OUSD plans to slash two-thirds of the district's central office; $50M more in cuts loom

"No definitive list of those positions has been presented to the school board, but principals recently received their tentative budget and staffing allocations for the fall, which in turn rallied families and educators. Parents, principals, and school staff showed up on Wednesday to appeal to the school board to restore literacy teachers, counselors, case managers, attendance clerks, community school managers, and other workers who support students and help schools run well."

""The subsequent decisions that leaders have had to make based on staffing and the budget that was handed to us do not reflect what it takes to run schools," said Vanessa Flynn, principal at Sequoia Elementary School. "It's a call to put thriving schools on the back burner and instead, to school leaders, the message is, 'Do what you need to do to survive.' Let's please stop normalizing just surviving.""

Community members protested a budget plan that will eliminate key educators and support staff across the district. Principals recently received tentative fall staffing and budget allocations, prompting parents and staff to call for restoration of literacy teachers, counselors, case managers, attendance clerks, and community school managers. The board reviewed a list of central office position eliminations that would yield about $21 million in savings for 2026–2027. The district must close a $103 million deficit in the unrestricted general fund. Consultants proposed trimming $102.5 million, with roughly $50 million already in progress or completed, including $32 million in central office reductions and more than $12 million shifted from the unrestricted fund.

Read at The Oaklandside