OUSD Board Watch: OUSD Dangerously close to county deadlines for budget updates and changes.
The OUSD Board of Education continues to delay taking direct action to balance its budget, even as critical deadlines set out by the Alameda County Office of Education (ACOE) get closer and closer. The district is overspending their budget by up to $4 million per month, and with the reserves totalling only $19 million, those funds are projected to be exhausted by May 2026. Without immediate corrective action, OUSD risks county or state receivership mere months after leaving it.
Tonight, October 8, the Board will meet to review multiple proposals related to the district’s budget, including amendments to the Brouhard-Bachelor resolution and recommendations from Interim Superintendent Saddler and other board members. Read on to understand what is at stake and what you need to know before tonight’s meeting.
What Happened?
At the September 24 meeting, President Brouhard and Vice President Bachelor introduced a resolution outlining their plan for budget updates, planning, and action in response to the October 8 budget review deadline and the October 1 ACOE deadline for a clear budget plan, outlined in their letter to the district sent on September 12 (read more in our last board watch).
The resolution would direct staff to prepare at least three budget scenarios to address OUSD’s projected $80 million structural deficit for the 2026-27 and 2027-28 fiscal years. These scenarios would be focused on areas that would minimize the impact on students and school-site staff while exploring reductions and restructuring within the central office. Specific areas outlined include:
- Restructuring central office services and networks;
- Reviewing contracts and outsourcing services for potential savings;
- Consolidating or eliminating underutilized programs;
- Improving attendance, which could yield approximately $5.25 million per 1% gain;
- Leveraging partnerships with outside agencies; and
- Strengthening financial systems and oversight.
President Brouhard encouraged community members to attend the upcoming district-sponsored budget meetings as a way to give input, recommendations, and suggestions on how to move forward with the budget process.
While this resolution was presented as a proactive step toward fiscal stability, it mainly focused on areas of exploration, not specific actions such as concrete spending cuts, dollar targets, or timelines for implementation.
The letter from the county made clear that OUSD’s solvency hinges on implementing major ongoing adjustments. Other board members uplifted their concern that the plan had little if any real suggestions for a path forward. Director Berry emphasized the need for a clear and transparent process, stating:
“An improvement would be making sure that this resolution addresses the process. What is the intention? When we get scenarios back, what are we going to do with them? …this resolution is written in such a way that it is both really specific and also broad. The challenge is, in order to give staff the creative flexibility (to make decisions) it is important to lay out (specific) guiding principles.”
Director Berry also underscored the importance of setting a long-term plan that extends beyond the immediate 2025-26 school year.
The resolution was sent to the Budget and Finance Committee on October 2 for review and was referred without recommendation back to the Board for the October 8 meeting.
Why is this important?
OUSD continues to be in a fragile fiscal and financial position: overspending continues unchecked and reserves are dwindling rapidly. The continued practice of delayed decision-making coupled with lack of unified leadership, risks triggering a loss of local control – a situation Oakland has only recently recovered from.
In their letter, ACOE required OUSD to identify and submit target reduction or alternative solutions by October 1, based on updated fund balances. However, this deadline has come and passed. The limited measures in the September 24 resolution are unlikely to satisfy oversight expectations.
The October 8 board meeting is the final opportunity to respond to ACOE’s September 12 conditional approval of the LCAP and Budget, which demanded a clear plan for budget reductions, updated fund balances, and a timeline for implementing solutions to the structural deficit. Without a robust response, OUSD risks increased county oversight or intervention.
It is also critical to note that President Brouhard and Vice President Bachelor have navigated similar budget controversies earlier this year. In May, their “Alternative Budget Adjustments” resolution capped services and contracts at $125 million, which resulted in significant public outcry. Over 70 speakers, including students and families, testified about the devastating impact proposed cuts would have on after-school and expanded-learning programs. When the resolution was narrowly approved with a 4-3 vote in March, both board members and district and county staff raised red flags about the unintended consequences. The rushed, opaque process – including amendments introduced live with little fiscal analysis, blindsided staff, and major governance missteps – deepened community mistrust and highlighted a pattern of chaotic decision making. (Read more about this resolution and these meetings in our board corners for May and the Special Board Meeting for the Alternative Budget Adjustments Resolution).
Unfortunately this most recent resolution, posed as a plan forward, echoes the previous budget actions in May of last school year where members waited until the last minute to take action to address budget plans and deadlines which caused chaos and uncertainty.
The lessons learned from earlier this year underscore why the October 8 meeting is so critical. The board will be considering multiple proposals, including proposed amendments to Brouhard and Bachelor’s current resolution, as well as recommended amendments to the resolution from Interim Superintendent Saddler, Director Berry, Director Latta, and Director Hutchinson. The decisions made that day will not only attempt to address the immediate fiscal crisis but also signal whether the Board has learned from past governance failures and is prepared to act with transparency, rigor, and accountability. The district’s financial stability, local control, and public trust hang in the balance.
Will this be another instance where leadership is lacking and causes additional uncertainty and conflict?
What can you do?
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- Strengthen Your Advocacy: Join GO’s Family Leadership Program (FLP) to learn how school funding and governance work – and how your voice can advocate for change in our community.
- Attend the next OUSD board meeting (4:00PM, in-person at La Escuelita Education Center or on Zoom) to share your thoughts in public comment.
- School Finance Resource Library: Explore GO’s School Finance Library for resources to help you learn more about the LCAP, budget, and how school funding works. Our newest resource, What is a student centered budget, explores ways to shift from budgeting as usual to a budget truly centered on student needs.
- GO’s Board of Education Director Vote Tracker: If you’ve missed recent meetings or want to learn more, check out GO’s new tool designed to bring greater transparency and accessibility to our local education system. Our hope is that this tool becomes a resource that helps increase transparency on board processes, empowers engagement, and ultimately brings more voices into the conversation around public education.
- Learn more through district events: Want to better understand how OUSD makes budget decisions? Join OUSD for an important community learning session!
Additional Meeting Highlights from September 24th:
Superintendent Report: The Superintendent report focused on the work being done to increase attendance and reduce chronic absenteeism. As was noted in the report, there have been some attendance gains. However, enrollment has been steadily decreasing over the last few years. While these improvements are encouraging, they are unlikely to generate enough additional revenue to significantly address the district’s ongoing overspending.
Additionally, Director Thompson noted that the report left out an update on academic progress. “I would have liked to have seen something that dealt with academics. I know it’s the beginning of the school year but one suggestion is iReady data. It would have been nice to have seen a snapshot of where our kids are at academically and where we are (headed)”.
