic success.

The Oakland Board of Education, acting on the work of outside consultants and a community advisory group, is expected in January to start discussing possible school closings as a way to “right size” the district.

The changes could go into effect at the end of the school year in June.

Speaking to the school board last summer, Fiscal Crisis and Management and Assistance Team (FCMAT) staff urged the district to move ahead with plans to shut school sites, saying the board would be “amazed” by how much money they would save.

However, FCMAT produced no numbers or evidence of positive financial or educational results of the past closing of schools in Oakland or other districts under the agency’s leadership.

Proponents of school closings point out that the district has many more schools than the average district in California of similar size.

“Getting to the median would require OUSD to reduce its portfolio by approximately 30 schools,” according to an article published by Educate78, an Oakland-based, pro-charter school organization.

The Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) already has a lot of experience with shutting down schools.

Under the administration of state receiver Randolph Ward, the state and FCMAT, a state funded nonprofit, in 2004 closed five elementary schools: Burbank, Marcus Foster, Longfellow, John Swett and Toler Heights.

They later closed another five schools: Washington and Golden Gate Elementary and Kings Estates, Lowell and Carter middle schools.

During the administration of Supt. Tony Smith in 2011, the district closed five elementary schools: Marshall, Lakeview Elementary, Maxwell Park, Santa Fe and Lazear.

In addition, a number of the small schools created two decades ago in Oakland during the “Small Autonomous Schools Movement,” were abandoned as larger schools were reintroduced on campuses such as Castlemont and Fremont High, regardless of whether or not the little schools had vitality, were popular or successful.

FCMAT’s push to close local schools goes back to when the state-funded, Bakersfield-based nonprofit arrived in Oakland in 2003. Word quickly spread that the agency was saying Oakland had too many schools, based on a mathematical ratio, which according to the California Department of Education (CDE) was: 73-square-feet per student in elementary, 80-square-feet per student in middle and 95-square-feet per student in high schools.

State Administrator Ward was reported to have said in a meeting that by the time he left OUSD, it would be small enough to fit in his hands, more like the size of a suburban school district.

Rather than improving district schools, the track record is indicative of a school district in upheaval that has steadily lost enrollment and revenue and has been unable to undo the stark inequity between resources available for most low-income flatland schools and affluent hill-area campuses.

In 2000, OUSD had about 52,0000 students. It currently has 36,000.

Most of the closed schools were those that served low-income students and students of color.

Meanwhile, charter schools – facilitated and protected by state laws – have grown in Oakland at the expense of the public system, with 44 schools and 14,000 students. Some of the charters occupy space on district campuses.

A number of research studies and reports call into question the claims of advocates of closing schools.

A major study released in May 2017 by the National Education Policy Center found that, “school closures as a strategy for remedying student achievement in low-performing schools is a high-risk/low-gain strategy that fails to hold promise with respect to either student achievement or non-cognitive well-being.

“It causes political conflict and incurs hidden costs for both districts and local communities, especially low-income communities of color that are differentially affected by school closings,” the report said. “There are costs associated with closing buildings and transferring teachers and students, which reduce the available resources for the remaining schools.”

Closings particularly negatively impact Black students, according to the study. In urban school closures 61 percent of the impacted students are African-American, though Black students make up only about 31 percent of urban school populations. And in districts such as Chicago, Black teachers are also more likely to be affected.

Ultimately, Oakland can look to its own history to answer questions about the value of closing schools: Did OUSD improve educationally and financially when FCMAT and the state directly managed the district from 2003 to 2009?

Has closing neighborhood schools contributed to the economic stability of OUSD?

Examining the legacy of the state takeover, Oakland Tribune reporter Katy Murphy wrote in 2009:

“The Oakland school district is emerging from state receivership $89 million in debt. It faces a budget hole of $18 million for the 2010-11 school year, even if the state government makes no additional cuts.”

“For years, auditors with the state controller’s office have issued “inconclusive” findings on the state of the school district’s finances,” she said. “The auditors reported last summer that the agency’s bottom line was unclear because key records dating to the time of the takeover were missing or inconsistent.”

The Tribune reported that that Alameda County Grand Jury, in its 2007-08 report, found that “the district was hampered by continuous staff turnover, particularly in the area of finance, numerous reorganizations and a succession of state administrators.… After nearly five years of state management, OUSD’s budget remains unbalanced, and the district’s future is unclear.”

In an interview, Robert Blackburn, a former Oakland schools’ superintendent, said the state takeover had done damage to the school system and to the city, according to the Tribune.

Blackburn said the State Superintendent of Instruction treated Oakland “like an absentee landlord with slum properties,” and that the upheaval led to many families leaving district schools.

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Advice

Let’s Go to The Doctor: What Happens When Your Brain Gets Sick

As we grow older, it’s natural to feel concern about changes in our mental abilities. We want to carry out our daily routines, be self-sufficient and relive the most treasured moments of our lives – without having to worry about our memory and dementia.

Published

3 minutes ago

April 27, 2025

Oakland Post

Photo: iStock.

Part 2 of 2

By Clifford L. Williams

“Everyone ages,” as noted by BlackDoctor.org (BD). The longer you live on Earth, the more you will notice how things change – including your body and mind.

Aging is a natural process of our lives, according to BD. As we age, we experience gradual changes to our brains and bodies. Some of these changes affect our physical and mental abilities and may increase our risk of disease.

Each one of us experiences aging differently. The extent of how we experience changes due to aging, and the point in our lives when they start becoming more noticeable, varies from person to person.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO) almost 40% of us will experience some form of memory loss after we turn 65 years old.

But even if we experience memory loss, chances are still unlikely that we have dementia. For the most part, our memory loss is mild enough that we can still live our day-to-day lives without interruption.

The WHO estimates that, after we turn 60 years old, 5% to 8% of us will live with dementia at some point. With dementia, symptoms including memory loss gradually worsen to the point where our abilities seriously deteriorate, and we are no longer able to take care of ourselves.

But dementia and Alzheimer’s are not the same. Dementia is a collection of symptoms, while Alzheimer’s is disease of the brain. It is the top neurodegenerative disorder in the world. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimates that 5.8 million Americans live with Alzheimer’s in the United States.

Early Signs of Alzheimer’s to Look Out For:

Difficulty finding words, vision or spatial issues, and impaired judgment or reasoning
Stuttering or halting speech, difficulty recalling words, or using substitutes for words
Difficulty paying bills, cooking, or following a recipe
Losing track of dates, getting lost in a familiar place, or having trouble understanding an event that’s happening later
Becoming more easily upset, feeling depressed, scared, or anxious, or being suspicious of people
Scaling back on projects at work, becoming less involved with hobbies, or lacking motivation

When it comes to enhancing our memory and cognitive abilities, engaging in brain games is an effective and enjoyable approach. Not only do these games provide entertainment, but they also stimulate various areas of the brain, leading to improved memory.

According to HealthDay News, a new drug to treat Alzheimer’s disease has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. In clinical trials, donanemab (Kisunla), modestly slowed the decline in thinking among patients in the early stages of the disease.

With a diagnosis of dementia and seeking information about that illness, it can be both overwhelming and emotional. If you or a loved one has been diagnosed early, there is hope. You can plan for your care before your symptoms accelerate.

To Our Readers:

For information on other health-related issues regarding men’s health, please share your thoughts and/or concerns with the Post Newspaper Group editorial staff.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 23 – 29, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 23 – 29, 2025

Published

2 days ago

April 25, 2025

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#NNPA BlackPress

Chavis and Bryant Lead Charge as Target Boycott Grows

BLACKPRESSUSA NEWSWIRE — Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises.

Published

4 days ago

April 23, 2025

Stacy M. Brown

By Stacy M. Brown
BlackPressUSA.com Senior National Correspondent

Calling for continued economic action and community solidarity, Dr. Jamal H. Bryant launched the second phase of the national boycott against retail giant Target this week at New Birth Missionary Baptist Church in Atlanta. Surrounded by civil rights leaders, economists, educators, and activists, Bryant declared the Black community’s power to hold corporations accountable for broken promises. “They said they were going to invest in Black communities. They said it — not us,” Bryant told the packed sanctuary. “Now they want to break those promises quietly. That ends tonight.” The town hall marked the conclusion of Bryant’s 40-day “Target fast,” initiated on March 3 after Target pulled back its Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) commitments. Among those was a public pledge to spend $2 billion with Black-owned businesses by 2025—a pledge Bryant said was made voluntarily in the wake of George Floyd’s murder in 2020.“No company would dare do to the Jewish or Asian communities what they’ve done to us,” Bryant said. “They think they can get away with it. But not this time.”

The evening featured voices from national movements, including civil rights icon and National Newspaper Publishers Association (NNPA) President & CEO Dr. Benjamin F. Chavis Jr., who reinforced the need for sustained consciousness and collective media engagement. The NNPA is the trade association of the 250 African American newspapers and media companies known as The Black Press of America. “On the front page of all of our papers this week will be the announcement that the boycott continues all over the United States,” said Chavis. “I would hope that everyone would subscribe to a Black newspaper, a Black-owned newspaper, subscribe to an economic development program — because the consciousness that we need has to be constantly fed.” Chavis warned against the bombardment of negativity and urged the community to stay engaged beyond single events. “You can come to an event and get that consciousness and then lose it tomorrow,” he said. “We’re bombarded with all of the disgust and hopelessness. But I believe that starting tonight, going forward, we should be more conscious about how we help one another.”

He added, “We can attain and gain a lot more ground even during this period if we turn to each other rather than turning on each other.” Other speakers included Tamika Mallory, Dr. David Johns, Dr. Rashad Richey, educator Dr. Karri Bryant, and U.S. Black Chambers President Ron Busby. Each speaker echoed Bryant’s demand that economic protests be paired with reinvestment in Black businesses and communities. “We are the moral consciousness of this country,” Bryant said. “When we move, the whole nation moves.” Sixteen-year-old William Moore Jr., the youngest attendee, captured the crowd with a challenge to reach younger generations through social media and direct engagement. “If we want to grow this movement, we have to push this narrative in a way that connects,” he said.

Dr. Johns stressed reclaiming cultural identity and resisting systems designed to keep communities uninformed and divided. “We don’t need validation from corporations. We need to teach our children who they are and support each other with love,” he said. Busby directed attendees to platforms like ByBlack.us, a digital directory of over 150,000 Black-owned businesses, encouraging them to shift their dollars from corporations like Target to Black enterprises. Bryant closed by urging the audience to register at targetfast.org, which will soon be renamed to reflect the expanding boycott movement. “They played on our sympathies in 2020. But now we know better,” Bryant said. “And now, we move.”