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APPROVED AS TO FORM AND LEGALITY
_________________________
CITY ATTORNEY’S OFFICE
OAKLAND CITY COUNCIL
RESOLUTION NO. _______________ C.M.S.
INTRODUCED BY VICE MAYOR KAPLAN, COUNCIL PRESIDENT FORTUNATO
BAS, AND PRO TEM THAO
RESOLUTION CALLING ON THE CALIFORNIA GOVERNOR AND
LEGISLATURE TO PROTECT OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR PUBLIC
HEALTH AND COMMUNITY BY: (1) AMENDING THE STATE BUDGET
TO PROTECT OUR HARDEST HIT COMMUNITIES BY PREVENTING
SCHOOL CLOSURES AND ELIMINATING DEBT; (2) TO AMEND
STATE LA W, TO REVISE THE “AVERAGE DAILY ATTENDANCE”
FORMULA, TO REMOVE PENALIZING SCHOOLS WHEN STUDENTS
ARE SICK; AND (3) TO DIRECT THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR TO
SHARE A COPY OF THIS RESOLUTION WITH THE GOVERNOR,
OAKLAND’S STATE REPESENTATIVES, AND OAKLAND LOBBYIST
WHEREAS, the COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on our school system, disrupting student’s lives and ability to learn, creating difficult and stressful environments for Oakland teachers, students, and families, and exacerbating existing issues arou nd equity within our schools; and
WHEREAS, school closures are a disinvestment within the neighborhoods they serve, removing central hubs for community-building and causing blight during the period where school property is left unoccupied and unused; and
WHEREAS, a 2011 study conducted by Pew Charitable Trusts found that cost savings from school closures are generally limited in the context of a big -city school budget, particularly in the short term; in addition, research concluded the task of putting closed buildings to productive use, either through sale or lease, to be extremely difficult; and
WHEREAS, school closures will displace students, teachers and families, further disrupt learning, and exacerbate decreasing enrollment rates; and
WHEREAS, California’s public schools have an affirmative obligation to combat racism, sexism, and other forms of bias, and a responsibility to provide equal educational opportunity (CA Educ Code § 201); and
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WHEREAS, permanent school closures can have and have had a detrimental effect on communities of color across the city, and specifically on Black communities; and
WHEREAS, the Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) has a history of disproportionately impacting majority Black schools for closure, cl osing 16 majority Black schools in two decades; and
WHEREAS, all eight schools slated for closure this year are majority Black schools; and
WHEREAS, an action which disproportionately impacts one particular demographic group as compared to other demograp hic groups may interfere with the ability to receive equal access to a quality education; and
WHEREAS, California is anticipating a $45.7 billion surplus for the 2022-23 fiscal year, of which $16.1 billion will be used for Proposition 98 obligations and $ 20.6 billion will be available for discretionary use; and
WHEREAS, in 2003, the Oakland Unified School District was placed under state control and was compelled to accept a $100 million loan, which is has been repaying with interest ever since; and despit e state control, oversight, and approval of all its budgets, OUSD has not only remained in debt, but due to the growth of state-approved charter schools and the consequent loss of public school student population, continues to be unable to provide sufficie nt resources to its students, particularly Black and Brown students; and
WHEREAS, it would require less than one fifteenth of a percent of the State’s operating surplus to eliminate all of OUSD’s outstanding debt; and
WHEREAS, the ongoing effects of the pandemic—such as student and staff quarantines, challenges implementing remote learning, impacts of months of lost or insufficient instructional time, and stress and trauma from the pandemic and social isolation —continue to affect school attendance levels; and
WHEREAS, the State’s Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF) allocates funding to school districts based on their average daily attendance —the average number of students in class each day throughout the school year; and
WHEREAS, because of temporary school closures from COVID-19, for 2020-21, the state suspended the collection of attendance data, and credited districts with their 2019 -20 attendance levels for LCFF funding; and
WHEREAS, while this adjustment was made for 2020-21, for 2021‑22, the State returned to its previous policy—crediting school districts with the greater of their attendance in 2021‑22 or 2020‑21; and
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WHEREAS, according to a survey by the California Collaborative for Education Excellence, 90% of school districts experienced declines in attendance in 2020 -21, and districts also reported spikes in increased chronic absenteeism; and
WHEREAS, greater structural reform around how we fund schools in California must be made to support students today who now, in addition to experiencing major disruptions because of COVID-19, are also facing threats of school closure; now, therefore be it
RESOLVED: That the Oakland City Council strongly urges the Governor and State Legislature to protect our schools, public health and com munity by amending the state budget to protect our hardest hit communities by preventing school closures and eliminating debt, and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Council strongly urges the Governor and State Legislature to amend state law and revise the Average Daily Attendance formula to remove penalizing schools when students are sick, and be it
FURTHER RESOLVED: That the Council directs the City Administrator to send a copy of this Resolution to Governor Newsom, Senator Nancy Skinner, Assembly Members Mia Bonta and Buffy Wicks, and Oakland’s lobbyist.
IN COUNCIL, OAKLAND, CALIFORNIA,
PASSED BY THE FOLLOWING VOTE:
AYES – FIFE, GALLO, KALB, KAPLAN, REID, TAYLOR, THAO,
PRESIDENT FORTUNATO BAS
NOES –
ABSENT –
ABSTENTION –
ATTEST:
ASHA REED
City Clerk and Clerk of the Council of the
City of Oakland, California