Is Decreasing Enrollment to Blame for OUSD Budget Deficits? Or is it Prop. 13?
School districts across California are facing disastrous budget crises, and Oakland Unified School District is no exception. OUSD is following in San Francisco Unified School District’s footsteps and the school board has decided to issue hundreds of layoff notifications to teachers and staff. Most news articles attribute these budget crises to declining enrollment, yet cutting funds to essential teachers, staff, and resources will only cause enrollment to further decrease. Board members and community members blamed each other for the budget deficits, but we all know who — or what — is really the culprit.
The fact that these budget cuts and mass layoffs are happening all across California shows that what school districts are getting from the state and other revenue sources simply isn’t enough, and we all know why. We have known for decades that Prop. 13 is catastrophic for our public school system. Yet, corporations still cling to their unearned wealth gained from dodging property taxes. We need to put an end to these budget crises once and for all and finally reform Prop. 13 to restore at least $12 billion every year to our California public schools and communities.
Don Feria / Special to The Chronicle
Bickering Oakland school board tiptoes back from fiscal cliff, votes for layoffs
By Jill Tucker | SF Chronicle | February 26th, 2025