Community control vs. state control: Stopping the occupation and privatization of OUSD

There are several crucial aspects to this phase of the occupation. The first is the potential for the deceptive proposals issued by Ward, BayCES and the Small Schools movement to further divide and oppress communities, particularly the New Afrikan (Black) and Latino communities. The second rests with the possibility that the successful enactment of this phase of destruction will eliminate any substantive resistance at the points of production, i.e. the classroom and school sites, for generations. Given these crucial points, it is imperative that this occupation be stopped and stopped now!

How to stop the occupation

The only way the occupation of OUSD can be stopped and overturned is through the concerted direct action of a strategic alliance between the unions, students, parents and community to totally disrupt the operation of the district and bring all business pertaining to its standard conduct to an absolute halt.

To reiterate our point from October 2003, the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement (MXGM) believes that the necessary direct action tactics are student walkouts, staff work stoppages, school takeovers by the community and ultimately an OUSD general strike. These tactics can and should be supported by town hall meetings, rallies, marches and litigation, etc., but it should be clear by now that only concerted direct action will bring Ward to his knees and force State Superintendent of Public Instruction Jack O’Connell to return control of OUSD back to the people of Oakland.

The challenges

There are several fundamental challenges to the implementation of this strategy of resistance. The primary challenge is mustering the will to execute it. Is there enough resolve to shut the District down?

The answer had better be yes; otherwise Ward and his masters will undoubtedly accomplish what they want in terms of breaking the backs of the workers – teachers, custodians, counselors, cooks, etc. – and consolidating educational apartheid with their schemes to end public education in Oakland.

The question of will is perhaps most acute in the unions, particularly the Oakland Educators Association (OEA). The unions’ leaders have to be firm and perform some minor miracles to educate, organize and mobilize the rank and file to carry forth this strategy, particularly given the limited window of opportunity to successfully execute it.

The second fundamental challenge is time. The forces of resistance have at best a four- to six-month window to execute this strategy. The critical pressure has to be applied before school ends in June. If not, the mobilization will more than likely lose substantial support from large segments of the unions and the students. If the fundamental questions have not begun to be addressed before summer vacation, and if the victory appears shaky, then scores of workers and families will seek what they need and want elsewhere.

The third fundamental challenge is building and maintaining the unity of the aforementioned alliance. Next to the issue of will, this is perhaps the most critical challenge confronting the resistance.

Those of us in the resistance have to be conscious of the various differences amongst us that can potentially be exploited by our opponents and enemies to divide and fracture us to maintain the occupation. These are differences of racial and national oppression, class and material interest, gender and leadership, and ideology and political allegiance. Rather than deny these differences, the alliance must address them head on, and build a fighting unity of purpose and strategy that does not require uniformity of thought or tactics.

The targets

Without question, the primary target is State Superintendent of Education Jack O’Connell. It is the state superintendent who has the power to hire and fire the state-appointed administrators who govern the occupation of OUSD. The state superintendent also has substantial power to overturn or alter the state takeover and occupation – the state-appointed administrator is just a warden.

However, the current neo-colonial warden, Dr. Randy Ward, is a secondary target. Given that State Superintendent Jack O’Connell is based 80 miles away in Sacramento, making him and his office a consistent target of direct actions and sit-ins, etc. is going to be extremely difficult. But we can and should target Ward to get to O’Connell, and there is fundamentally no limit to what we can do here on our own turf.

Two additional secondary targets are the Bay Area Coalition for Essential Schools (BayCES) and the Eli Broad Foundation. Although neither of these organizations make nor implement the policies governing the district’s occupation, they play a profound role in shaping and influencing the course and direction of these policies through their financial contributions and influential connections to multinational corporations and political oligarchies. The targeting of these two non-profit outfits should be seen as the first concrete step in a larger, more protracted initiative to bring the major multinational corporations based in Oakland to bear and hold them responsible for their part in improving the education and social wellbeing of Oakland’s residents.

The demands

The demands, we believe, are simple and plain and get directly to the heart of the matter. They include:

1) The immediate removal of the state-appointed administrator.

2) The immediate resumption of local control over OUSD.

3) The immediate installation of a new school board.

4) The immediate renegotiation of the OUSD state loan.

Forward!

Randy Ward and the occupation of OUSD can be defeated. But it is going to take an unshakable resolve and iron will to do it. For the future of public education in Oakland and the benefit of the city’s multinational community it must be done. Defeat the Occupation of OUSD, By Any Means Necessary!

To contact the Malcolm X Grassroots Movement, call (510) 433-0115, email mxgmoakland [at] hotmail.com or write P.O. Box 3585 Oakland, CA 94609.

http://www.sfbayview.com/020205/control020205.shtml