Students Learn Money Talks And Money Begins The Flow

The Oakland Unified School District Board Of Education (OUSD) approved closing or merging schools by a vote of 4-2 with one abstained on Tue Feb 8. OUSD projected a budget deficit of $20 million over the next two years. 35% of its campuses are underenrolled. School funding is based on enrollment. The factors for declining enrollment include lower birth rates, COVID-19 pandemic, and increase living costs. Two schools close at the end of the 2021-2022 school year. Five schools close at the end of the 2022-2023 school year. Two schools merge at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year. Two schools eliminate junior high grades 6-8 at the beginning of the 2022-2023 school year.

The Alameda County Board Of Education instructed OUSD to cut its budget. The county wanted OUSD to be financially stable and minimize debt for the next three years. OUSD responded to the county saying they needed more time to make budget cuts.

I speak from experience. School closures happened to me. My high school district closed two schools during an economic recession. I graduated at another high school in my senior year. Disappointed? Yes. Unfair? Yes. Bad timing? Yes. Bad luck? Yes. Necessary? Yes. The school I attended in my second grade and third grade closes at the end of the 2021-2022 school year for the same reasons as OUSD.

An Adult Lesson For The Children

I repeat the one-word lessons: disappointment, unfair, bad timing, and bad luck. The four sucks when it happens to them. The school closures are a good opportunity parents teach their children. We do everything correctly. We worked together. We fought. We didn't get the result. We lost. There are winners. There are losers. There are changes for better or for worse. The short answer in plain English: deal with it. I wished I learn the lesson when I was in my teens. Nobody taught me.

An OUSD performing arts teacher and a community school manager are in a hunger strike. In my opinion, the hunger strike is a bad lesson to protest. Blame the system. Blame the pandemic. The teacher and manager are better off continuing their jobs teaching their students the life lessons from the closures. Can the two find $20 million?

There are exceptions to money talks and money begins the flow. I watched a Walmart documentary. There were local cities who voted against a Walmart store. Obviously, a Walmart store brings tax revenue and jobs. The opposition people have spoken. The main reason was a Walmart closes local businesses. The local governments agreed with their constituents. Another exception is a nearby city commission where I live voted against an In-N-Out restaurant. The opposition people have spoken. The main reason was the local roads can't handle the increased traffic. The In-N-Out restaurant proposal never made it to the city council for a vote.