The stakes are high for the Oakland Board of Education. The district is facing a projected $95 million debt by 2025, many schools have poor academic performance, lead was found in 22 schools, and the candidates elected this year will hire the next superintendent.
Four seats are up for grabs this year. To us, three candidates stand out: Rachel Latta, VanCedric Williams, and Sasha Ritzie Hernandez.
District 1’s Rachel Latta is a mom of three. During her time as an OUSD parent, she has participated in initiatives like the Equity Allies for OUSD and Equitable Enrollment Committee and is endorsed by OEA. She recognizes that with the district’s current enrollment, school closures are essential but wants to ensure any decisions are “community centered [and] fiscally sound”.
She wants to center the budget more on the student experience and less on the administration. She is concerned with improving enrollment district-wide, academic success in all schools, teacher retention, and ensuring equitable distribution of funding when making cuts.
She hopes to increase community engagement by holding office hours, school site listening sessions, and direct family outreach. Her personal stake in the district means that she will be committed to making tangible changes to the budget and the student and family experience.
VanCedric Williams, the incumbent from District 3 is a long-time educator and believes OUSD is improving in key areas. He is focused on equity, student support, and accountability.
As a former ethnic studies teacher, he believes a culturally relevant curriculum is the key to boosting student success. He wants to invest in core academics, improve teacher retention and campus safety, reduce class sizes, and promote career education.
He was part of the board that removed police from OUSD campuses, which resulted in a 10% decrease in violent incidents. He believes that the key to further reducing violence is communication.
Budget-wise, he would like transparency. He is adamantly opposed to school closures, and believes that those cuts should come from the district’s central office.
Sasha Ritzie Hernandez from District 5 has participated in initiatives from the Alameda County Early Care and Education Planning Council to the Oakland Youth Vote. She ran for the District 5 special election last year and is endorsed by the OEA.
She has said that budget cuts need to come from higher up in the chain of command, and has acknowledged that enrollment must improve to prevent school closures. She believes charter schools have exacerbated the district’s enrollment issues.
She is a former OUSD newcomer student, and she hopes to expand those programs and improve communication with families who don’t speak English.
She wants to prioritize budget equality and is focused on quality of education, equity, mental health services, student safety, college and career resources, and has a plan with multiple steps to achieve each of these goals.
We were not able to come to a conclusion between Incumbent teacher Clifford Thompson and activist Dominic Ware for District 7 from the information available. Both candidates want to improve mental health services and student safety.
While Clifford Thompson has experience, his tenure on the board leaves something to be desired. He is endorsed by current Board of Education President, Sam Davis, and Libby Schaaf. He has not gotten to improving literacy in the last four years, but hopes to get to it this term. He wants to prioritize peer mentoring and strict academic requirements, and has no initiatives clear to reduce OUSD’s financial deficit other than closing schools.
Dominic Ware led the fight against closing Brookfield Elementary, but is open to school closures if they are done in an equitable manner. He lacks experience in educational policy and has very little campaign information, but does have experience in union organizing. He wants to push for more STEM programs and get families more involved. He is open to bringing back police to specific schools.
To find additional resources on your candidates, all campaign websites are available through the Oakland Youth Vote website.