{"id":6772,"date":"2026-08-14T11:08:03","date_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:08:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772"},"modified":"2026-08-14T11:08:03","modified_gmt":"2026-08-14T11:08:03","slug":"as-students-head-back-to-oakland-schools-the-district-has-avoided-its-projected-financial-disaster-is-the-crisis-really-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772","title":{"rendered":"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over?"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

At McClymonds High School this week, students lined up to lock away their phones under Oakland Unified\u2019s new \u201cCell Phone Free Day\u201d policy. Despite the new restrictions on their cellphone use, the mood was cheery as they compared class schedules and discussed summer break with their peers amid the clanking and pounding of renovations to the 88-year-old campus.<\/p>\n

Read more Arellano: What gets me so angry about California\u2019s proposed billionaire tax<\/a><\/p>\n

Across town, transitional kindergarten students at Sankofa United Elementary School snacked on cereal and juice boxes Monday while awaiting classroom \u201cjob\u201d assignments, and newly minted fourth graders introduced themselves to their peers and discussed goals for the year.<\/p>\n

Sankofa United Principal Leigh Daniels said all of the school\u2019s teacher positions are fully staffed and so are other key positions like instructional aides and counselors. (The district did not respond to questions about whether all schools in the district were fully staffed by press time.) <\/p>\n

The upbeat return to city schools might come as a shock to those who remember when Oakland Unified School District exited more than two decades of state oversight a little more than a year ago, amid a ballooning $100 million budget shortfall and alarming projections that the district could run out of cash as early as fall 2025.<\/p>\n

As students returned to campuses earlier this week to begin a new school year, the district\u2019s worst-case scenario has not come to pass, although its apparent financial reprieve remains fragile.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve done a really great job in the last two years,\u201d said school board member VanCedric Williams. \u201cWe\u2019ve cut close to $200 million.\u201d<\/p>\n

While the district has made hefty budget cuts in the last year to slash its looming deficit, Oakland Unified Superintendent Denise Saddler said officials have been able to keep most of the cuts out of the classroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe prioritize our instructional program,\u201d Saddler said. \u201cThe staff, our teachers and principals who work directly with students, the materials that they need, the programs that we think are really critical. \u2026 At this point, we\u2019re focused on what we\u2019re doing with students in the classroom.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

The district did not respond to questions about which services and staff were cut, but the February layoffs included counselors, literacy coordinators, social workers, assistant principals and teachers, as well as reading tutors, custodians and behavior specialists, among others. <\/p>\n

But the journey to stabilize the district\u2019s finances and keep Oakland Unified from returning to state control has been a lengthy, tumultuous process.<\/p>\n

In January, Saddler claimed that preliminary cost-saving measures \u2014 like a three-week spending freeze \u2014 and future measures, including layoffs and retirement incentives, had successfully halved Oakland Unified\u2019s projected $100 million budget deficit.<\/p>\n

The next month, the district\u2019s board approved 421 layoffs and reduced the hours of an additional 144 positions in an effort to stabilize finances. Less than 48 hours later, the district approved a tentative contract with the teachers union, promising double-digit wage increases for educators over the next two years.<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

In April, Alameda County Superintendent of Schools Alysse Castro warned Oakland Unified that the tentative labor contract \u2014 estimated to cost the district nearly $40 million over the next three years \u2014 could threaten the district\u2019s ability to balance its budget by the summer.<\/p>\n

\u201cOUSD is continuing a pattern of adding new expenses before making the cuts and tradeoffs to afford them,\u201d Castro said in a letter to school leaders. \u201cThe district has not yet identified the sustainable, ongoing solutions required to offset these new ongoing commitments and costs.\u201d<\/p>\n

But in June, district officials came back with a surprising announcement: a $30 million spending reduction in recent months resolved the deficit and even produced nearly $8 million in breathing room. Although that surplus depended on the district executing an additional $30 million in budget cuts this fall, officials added.<\/p>\n

Leaders credited a reduction of $14.7 million in special education funding, eliminating $3 million in consultant contracts, budget adjustments across school sites and reduced staff as some of the ways the district was able to stabilize its spending.<\/p>\n

The district did not respond to questions about what specific services were cut in the $14.7 million reductions to special education funding by deadline. <\/p>\n

The district also said additional revenue streams, like increased student attendance, more transitional kindergarten classes and additional funding from the state, could help lower the district\u2019s projected deficit.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s budget troubles have been worsened by leadership turnover among top school officials.<\/p>\n

The school board has been rife with political conflict since longtime superintendent Kyla Johnson-Trammell was ousted in the spring of 2025. Oakland Unified\u2019s top business official, Lisa Grant-Dawson, also resigned at the end of 2025 along with the district\u2019s chief of staff, Dan Bellino. Grant-Dawson cited concerns over the board\u2019s financial decisions as the reason for her departure, while Bellino alluded to \u201charm done\u201d in a social media post.<\/p>\n

The district\u2019s subsequent chief of staff, Lynette McElhaney, resigned in June after six months on the job.<\/p>\n

Oakland Unified\u2019s board appointed Saddler, who formerly served as the president of the teachers union \u2014 as the interim superintendent last summer and initiated a search for a permanent leader. But in the spring, the board quietly suspended the search for Johnson-Trammell\u2019s replacement, choosing to first focus on resolving the district\u2019s financial crisis.<\/p>\n

The board extended Saddler\u2019s contract for an additional year, setting it to expire at the end of June 2027.<\/p>\n

Board member Williams said last week that the board plans to renew the search for a permanent leader this year.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe promised the community we would do a superintendent search,\u201d he said. \u201cLast year was difficult. We had to get our finances together.\u201d<\/p>\n

While Oakland Unified\u2019s journey to financial stability has been a rocky one, the district is not alone in its budget woes.<\/p>\n

In the last two years, dozens of Bay Area school districts have announced layoffs, budget cuts or school closures in an effort to repair gaping budget deficits stemming from declining enrollment, rising costs and uncertainty in state and federal funding.<\/p>\n

Even in its darkest financial days, Oakland Unified was reluctant to close school sites, despite pressure from former superintendent Johnson-Trammell and senior staff. Plans to close or merge schools have stalled in recent years without board support and amid community outrage.<\/p>\n

Superintendent Saddler and board member Williams said campus consolidations are not currently being considered.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen you consolidate schools, it usually falls on the backs of our most at-risk communities,\u201d Williams said. \u201cIn West Oakland, we\u2019ve closed over seven schools in the last 15 years, I believe.\u201d<\/p>\n

Still, the district must address a $39 million budget deficit for the 2027-28 school year and a $28 million budget deficit for the 2028-29 school year.<\/p>\n

Williams said going into the new school year, the board is focused on moving forward and working with the community.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe had to make some major decisions. A lot of folks were upset,\u201d he said. \u201cI look forward to this year that we\u2019re going to have more town halls reaching out to communities in each district to really nail down what they\u2019re feeling and where we should be investing our energy and support.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Asking Eric: My fiancee dumped me, and now I\u2019m considering my teen co-worker<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Read more Horoscopes August 14, 2026: Halle Berry, take nothing for granted<\/a><\/p>\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The upbeat return to city schools might come as a shock to those who remember when Oakland Unified School District exited more than two decades of state oversight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":6771,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6772","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news"],"yoast_head":"\nAs students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over? - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over? - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The upbeat return to city schools might come as a shock to those who remember when Oakland Unified School District exited more than two decades of state oversight.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-14T11:08:03+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over?\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T11:08:03+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772\"},\"wordCount\":1231,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"News\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772\",\"name\":\"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over? - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-14T11:08:03+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1744},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=6772#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over?\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over? - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over? - Next City Digest","og_description":"The upbeat return to city schools might come as a shock to those who remember when Oakland Unified School District exited more than two decades of state oversight.","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-08-14T11:08:03+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over?","datePublished":"2026-08-14T11:08:03+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772"},"wordCount":1231,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp","articleSection":["News"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772","name":"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over? - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-14T11:08:03+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/3bda4a99073d746ef7c24e63134883f4-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1744},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=6772#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"As students head back to Oakland schools, the district has avoided its projected financial disaster. Is the crisis really over?"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6772","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6772"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6772\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6771"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6772"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6772"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6772"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}