Grand jury report finds Oakland Unified School District is failing its students
OAKLAND, Calif. (KTVU) - In a scathing report, the Alameda County grand jury accuses the Oakland Unified School District of having a broken culture, concluding the district is not doing justice for its 36,000 students in 87 public schools.
"It isn't like you can point to this one thing and say, 'Oh, they did this one wrong.' It's pervasive," said Ray Souza, a member of the Alameda County grand jury.
The report, released on Monday, cites a range of problems including mismanagement, favoritism, disregard for authority among mid-level management, and a lack of accountability.
Financial instability was also highlighted, the grand jury finding Oakland Unified wastes millions of dollars, pointing to "lax competitive bidding practices" and poor contract management.
One example was nine OUSD building projects halted in 2018 because of overspending, including a construction project at Fremont High School which was $51 million over budget.
"These kids deserve an education and there's money there to do it. It's just not being used properly," said Souza.
"If ethical norms are ignored year after year and few, if any, are held accountable for questionable conduct, then a broken culture emerges," the report concluded.
The grand jury found the recent settlement ending a teacher's strike "will certainly add" to the district's financial burden. Teacher raises will cost the district $65 million over four years, which required the board CONTINUE READING: Grand jury report finds Oakland Unified School District is failing its students - Story | KTVU
