Oakland Chooses Longtime OUSD Educator As Its Next Superintendent

The finalist for superintendent of the Oakland Unified School District is city native Kyla Johnson-Trammell.

OUSD school board chair James Harris made the announcement at Wednesday night's meeting.

Johnson-Trammell grew up in Oakland, where she also attended public school. She is currently the interim deputy superintendent, but has served OUSD for more than 18 years as a teacher, principal and administrator.

"You have someone before you who embodies what it means to be of this town," said Harris.

Johnson-Trammell replaces Antwan Wilson, who announced last November he was leaving OUSD to become school chancellor of D.C. Public Schools. While a national search for Wilson's replacement was conducted, the district was run by interim superintendent Devin Dillon.

Johnson-Trammell was not present at Wednesday's meeting, but in a prepared statement she said: “I am honored by this opportunity to guide such an important organization in my hometown. To lead the teachers and staff of OUSD has been a dream of mine since I first stepped into a classroom as a professional."

OUSD received 35 applications. They included 21 local candidates from Oakland and the rest of the Bay Area, 10 from out of state and four from other parts of California. That list was narrowed down to a smaller pool of candidates, who were then interviewed last month by a community panel.

Some, like community activist Mike Hutchinson, have criticized the search process for lacking transparency.

"No matter who is superintendent, it's going to be really hard for them to get the community to buy in because we've been excluded from the process," Hutchinson said before Johnson-Trammell was named.

The school board needs to vote on the superintendent's contract in the coming weeks. Johnson-Trammell would begin on July 1.