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Oakland Unified special meeting, Sep 23, 2026

5 h 45 min · 2 videos · 14 public speakers

Chronic absenteeism ▶ 1:55:01Budget cuts and layoffs ▶ 16:45Enrollment ▶ 16:45Phones in school ▶ 1:08:50Reading and test scores ▶ 16:45

This board doesn’t post agenda times. Click a board member to jump to where they first speak; we list only members whose voice our check named. Video length 5 h 45 min.

  1. Who spoke · first speaks at
What happened

What happened at this meeting

Part 2 · 5 h 35 min

Oakland school board adopts response to county's conditional approval of 2026⁠-⁠27 budget 1:22:01

  • Several speakers at public comment raised concerns about consolidating first grade classrooms at Montclair Elementary. 16:45
  • The board adopted a motion on P1, the district response to a county superintendent letter on conditional approval of the LCAP plan and adopted budget for the 2026⁠-⁠27 school year. 1:22:01
  • District staff then presented a progress report on the financial stabilization implementation plan, including a $30 million reduction target. 2:17:59
  • The chair announced the motions were approved before the board moved to P4, a California Department of Education uniform complaint procedure decision of appeal. 4:12:50
Item by item (15)
  1. Opening, closed session and agenda 0:03
    • The board's closed session agenda listed labor negotiations, anticipated and existing litigation, the superintendent's performance evaluation and a threat to public services or facilities. 0:38
    • In the report out, the board discussed labor, anticipated litigation and the superintendent evaluation items and did not take up the existing litigation and threat items. 13:31
    • Items R12, R14 and R53 were pulled. 15:18
  2. Public comment on non-agenda items 16:06
    • Speakers at public comment said the district was considering consolidating first grade classrooms after the day 20 count, raising class sizes to 28 students. 16:45
    • A speaker asked how the district would fund purchasing part of Garfield Park for $597,000. 21:52
    • Another speaker said the number of administrators at the close of the books for 2025⁠-⁠26 was 588. 34:05
  3. Teachers of the Year recognition 40:34
    • The chief talent officer brought forward a resolution honoring three Teachers of the Year. 41:02
    • A presenter said the selection process included nominations, principal references, self-reflections and an observation cycle. 41:51
    • A speaker called on as a director congratulated the 3 teachers honored. 59:32
    • The resolution was unanimously adopted. 1:04:24
  4. Student board report 1:04:25
    • Student directors said they were using a student survey to work with schools on improving the phone policy. 1:08:50
    • During board comments, a speaker asked whether there is a list of students who serve on school site councils. 1:16:10
  5. Bargaining unit comments 1:17:52
    • A speaker for SEIU said labor relations ignored three attempts to schedule an impact bargaining meeting for September 16th. 1:19:22
    • The speaker asked how the labor relations team had been held accountable for passing the salary schedule to the board without first showing it to SEIU. 1:19:59
  6. Response to county budget letter 1:20:49
    • A presenter said the county found the district submitted a materially stronger budget than in recent years and that conditional approval is not final approval. 1:23:05
    • A staff member said enrollment is down, and another speaker said a specific enrollment update is planned for the next board meeting. 1:33:41
    • A board member said the conditional approval means the district must make $30 million in spending cuts in the unrestricted fund this budget year. ~1:46:56
    • The motion to adopt the resolution was adopted on a roll call vote. 2:17:15
  7. Financial stabilization plan progress report 2:17:59
    • The deputy superintendent said the district closed $92.3 million in the general fund, met state and board reserve requirements and maintained positive cash through June 30, 2026. 2:17:59
    • The presenter said the reduction plan has 6 priorities beginning with special education and that it is not intended to reduce services to students with disabilities. 2:40:02
    • A board member said the presentation did not include an actionable item to reduce unrestricted spending this year. ~3:03:12
    • A motion to hold a second round of board comment failed. 3:36:15
  8. Committee timelines and student device use 3:49:03
    • A motion was made to take P3 and P5 together and record the votes separately. 3:49:10
    • A speaker said the substance of P3 is to update outdated deadlines for reports from a committee the board had already voted to establish. 3:56:12
    • A board member said a 711 committee must be formed before property can be declared surplus and said they would be voting no. ~4:06:36
    • The motions on P3 and P5 were approved. ~4:12:19
  9. Uniform complaint procedure appeal decision 4:12:51
    • A presentation said the district missed the 60-day investigation window and the 20-day deadline in 3 consolidated cases. 4:14:12
    • The presentation said the district must provide evidence of its response by October 30th and is adding training, investigative capacity, policy revisions and an electronic tracking system. 4:14:26
    • Speakers at public comment raised concerns about a staff training related to the complaints. 4:16:55
  10. Sufficiency of textbooks public hearing 4:25:04
    • The presenter said the district successfully passed an audit on sufficiency of instructional materials, in which county-appointed auditors count textbooks at each school. 4:27:54
    • The presenter said the high school language arts curriculum had not been updated for 18 years before recent adoptions. 4:30:34
    • Asked about Newsela, the presenter said student access to Chromebooks at the time of instruction is considered acceptable. 4:36:24
    • The board adopted the textbook sufficiency resolution. 4:43:29
  11. Provisional internship permit application 4:44:03
    • A speaker at public comment questioned an applicant with a degree in plastic arts teaching social science. 4:44:49
    • The motion was adopted. ~4:46:17
  12. General consent report 4:46:24
    • A motion was made to adopt the consent report except for R12, R14 and R53. 4:46:43
    • A board member said they would not vote to approve the consent report and questioned new contracts while the district needs to cut spending. 4:47:00
    • Another speaker asked which consent items were already factored into the approved budget. 4:50:44
    • The consent report was adopted. ~4:59:19
  13. Job description updates 4:59:51
    • The board member who pulled R12 asked whether the positions were new or reclassifications of existing positions. 4:59:51
    • A talent staff member said the item approves job descriptions, not additional FTE. 5:03:58
    • A board member asked about a director of charter schools position, and a staff member said the current person in that role is not in that classification because it does not exist. 5:07:05
    • The motion was adopted, and the board later adopted a motion to extend the meeting to 11:45. 5:14:22
  14. Mental health services contract amendment 5:15:09
    • A board member said the amendment adds $8,203,319 to a $70,000 agreement approved in August. 5:15:18
    • A district staff member said the contract followed a request for proposals process in the spring of 2026 and results in about a $1.8 million cost savings. 5:22:26
    • The director said not passing the contract risked compensatory education for about 140 current students. 5:24:34
    • The motion to approve R14 was adopted. 5:26:17
  15. Committee member appointments 5:26:41
    • A board member said a 711 committee is required to declare property surplus and said the appointments were chosen unilaterally. ~5:26:49
    • Another speaker said applications were received and that it was extremely difficult to get 7 appointees. 5:29:46
    • A board member recused from the second consent report. 5:33:16
    • The motion on appointment of members to the committee was adopted. 5:32:35

Written by software from the meeting's transcript and checked sentence by sentence against it.

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Video: posted by the district as “Board of Education on 2026-09-23 8:00 PM - Special Meeting”