Wednesday, November 13th, OUSD district staff presented the school board with a list of ten possible school mergers. These mergers aim to combat the projected $95 million budget deficit for the 2025-26 school year, along with the preexisting deficit of $171 million. The purpose of Wednesday’s meeting was “to hear from the community and to get their feedback on this plan,” said OUSD School Board Director Sam Davis.
The proposed school mergers include elementary schools International Community School and Think College Now, Manzanita Community School and Manzanita SEED, Acorn Woodland and Encompass, and Esperanza and Korematsu Discovery Academy. As for middle schools; United for Success Academy and LIFE Academy would be combined.
Districts receive state funding based on student enrollment and attendance. According to the California Department of Finance, district student enrollment has faced a 30% decrease from 2002 to 2023, furthering the budget crisis. Merging the ten proposed schools would save an estimated $3 million of the total $171 million deficit.
Debates over responsible spending and ethical salaries have been previously discussed, particularly when comparing the average OUSD teacher salary of $75,876, to the superintendent’s salary of $471,374. Superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammel told the SF Chronicle that a failure to consolidate schools could lead to staff and service cuts at the school sites.
School changes post-Covid haven’t been without controversy. In 2022, the plan for eleven school closures spurred protests, multiple hunger strikes, and widespread outrage from parents and students alike. Much of the anger came from the notion that the school closures would significantly impact low-income, POC, and disabled students. This was confirmed in a January letter sent by California Attorney General Rob Bonta to OUSD officials, who stated that the closures “would have disproportionately impacted Black and low-income elementary school students and also high-needs students with disabilities in special day classes.”
According to new state law, restructuring propositions are required to perform an equity impact analysis by California Assembly Bill AB-1912. Rob Bonta concluded the letter by stating that his office “will continue to monitor OUSD’s processes and decision-making as it moves forward” with future closures, mergers, or consolidations to “ensure compliance with California’s Constitution, AB 1912, and anti-discrimination laws.”
The ten proposed sites will be voted on at the December 11th school board meeting.