Oakland schools broke, face bailout $100 million takeover would be biggest yet

The San Francisco Chronicle ^ | 12/8/02 | Meredith May

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Oakland -- After three years under Superintendent Dennis Chaconas, who turned the Oakland public schools into a national model of urban school reform, California's sixth-largest school district is broke and headed for the most expensive takeover in state history.

The 48,000-student district will ask the state for an estimated $100 million bailout. Board members say they will have to consider laying off teachers, increasing class sizes and closing some schools to save money.

[I_Love_My_Husband]

Are they still teaching ebonics there?

[GOP_Raider]

I've always wondered which city in the Bay Area is more screwed up, SF or Oakland?? Methinks it's a statistical dead heat.

[martin_fierro]

Ex-Schools Chief Hired Girlfriend
Handy awarded her Emeryville contracts

Emeryville's School Troubles Are On The Table

[anobjectivist]

Let a private business buy it and watch the need for tax money disappear

[jimtorr]

Anthony Cody, a teacher at Bret Harte Middle School........"They are already talking about reducing science to one semester at the middle school," he said.

Here's a thought: How about dumping expensive phony feel-good plastic-banana good-time rock-and-roll "classes"?

Try adding more core edumacation classes. Strangely enough, if the district will do that, they'll find that their expenses will go down and students will get a better education.

[Teacher317]

Oh, goody, another bailout for Grayout Davis to author.

[AEMILIUS PAULUS]

"Our diversity is our strength!" It would be interesting to see the five bankrupt districts staffs new cars-$75,000 + each car, $1,000,000 houses,$100,000 trips,$750.00 dinners, club memberships, multiple girl/boy friends, the most expensive drugs/alcohol,$1,500 suits, hiring someone who is able to write the office holders name on the checks and credit card invoices at $150,000/year etc. All at the taxpayers expense.

[guitfiddlist]

Hey, what ever happened to Gov. Moonbeam? He is (was?) the mayor of that train-wreck of a city, isn't he?

[Amerigomag]

After three years under Superintendent Dennis Chaconas, who turned the Oakland public schools into a national model of urban school reform, California's sixth-largest school district is broke

The Chronical is a hoot. They could turn a sow's ear into a silk purse if it would further a liberal cause.

[I still care]

Right now I am reading "Radical Son" by David Horowitz. I am up to the part where he talks about the lovefest between Democrats, the Black Panthers, Political corruption, and the Oakland Schools.

I haven't read past the 70's yet but it looks like Oakland hasn't improved that much.

[Dog Gone]

24% teacher pay raise?

[dennisw]

Money's too tight to mention
I can't get an unemployment extension
Money's too tight to mention

I went to my brother to see what he could do
He said Brother I'd like to help but I'm unable to
So called on my father, father
Almighty father, he said

Money's too tight to mention
Oh money, money, money, money
Money's too tight to mention
I can't even qualify for my pension

We're talking 'bout reaganomics
Oh lord down in the congress
They're passing all kinds of bills
From up there on capitol hill, we' ve tried it

Money's too tight to mention
Oh money, money, money, money
Money's too tight to mention
Cutbacks!

We 're talking 'bout the dollar bill
And that old man who's over the hill
Now what are we all to do
When money's got a hold on you

Money's too tight to mention
Oh money, money, money, money
Money's too tight to mention

We're talking 'bout money, money
We're talking 'bout money, money

[Southack]

So what does it say about the educational level and intellectual ability of the Oakland school system's administrators that they went $100 Million into the hole in 3 years, and that they need to be bailed out by other, presumably more responsible people now?

Are those truly the people best qualified to be teaching our children?

How many PRIVATE school systems have to be bailed out by the state each year?

I wonder what the answer to that question says about the public schools...

[Southack]

"Chaconas said he is not going to cave in to pressure and take one of the many job offers coming from around the country.

He also doesn't regret giving the raise, which lifted teacher pay from the bottom to near the top in Alameda County and stabilized rampant teacher turnover."

Try to remember those two sentences (above).

A. This irresponsible nutcase is getting multiple job offers from around our nation.

B. He doesn't regret increasing his spending even though it left his charges bankrupt.

Why? Because the current Leftist attitude is that no matter how badly you screw something up, the state will come in and fix it for you.

With that "logic" in mind, they think "Why NOT increase teachers' salaries, administrative budgets, and travel set-asides - because the more we spend, the more the state has to inject into our system later."

And this attitude is viewed by OTHER school systems as a "success", so much so that numerous other school systems want to hire Chaconas to give them precisely what he gave to Oakland.

Look around your own geographical area. There may very well be public school administrators who either have his attitude or else have made Chaconas a job offer to do to you what he did to Oakland (which the SF Chronicle regards as a resounding "success")!

[Dog Gone]

The funny thing is that a bailout (which the State cannot afford) would be accompanied by state administrators, the very same people that gave the State a $30 billion deficit hole in its budget.

It's like having a house fire and calling a squad of arsonists instead of the fire department.

[okie01]

"It's like having a house fire and calling a squad of arsonists instead of the fire department."

Note also that Oakland is apparently the fifth California school district to go belly up -- along with Emeryville and West Contra Costa (both in the Bay area), Compton (in the LA area) and Coachella (Imperial Valley).

I've got a feeling that Oakland won't be the last, either...

[Southack]

So if California has already had 5 $100 million school bailouts so far this year, can we extrapolate and guess that California will have yet $1 Billion more in school bailouts to add on to its 2002-2003 budget?

[breakem]

The Compton District has been a disaster area for at least 15 years.

[Cicero]

Meredith May is clearly an economic igoramus. What you can read between the lines is that the new Superintendent said, "Do everything you want to make the schools better, and damn the expense! Political presssures will force the governor to bail us out!"

Just to take one little item as an example of how this reporter swallows the official line without an instant's thought: "Also . . . a lot of families are moving out to cheaper places like Fairfield and Stockton, and they are being replaced by 'dinks' -- dual income, no kids."

A town could ask for nothing better than a bunch of "dinks" moving into town. They pay big taxes and have no kids to service. Unless, of course, you are too stupid to keep an eye on the bottom line, unless you swallow the small class-size propaganda whole, and unless you neglect to plan for a drop in the number of students. Fewer student, fewer schools; fewer schools, fewer teachers and maintenance bills to pay. That should be obvious to anyone but a socialist idiot or a prisoner of the teachers' union.