Opponents Of Oakland School Closures Say Battle Far From Over After Board's Vote
OAKLAND (KPIX 5) -- The Oakland Unified School Board has voted to close seven schools over the next two years, but opponents say the issue is far from over.
There is a ground roots effort to stop the closures and students rising up to have their voices heard. One of the student directors on the OUSD school board is now accusing five board members of silencing the students' voices.
After a nine-hour meeting that started Tuesday and ended early Wednesday, several board members voted to close Parker and Community Day after this school year and five others the following year. Even after hours of public comment from students and parents opposing the closure.
Student director and Oakland High Senior Samantha Pal said, "When we hear students and our families pleading, when we hear their concerns saying this is not going to work out for them, we need to trust our people, their words and their experiences."
Pal was one of many who also spoke out.
She said, "To be mistreated, it honestly hurts. I don't like to burn bridges but I know that I'm fired up because I'm fueled because of my community and honestly I'm tired of reporting to this board about how students are being mistreated."
Oakland United School District members held a press conference Wednesday to explain the reasoning behind the need for school closures. OUSD said enrollment has dropped by 15,000 students over the last 20 years.
"We in education are an organization of care, but we're still a business. And so we do have to keep in mind the impact when there are forces that are largely outside of our control," Superintendent Dr. Tyra Johnson-Trammell told reporters.
Pal though hoped the process to close schools would've been more transparent and the community given more time to assess the impacts of the closures.
"Given what families are going through right now this is not the conversation to be having. You shouldn't be putting more stress on our families when there is a pandemic going on," she said.