Oakland Unified School District once again facing budget issues

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- Less than two months after making its final loan payment to the state, the Oakland Unified School District is at risk of insolvency yet again.

"This is different than oh, it's the same old OUSD. I firmly believe this is the worst crisis OUSD has faced in my lifetime."

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Oakland School Board Director Mike Hutchinson spoke candidly Wednesday about the severe financial issues facing the district.

"We started the year with a budget that only had our required reserve, which was 3% or roughly $25 million. Already, we have spent through half of that reserve and we're overspending by $4 million a month," Hutchinson said.

For the past several weeks, several people, including the district's chief business officer, have warned the school board about its need to cut spending and boost revenue.

Hutchinson says the newly-elected board has so far failed to do that, thus putting OUSD on a dangerous path.

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"They walked back on the decisions we had made to reduce staffing to create room. And they have done none of the long-term restructuring work," he said.

On top of everything, the district is also currently in negotiations with teachers whose contracts expired in the summer.

"They've really spent too much on the wrong things. So this budget is a matter of priorities," said Kampala Taiz-Rancifer, president of the Oakland Education Association.

Taiz-Rancifer says the district's budget woes are bad not just for educators but also for OUSD students.

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"The threat of layoffs, the threat of school closures, the constant back-and-forth. We absolutely want partners in this work," said Taiz-Rancifer.

OUSD's budget issues are not a new problem. The district just came out of receivership in June after more than 20 years, and Hutchinson believes they're likely heading there again.

"It's not that I'm worried. I don't think that there's any way to avoid it right now," he said.

OUSD's interim superintendent has instructed the school board to provide details to the district's finance department by Oct. 8 so it can make budget adjustments.

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