On 1/12/05, 4-8PM at Oakland High School (1023 Macarthur Blvd), the Oakland School Board will hear commentary on Randy Ward's attempts to close at least 5 more schools and turn 13 Oakland schools into "internal charters" with undermined union rights.

Dr. Ward was sent to Oakland to put the school district on a sound financial basis, but has still not produced a Fiscal Recovery Plan since arriving in June, 2003. Meanwhile, Ward is instituting vast changes in Oakland's public schools. These range from closing schools against the community's wishes to instituting unequal funding for schools. Ward has eliminated teachers' power to make many decisions for their schools and classes, and proposes eliminating class size restrictions in new and small schools, eliminating counselors across the District, and allowing principals to cut services such as libraries. Voters passed Measure E to "recruit and retain teachers," but Ward opposes using Measure E funds for teacher salaries. Ward's new funding plan, "Results-Based Budgeting," funds schools based on attendance, not enrollment, penalizing schools where poverty leads to lower attendance.

A rally and march against the closures and privatization has been called for Monday, Jan. 17th at 14th and Broadway, and the Oakland Education Association will host a community meeting on Jan. 19th. Read more | Alternative plan | More info