Parents Arrested During Emotional Oakland School Board Meeting
OAKLAND (KCBS) - Some Oakland parents angry the school district wants to lease some of the elementary schools slated for closure were arrested after a tense school board meeting went into recess.
Parents hoping the Oakland Unified School District will reverse a decision made last fall to close five elementary schools chanted so insistently when the proposed leases came up for a vote that the meeting Wednesday night came to a stop.
"We were chanting in terms of keeping all the schools open, and the board took a recess," said Mark Airgood, one of the parents.
KCBS' Tim Ryan Reports:
Airgood said he and the others are pressing the district to find a way to keep Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell and Santa Fe open. The school board postponed votes on what to do with the five schools because the protesters refused to leave the meeting.
Nine adults were arrested early Thursday morning by the Alameda County Sheriff's Office. Deputies also took a juvenile into custody who was later released to his parents.
Parents at Lazear have argued surrounding schools in Fruitvale cannot accommodate their children, so the district should lease the school to a private charter company.
The five closures at the end of the 2012 school year affect about 900 elementary school students, and save Oakland $2.2 million.
The Emeryville School District has also proposed leasing one of the vacant schools. And there is a proposal to move the Oakland Unified School District offices from International Boulevard to Lakeview Elementary.
The school board planned to resume its meeting Thursday afternoon.
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