Education

Concerns Raised at OUSD Over Jackson’s $30,000 Per Month, Conflict of Interest

Published

10 years ago

April 10, 2015

Oakland Unified School District officials are struggling to explain why there is no conflict of interest in hiring Lance Jackson as the interim chief of the district’s bond-funded construction projects and that Jackson’s $30,000 a month salary is not excessive.

Jackson is Chief Operating Officer of Seville Group Inc. (SGI), which has a nearly $11 million, three-year contract to provide project management oversight of OUSD’s construction projects. He was hired by the school district as the interim replacement for Tim White, who was forced out of his position as head of Facilities Management in February after 14 years in the district.

Jackson is being paid out of school bond funds for what the district estimates is 75 percent of the work for which Tim White was responsible and is earning more than double what White earned.

“There’s been quite a lot of press about the selection of the individual who is from the main project management company (that works for OUSD) to be in that position on an interim basis. There are some concerns that I have, and I think some others have, that (this) poses a conflict of interest and also some concerns for the amount of money that’s being paid to that individual,” said Patricia Williams, vice chair of the district’s Measures A, B, and J Independent Citizens’ School Facilities Bond Oversight Committee, speaking at the committee’s April 1 meeting.

Lance Jackson, COO of Seville Group Inc.

According to local attorney Dan Siegel, formerly a Oakland Board of Education member and also formerly general counsel for the school district, Jackson “clearly has a classical conflict of interest” in holding a position in OUSD where he oversees a company for which he is an executive.

“(For example), if a consultant who works for his company does something wrong or that is inappropriate, he is going to feel reluctant to take any action because he’s going to have his company’s interests as well as OUSD’s (in mind). He is supposed to be loyal to the school district,” said Siegel, explaining that potential conflict issues are not limited to billing and the signing of invoices.

Dan Siegel

Defending the district’s position at the April 1 meeting of the bond oversight committee, District General Counsel Jacqueline Minor described how she decided that Jackson should earn $30,000 per month. She said his pay rate is $200 an hour, he receives no benefits, and he is expected to be working for the district at least 12 hours a day.

She said that Jackson is being paid out of the district’s bond funds. Seventy-five percent of Tim (White’s) salary was paid out of the bond, she said, and the other 25 percent from the general fund to cover his responsibilities for day-to-day operations, custodial services and buildings and grounds.

“(However), all the work we’ve asked Lance to do is bond-related work,” said Minor.

“He’s been the principle lead for SGI in our district for some time,” she said. “He knows the district, he knows the team, he knows the work, he knows the projects.”

As for potential conflicts of interest, Minor said, Seville Group is subject to the district’s general conflict of interest policies. “The superintendent and I talked, and we decided…the way we would handle (it),” she said.

None of the invoices and other financial decisions related to SGI will come across Jackson’s desk, Minor said. Instead, Senior Business Officer Vernon Hal will have overall responsibility for all of the finances related to SGI.

“Lance is not approving invoices, purchase orders, contract extensions,” Minor said.

Minor said the district originally planned to send a contract for Jackson to the board but rescinded it when she decided it was not necessary.

“The work that Lance is doing is already covered by the SGI contract,” Minor said. “And I decided – it was my decision –(that) it didn’t make sense for the board to approve an amendment when there was already a contract that had sufficient funds in it to cover this additional work.”

“It’s my opinion that that the work Lance and SGI (are doing) is permissible under the (conflict of interest) law,” she said.

Another member of the bond oversight committee, Ariel Bierbaum, said she was concerned of how Jackson’s position would affect staff in the Facilities Department, “now that Mr. Jackson is serving as both consultant and client.”

Renee Swayne

Renee Swayne, chair of the bond oversight committee, told Minor that she was concerned that when the district hired Jackson, it released a statement saying that he was the only person in the “whole department who has the knowledge, skills or the ability” to do the job.

“I personally think the superintendent owes the employees in that department an apology,” said Swayne, adding that what Wilson said was “demeaning” to the OUSD staff.

In response to questions from the Post, district spokesman Troy Flint clarified how Jackson is being paid.

“OUSD is not paying any additional monies to SGI or to Lance beyond the contract with SGI , which predates Lance’s appointment as interim head of the facilities department,” said Flint. “Any money Lance receives would come out of the existing $10.89 million contract with SGI, and it would be up to SGI to determine how to distribute that money.”

Jackson has not taken a leave of absence from his company to work for the district, Flint said.

“Lance is still employed by SGI. His current work for OUSD is a function of his long-term employment at SGI, so there’s no reason he would take a leave of absence.”

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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

3 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

3 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.

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Bay Area

Five Years After COVID-19 Began, a Struggling Child Care Workforce Faces New Threats

Five years ago, as COVID-19 lockdowns and school closures began, most early educators continued to work in person, risking their own health and that of their families. “Early educators were called essential, but they weren’t provided with the personal protective equipment they needed to stay safe,” said CSCCE Executive Director Lea Austin. “There were no special shopping hours or ways for them to access safety materials in those early and scary months of the pandemic, leaving them to compete with other shoppers. One state even advised them to wear trash bags if they couldn’t find PPE.”

Published

1 month ago

March 24, 2025

Oakland Post

UC Berkeley photo.

UC Berkeley News

In the first eight months of the COVID-19 pandemic alone, 166,000 childcare jobs were lost across the nation. Significant recovery didn’t begin until the advent of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) Child Care Stabilization funds in April 2021.

Today, child care employment is back to slightly above pre-pandemic levels, but job growth has remained sluggish at 1.4% since ARPA funding allocations ended in October 2023, according to analysis by the Center for the Study of Child Care Employment (CSCCE) at UC Berkeley. In the last six months, childcare employment has hovered around 1.1 million.

Yet more than two million American parents report job changes due to problems accessing child care. Why does the childcare sector continue to face a workforce crisis that has predated the pandemic? Inadequate compensation drives high turnover rates and workforce shortages that predate the pandemic. Early childhood educators are skilled professionals; many have more than 15 years of experience and a college degree, but their compensation does not reflect their expertise. The national median hourly wage is $13.07, and only a small proportion of early educators receive benefits.

And now a new round of challenges is about to hit childcare. The low wages paid in early care and education result in 43% of early educator families depending on at least one public support program, such as Medicaid or food stamps, both of which are threatened by potential federal funding cuts. Job numbers will likely fall as many early childhood educators need to find jobs with healthcare benefits or better pay.

In addition, one in five child care workers are immigrants, and executive orders driving deportation and ICE raids will further devastate the entire early care and education system. These stresses are part of the historical lack of respect the workforce faces, despite all they contribute to children, families, and the economy.

The economic impact was equally dire. Even as many providers tried to remain open to ensure their financial security, the combination of higher costs to meet safety protocols and lower revenue from fewer children enrolled led to job losses, increased debt, and program closures.

Eventually, the federal government responded with historic short-term investments through ARPA, which stabilized childcare programs. These funds provided money to increase pay or provide financial relief to early educators to improve their income and well-being. The childcare sector began to slowly recover. Larger job gains were made in 2022 and 2023, and as of November 2023, national job numbers had slightly surpassed pre-pandemic levels, though state and metro areas continued to fluctuate.

Many states have continued to support the workforce after ARPA funding expired in late 2024. In Maine, a salary supplement initiative has provided monthly stipends of $240-$540 to educators working in licensed home- or center-based care, based on education and experience, making it one of the nation’s leaders in its support of early educators. Early educators say the program has enabled them to raise wages, which has improved staff retention. Yet now, Governor Janet Mills is considering cutting the stipend program in half.

“History shows that once an emergency is perceived to have passed, public funding that supports the early care and education workforce is pulled,” says Austin. “You can’t build a stable childcare workforce and system without consistent public investment and respect for all that early educators contribute.”

The Center for the Study of Childcare Employment is the source of this story.