More than 70 people Wednesday night appealed to district leaders to reconsider the cuts, including about 50 who urged the board to eliminate the district’s police force to save about $1.5 million. They said the savings could be used to restore positions that have previously been cut, such as counselors and coordinators trained in conflict resolution. Other speakers asked the board to restore foster youth case managers, a special education administrator and administrative assistant, a library manager and an employee who works in the district’s TV station, which televises board and committee meetings.
But the budget cuts approved on Wednesday may not be enough, according to the Alameda County Office of Education and the Fiscal Crisis Management and Assistance Team, or FCMAT, an outside agency that is monitoring the district’s budget. The county said in a letter last month that the district appears to have overestimated its revenues and underestimated its costs.
And a March 2 letter to the state, FCMAT says that unsettled salary agreements could add $8 million to the district’s deficit this year and $12.7 million next year, which could result in the need to make even deeper cuts.
“Without the budget reductions or revenue enhancements, the risk to the district solvency is great,” the letter said, noting that the additional contract settlements could increase the projected deficit from about $25 million this year to $33.5 million.
In response to the push to eliminate the district’s police force, board member Roseann Torres suggested cutting three officers next year. But the board rejected this idea in a 3-4 vote.
Student board representatives and members of a community group called the Black Organizing Project and their supporters expressed dismay after the board rejected Torres’ motion to cut district police officers — whom they say target black and brown students and increase their likelihood of ending up in the criminal justice system. The student board members voted in favor of eliminating the officers, saying they feel unsafe around district police, but their votes were advisory.
A woman who identified herself as a teacher reminded the board that the district’s police had used batons to push back a crowd of protesters during a protest last fall against school closures, including some who said they were injured by officers. Those who said they were hurt have filed a lawsuit against the district alleging police used excessive force. The lawsuit is ongoing, the district’s general counsel, Joshua Daniels, told EdSource on Thursday.
Johnson-Trammell told the board she has asked the district’s Police Chief, Jeff Godown, to develop the plan for how the district could safely function without a police force, which she will present in September.