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Timeline of Recent Budget-Related Events

As ever in Oakland, there's a lot of background that explains where we are now. Here's a brief overview:

Budget background

  • At the beginning of the 2025-26 school year, then-Chief Business Officer Lisa Grant-Dawson projected that OUSD had an approximately $100M structural deficit, which means OUSD was spending about $100M more each year than it receives in revenue.
  • OUSD has been able to do that because it has "reserves", savings in the bank.

Previous Administration

  • The previous board and superintendent were working on a plan known as "The 3 Rs" to address the deficit, which many in the district expected to include closing schools. 

2024 Election

  • The current board, elected in 2024, strongly opposes school closures, and stopped the 3 Rs process.

Winter 2025

  • The board asked then-CBO Lisa Grant-Dawson to come up with a plan to close the deficit and avoid running out of reserves without closing schools.
  • Ms. Grant-Dawson (who has since left the district) responded that wasn't possible, and said that the board was going to need to borrow money.
  • Taking out a loan would have triggered a county takeover and loss of local control.
  • Interim Superintendent Denise Saddler worked with her the board, her team, and financial consultants Hazard Young Attea Associates to propose a Fiscal Stabilization Plan, a list of measures to reduce the deficit by $65M.

Spring 2026

  • In March the board voted to approve layoffs at school sites and the central office. These layoffs are estimated by district leadership to have reduced spending by $40M / year.
  • The district has also negotiated a raise with the teacher's union (OEA).  OUSD is still calculating the cost of that raise, and it has not been formally approved by the board.
  • HYA has been helping the district “spend its most restricted dollars first”, a strategy recommended by previous boards.  This helps with OUSD’s cash flow problem because the district’s deficit is primarily in the Unrestricted General Fund.
  • As of the third interim, the district projects "more manageable" deficits of $37 million in 26-27 and $17 million in 27-28, and has self-certified as positive, meaning OUSD expects to be able to pay its bills for the next 2 school years.