Last night, the Oakland Unified School District's Special Committee on School-Based Management and Budgeting met with teachers, parents and union representatives to discuss turning over more control to local schools.
Many teachers and administrators want greater autonomy in areas like staffing, budgeting and curriculum, which they say is necessary to meet the needs of their unique schools. Committee chair David Kakishiba said the board has wanted to cede more control for years, and now that problems like transitioning from state receivership and balancing last year’s difficult budget are out of the way, the time is right to take the issue up.
Life Academy Principal Preston Thomas was one of about 50 people advocating greater independence at a pre-meeting press conference. Thomas said that in a system where teachers are pink-slipped based on seniority, parents and schools need to be involved in hiring.
“I think it’s really essential for our school community," Thomas said. "That’s teachers, it’s students, it’s parents—to-be involved in that hiring process. So that we’re really making thoughtful decisions and bringing in people who are the right fit for our kids.”
President of the Oakland Education Association Betty Olson-Jones said she agrees with the idea of autonomy in curriculum and instruction, but she doesn't want to see schools become "islands unto themselves." Olson-Jones worries if school sites have too much of a say in the hiring process, more senior teachers with higher salaries will face discrimination. She said the whole discussion of autonomy is a "distraction," and that the seniority issue is especially heated as schools close and veteran teachers are displaced.