Oakland school closure savings estimate is missing something
Friday, August 3rd, 2012 at 10:39 am in 1 Comment
photo by Jane Tyska/Oakland TribuneIn June and again in July, I asked the Oakland school district for a breakdown of the net savings from the five elementary school closures, taking into account the conversion of one of those schools — Lazear Elementary — into an independently run charter school.
Unlike the other two charter conversions, Lazear became a charter simply so it could remain open, so the fiscal impact of that change — the loss of enrollment and per-student funding — is inextricably tied to the decision to close it in the first place.
I’ve yet to receive a response for my request, specifically, but the district has produced a cost-savings analysis that’s left me scratching my head. Reading the document, which estimates a $2 million annual savings from the five school closures — as advertised last fall — it’s as if the Lazear conversion never happened.
In fact, the analysis lists a $490,000 savings for Lazear — when, just a few months ago, the superintendent and