The OUSD deficit: Labor weighs in | The Education Report

The OUSD deficit: Labor weighs in | The Education Report

The OUSD deficit: Labor weighs in

By Katy Murphy
Monday, March 22nd, 2010 at 12:23 pm in OEA, OUSD central office, budget, union contract.

Seven unions and the Alameda Central Labor Council say they have the answer to the Oakland school district’s budget woes: The Oakland Schools Labor Coalition has identified $35 million to cut from the school district’s general purpose fund. Thepresentation is posted on Wednesday night’s Oakland school board agenda.

The unions propose the following cutbacks:

• $10 million by cutting excess administrators (The state has a maximum administrator-to-teacher ratio, and OUSD was fined $1.3 million for having 78 too many administrators in 2006-07. The unions rounded that number up to 80 and multiplied by $125,000 to reach $10 million.)
• $10 million in “unmandated testing”
• $4.6 million by cutting the district’s reserves in half, down to 1 percent of the budget. This would require a waiver, as the state requires districts to have a 2 percent reserve.
• $7 million by somehow getting the district’s loan repayments waived