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Agenda Item
R.-1 24-2794 Adoption by the Board of Education of Resolution No. 2425-0015 - AB 1912 Recommendations - Initiating School Mergers (First Reading) *.
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*Collect and consider feedback from the Oakland Unified School District community regarding the proposal to merge schools located on a shared campus. (Education Code Section 41329(a)(2)(A)
Hello, I am a Parent of two children @ Manzanita Community School & part of Parent Leadership Committee. We love the diversity & community we have built around our campus.
Please take our children's needs into consideration. Merging schools mid year is unstable and unfair to our children.
We understand being in a budget deficit but cuts should be taken at district level. To not have emotional damage on our students. If our students are the priority (which they should be) and making sure they are successful please consider the challenges they will face with these abrupt changes. I believe if cuts were at a district level they would still be over paid and if our teachers are barley able to make ends meet and they are the forefront of our children's education.. why aren't they paid more & district members cut?
These funds are not being allocated properly. It's something that is appalling to our needs in the community. Please listen to our voices.
As a parent of two Manzanita SEED students, I strongly oppose the mergers. I selected SEED because of the dual immersion education. As a bilingual person, keeping my children bilingual if of high importance. Our school operates completely differently and our administration is highly dedicated to keeping bilingual project based learning. Two schools with complete different focuses do not make any sense. Each year families are faced with obstacles placed by OUSD top administration that disrupt our children's education. This constant instability is what is causing families to leave. Invest in our schools! Invest in your own community! Keep school communities intact to build a strong foundation for Oakland children!
I strongly oppose the proposed merger of Manzanita SEED and Manzanita Community. Similar to in the past, the board has not adequately studied the impact of a dual immersion merger with an English only school. Past evidence suggests that not all mergers are economically advantageous—in fact, OUSD has lost more money at some merged sites based on OUSD’s summary of financial impact of Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 document. Moreover, dual immersion programs need additional support to continue to attract the current enrollment. Based on the Lockwood STEAM merger, the dual immersion program doesn’t appear to be as strong. Has the district looked at how many students will be lost as a result of the Manzanita merger in comparison to the proposed savings? This merger will not result in the expected savings desired. Cuts may be needed, but this decision doesn’t make sense.
I am a parent with children at Manzanita SEED. I cannot support these proposed mergers. They are tantamount to school closures - 5 schools would close. I kept my children in OUSD because of the bilingual, specifically dual-immersion, language pathway. My family was drawn to the Expeditionary learning. We have come to love this school after 5 years of involvement. It is absolutely not clear that the dual-immersion pathway would continue to exist, and it's not clear that a merger would save any money. Please, you have to have a much better plan. Why merge colocated schools when they do not share a dual-immersion curriculum? I understand the board must make tough decisions, but this is hasty and unlikely to result in preservation of dual-immersion at whatever Manzanita would emerge from the ashes. And you have not proven that any significant money would be saved.
Ousd, I strongly oppose to any negotiations or plans to merge my Childrens school ICS/TCN.
I understand ousd is in a Deficit and trying to save money but the ones who will suffer are our children, how about we start by cutting salaries for upper district board members and superintendent , who remain the same cut after cut. Our school need to maintain their integrity, quality and small size, who with no reassurance will maintain the same by merging. I strongly urge you to look elsewhere as to address how to save money and not use and put at risk our children’s education. Your short notice decision disrupt our families and children's lives and well being. Their are many other places and staff positions that serve us and our children no purpose, and are still getting paid with district funds.
Merging well-enrolled co-located schools does not make sense as a strategy to achieve savings. Your materials emphasize that we need to find savings in facilities. Our co-located schools are already efficiently using resources. By merging schools that have totally different programs, you'll create a monster-size school that needs just as much staff to be effectively run. Find savings by closing under-enrolled schools, don't make a show of savings by merging schools that are at optimal size already. Our bilingual schools are particularly at risk here. It's already challenging to ensure kids have ample time to be in a Spanish-dominant environment -- if they're part of a non-Spanish school, it will further erode opportunities for bilingual education. Please do not merge bilingual with mono-lingual schools! Thanks for your consideration.
My name is Raquel Rodriguez Jones and I am the principal and a founding teacher of International Community School (ICS).
Since learning that our school and TCN are on the merger list we have met with and listened to our families. What they say they love about ICS is its good reputation, its dual language program, stable staff, the among other things. They fear that they will lose some or all of these things that make ICS a special place that they love and choose to send their children to in this merger process. They have said that if the qualities that they choose are lost they will choose different schools.
Families fear that the process of merging two very different schools with very different academic programs and different cultures will cause disorder, causing the schools to lose staff and students, especially if the process is rushed. Our families ask that the process be a high quality one and not be rushed. They want to work to create a school that their children deserve.
The rushed approach to merging my children's school (Manzanita SEED) and other schools is disruptive, expensive, and lacks the thoughtfulness needed by these communities (especially those impacted most directly from the president elect's promises of deportation). Disrupting the lives of the people to address budgeting issues is NOT the answer. Cut from the top! Get rid of consultants and district admin that don't directly serve and benefit the youth and community. And close the central kitchen. These are more appropriate and equitable ways to support our communities...not disrupting our youth and their families.
As a teacher at Life Academy, I strongly oppose this decision. I believe I am able to support and build community with my students so effectively largely as a result of our small size. I am unclear how we would maintain the integrity of our programs with such a drastic and fast-paced merger. At the very least, I strongly urge that this proposed merger slow down so that we are able to thoughtfully plan in support of all students.
At many of the co-located campuses, the two schools sharing a campus do NOT share curriculum or programming. For instance, at Manzanita SEED and Manzanita Community School, we are running two separate programs: one is dual-immersion, one is English-only. If the District's plan is to eliminate one principal and keep two separate programs, how does that save any significant money? How will teachers and administrators be supported to accomplish that feat? If the District's plan is to eliminate one program, then we are doing a disservice to any students who are not currently in that program. In either case, we are destabilizing schools, which harms students and families and will ultimately only harm the District's finances. This resolution makes no sense.
I am opposed to the merger of ICS & TCN. My daughter is in Kindergarten at ICS. Although I believe the intention is to maintain both dual-immersion and English instruction programs post-merger, the details on this are vague and not reassuring. Clearly the district is facing an urgent financial situation. However, I don't understand why such a significant decision re: school mergers is being made with so little time for community input. The memo from Superintendent Johnson-Trammell lists five areas to consider for potential savings A-E. Why are the proposed mergers (Item A) being considered separately from items B-E? The mergers are estimated with a cost savings of $2.5-3 million, but I haven't been able to find any information about the estimated savings for items B-E. I believe merging schools would be difficult and disruptive to the education of our children. If necessary, it should be a last resort, but from what I can tell it seems like it is the first option under consideration.
Who benefits from merging schools? Does it benefit the superintendent, whose salary remains untouched yet continues to grow or does it serve the top-heavy structure that OUSD keeps expanding?
How can the motto be 'Healthy Schools, Thriving Students' when so many students will miss out on having people who genuinely care about cultivating their educational development?
Please be transparent and SHARE how much money school mergers actually save the district. These mergers are clearly not cost-saving. Perhaps it's time to examine the funds spent on outsourcing jobs to other agencies. REDUCE the amount of consultants and start focusing on investing on
It’s fair to say that OUSD is not rooted in caring, respectful relationships, nor is it focused on building strong partnerships to provide students with the safe and supportive environment they need to succeed both inside and outside of school.
As a dedicated educator, I’m deeply concerned about the impact of this school merger on both students and teachers. Larger class sizes mean less individualized attention, and with such short notice, there’s limited time to prepare for these changes. Insufficient support and high staff turnover only add to the strain, impacting not only student outcomes but also our mental health as teachers. We’re already stretched thin, and without the proper resources, maintaining the quality of education we strive for becomes increasingly difficult. This profession, and the students we serve, deserve better planning and support.
I am the spouse of an OUSD teacher and I cannot fathom how they will navigate the difficulties associated with this merge, ON TOP of their already impossible job. This merge will put unnecessary pressure on teachers who are already burning out. This merge will result in even steeper declines if teachers mental health, which ultimately impacts students, other teachers, and the entire OUSD community. OUSD needs to prioritize its people here and not just their bottom line. You will lose incredibly caring, intelligent, compassionate educators if you do not prioritize their wellness. This merge does NOT prioritize the health and wellness of teachers, students, or their families. Please do the right thing.
To the OUSD Board, I strongly oppose to any plans or negotiations that involves the large school merger proposal and balancing the budget for smaller school programs that provide alternative education to the disenfranchised youth in Oakland. If you continue with this plan that cuts educational resources and school programs complementary to our students that come from marginalized communities there will be significant drops in students enrollment and teacher positions will be lost. Please do not strip alternative education to students and the right to smaller accessible educational programs in our Oakland community. Shout out to the students and staff at Gateway College within Laney College for providing an educational program with individualized needs and a progressive platform for students to be successful.
I am opposed to the emerging of TCN and ICS, OUSD’s plan to continue targeting schools in which student populations are minorities and low income. I live in Downtown Oakland chosen TCN for its vision, if the schools emerge you will be losing 3 students to a charter school. Cuts should be made at administration level it’s there where the problem is!
As a teacher at UFSA I strongly oppose merging life and Ufsa, along with any of the other proposed mergers, which are all in the flatlands. Yes, we are a resilient community and are not surprised that the district wants to take from our community to save themselves. No matter what happens we will continue to do our best to serve the needs of our students. However, closing our school sends the message that our community and students are not valued. It is not okay that our students are collateral damage. Their lives and education matters, so I urge you to protect their schools which play a vital role in their education and their identity.
LOWEST ENROLLMENT SCHOOLS (less than 300 students)
School Name (*proposed merger) / Census Day Enrollment
Brookfield Elementary (Oakland Unified) 114
Prescott Elementary (Oakland Unified) 130
Grass Valley Elementary (Oakland Unified) 158
Carl B. Munck Elementary (Oakland Unified) 171
*Fred T. Korematsu Discovery Academy Elementary (Oakland Unified) 176
Horace Mann Elementary (Oakland Unified) 182
Burckhalter Elementary (Oakland Unified) 208
Madison Park Academy Elementary (Oakland Unified) 228
Sankofa United Elementary (Oakland Unified) 232
Oakland Academy of Knowledge Elementary (Oakland Unified) 249
Fruitvale Elementary (Oakland Unified) 254
*Think College Now Elementary (Oakland Unified) 258
La Escuelita (Oakland Unified) 265
Hoover Elementary (Oakland Unified) 268
*ACORN Woodland Elementary (Oakland Unified) 290
Markham Elementary (Oakland Unified) 297
*EnCompass Academy Elementary (Oakland Unified) 299
Hello, I am a Parent of two children @ Manzanita Community School & part of Parent Leadership Committee. We love the diversity & community we have built around our campus.
Please take our children's needs into consideration. Merging schools mid year is unstable and unfair to our children.
We understand being in a budget deficit but cuts should be taken at district level. To not have emotional damage on our students. If our students are the priority (which they should be) and making sure they are successful please consider the challenges they will face with these abrupt changes. I believe if cuts were at a district level they would still be over paid and if our teachers are barley able to make ends meet and they are the forefront of our children's education.. why aren't they paid more & district members cut?
These funds are not being allocated properly. It's something that is appalling to our needs in the community. Please listen to our voices.
As a parent of two Manzanita SEED students, I strongly oppose the mergers. I selected SEED because of the dual immersion education. As a bilingual person, keeping my children bilingual if of high importance. Our school operates completely differently and our administration is highly dedicated to keeping bilingual project based learning. Two schools with complete different focuses do not make any sense. Each year families are faced with obstacles placed by OUSD top administration that disrupt our children's education. This constant instability is what is causing families to leave. Invest in our schools! Invest in your own community! Keep school communities intact to build a strong foundation for Oakland children!
I strongly oppose the proposed merger of Manzanita SEED and Manzanita Community. Similar to in the past, the board has not adequately studied the impact of a dual immersion merger with an English only school. Past evidence suggests that not all mergers are economically advantageous—in fact, OUSD has lost more money at some merged sites based on OUSD’s summary of financial impact of Cohort 1 and Cohort 2 document. Moreover, dual immersion programs need additional support to continue to attract the current enrollment. Based on the Lockwood STEAM merger, the dual immersion program doesn’t appear to be as strong. Has the district looked at how many students will be lost as a result of the Manzanita merger in comparison to the proposed savings? This merger will not result in the expected savings desired. Cuts may be needed, but this decision doesn’t make sense.
I am a parent with children at Manzanita SEED. I cannot support these proposed mergers. They are tantamount to school closures - 5 schools would close. I kept my children in OUSD because of the bilingual, specifically dual-immersion, language pathway. My family was drawn to the Expeditionary learning. We have come to love this school after 5 years of involvement. It is absolutely not clear that the dual-immersion pathway would continue to exist, and it's not clear that a merger would save any money. Please, you have to have a much better plan. Why merge colocated schools when they do not share a dual-immersion curriculum? I understand the board must make tough decisions, but this is hasty and unlikely to result in preservation of dual-immersion at whatever Manzanita would emerge from the ashes. And you have not proven that any significant money would be saved.
Ousd, I strongly oppose to any negotiations or plans to merge my Childrens school ICS/TCN.
I understand ousd is in a Deficit and trying to save money but the ones who will suffer are our children, how about we start by cutting salaries for upper district board members and superintendent , who remain the same cut after cut. Our school need to maintain their integrity, quality and small size, who with no reassurance will maintain the same by merging. I strongly urge you to look elsewhere as to address how to save money and not use and put at risk our children’s education. Your short notice decision disrupt our families and children's lives and well being. Their are many other places and staff positions that serve us and our children no purpose, and are still getting paid with district funds.
-A worried ICS Parent
Merging well-enrolled co-located schools does not make sense as a strategy to achieve savings. Your materials emphasize that we need to find savings in facilities. Our co-located schools are already efficiently using resources. By merging schools that have totally different programs, you'll create a monster-size school that needs just as much staff to be effectively run. Find savings by closing under-enrolled schools, don't make a show of savings by merging schools that are at optimal size already. Our bilingual schools are particularly at risk here. It's already challenging to ensure kids have ample time to be in a Spanish-dominant environment -- if they're part of a non-Spanish school, it will further erode opportunities for bilingual education. Please do not merge bilingual with mono-lingual schools! Thanks for your consideration.
My name is Raquel Rodriguez Jones and I am the principal and a founding teacher of International Community School (ICS).
Since learning that our school and TCN are on the merger list we have met with and listened to our families. What they say they love about ICS is its good reputation, its dual language program, stable staff, the among other things. They fear that they will lose some or all of these things that make ICS a special place that they love and choose to send their children to in this merger process. They have said that if the qualities that they choose are lost they will choose different schools.
Families fear that the process of merging two very different schools with very different academic programs and different cultures will cause disorder, causing the schools to lose staff and students, especially if the process is rushed. Our families ask that the process be a high quality one and not be rushed. They want to work to create a school that their children deserve.
The rushed approach to merging my children's school (Manzanita SEED) and other schools is disruptive, expensive, and lacks the thoughtfulness needed by these communities (especially those impacted most directly from the president elect's promises of deportation). Disrupting the lives of the people to address budgeting issues is NOT the answer. Cut from the top! Get rid of consultants and district admin that don't directly serve and benefit the youth and community. And close the central kitchen. These are more appropriate and equitable ways to support our communities...not disrupting our youth and their families.
As a teacher at Life Academy, I strongly oppose this decision. I believe I am able to support and build community with my students so effectively largely as a result of our small size. I am unclear how we would maintain the integrity of our programs with such a drastic and fast-paced merger. At the very least, I strongly urge that this proposed merger slow down so that we are able to thoughtfully plan in support of all students.
At many of the co-located campuses, the two schools sharing a campus do NOT share curriculum or programming. For instance, at Manzanita SEED and Manzanita Community School, we are running two separate programs: one is dual-immersion, one is English-only. If the District's plan is to eliminate one principal and keep two separate programs, how does that save any significant money? How will teachers and administrators be supported to accomplish that feat? If the District's plan is to eliminate one program, then we are doing a disservice to any students who are not currently in that program. In either case, we are destabilizing schools, which harms students and families and will ultimately only harm the District's finances. This resolution makes no sense.
I am opposed to the merger of ICS & TCN. My daughter is in Kindergarten at ICS. Although I believe the intention is to maintain both dual-immersion and English instruction programs post-merger, the details on this are vague and not reassuring. Clearly the district is facing an urgent financial situation. However, I don't understand why such a significant decision re: school mergers is being made with so little time for community input. The memo from Superintendent Johnson-Trammell lists five areas to consider for potential savings A-E. Why are the proposed mergers (Item A) being considered separately from items B-E? The mergers are estimated with a cost savings of $2.5-3 million, but I haven't been able to find any information about the estimated savings for items B-E. I believe merging schools would be difficult and disruptive to the education of our children. If necessary, it should be a last resort, but from what I can tell it seems like it is the first option under consideration.
Who benefits from merging schools? Does it benefit the superintendent, whose salary remains untouched yet continues to grow or does it serve the top-heavy structure that OUSD keeps expanding?
How can the motto be 'Healthy Schools, Thriving Students' when so many students will miss out on having people who genuinely care about cultivating their educational development?
Please be transparent and SHARE how much money school mergers actually save the district. These mergers are clearly not cost-saving. Perhaps it's time to examine the funds spent on outsourcing jobs to other agencies. REDUCE the amount of consultants and start focusing on investing on
It’s fair to say that OUSD is not rooted in caring, respectful relationships, nor is it focused on building strong partnerships to provide students with the safe and supportive environment they need to succeed both inside and outside of school.
As a dedicated educator, I’m deeply concerned about the impact of this school merger on both students and teachers. Larger class sizes mean less individualized attention, and with such short notice, there’s limited time to prepare for these changes. Insufficient support and high staff turnover only add to the strain, impacting not only student outcomes but also our mental health as teachers. We’re already stretched thin, and without the proper resources, maintaining the quality of education we strive for becomes increasingly difficult. This profession, and the students we serve, deserve better planning and support.
Were is the lottery money to support the schools
I am the spouse of an OUSD teacher and I cannot fathom how they will navigate the difficulties associated with this merge, ON TOP of their already impossible job. This merge will put unnecessary pressure on teachers who are already burning out. This merge will result in even steeper declines if teachers mental health, which ultimately impacts students, other teachers, and the entire OUSD community. OUSD needs to prioritize its people here and not just their bottom line. You will lose incredibly caring, intelligent, compassionate educators if you do not prioritize their wellness. This merge does NOT prioritize the health and wellness of teachers, students, or their families. Please do the right thing.
To the OUSD Board, I strongly oppose to any plans or negotiations that involves the large school merger proposal and balancing the budget for smaller school programs that provide alternative education to the disenfranchised youth in Oakland. If you continue with this plan that cuts educational resources and school programs complementary to our students that come from marginalized communities there will be significant drops in students enrollment and teacher positions will be lost. Please do not strip alternative education to students and the right to smaller accessible educational programs in our Oakland community. Shout out to the students and staff at Gateway College within Laney College for providing an educational program with individualized needs and a progressive platform for students to be successful.
I am opposed to the emerging of TCN and ICS, OUSD’s plan to continue targeting schools in which student populations are minorities and low income. I live in Downtown Oakland chosen TCN for its vision, if the schools emerge you will be losing 3 students to a charter school. Cuts should be made at administration level it’s there where the problem is!
I don’t want them to close the Esperanza
As a teacher at UFSA I strongly oppose merging life and Ufsa, along with any of the other proposed mergers, which are all in the flatlands. Yes, we are a resilient community and are not surprised that the district wants to take from our community to save themselves. No matter what happens we will continue to do our best to serve the needs of our students. However, closing our school sends the message that our community and students are not valued. It is not okay that our students are collateral damage. Their lives and education matters, so I urge you to protect their schools which play a vital role in their education and their identity.