OUSD After-School Programs Could Be Cut By At Least 50%

Updated at 3:24 pm Thursday

Oakland’s schools might not be able to offer at least half of their after-school programs next year after a set of budget solutions meant to keep cuts away from students appears to have backfired.

School Board President Jennifer Brouhard said Wednesday that it was shocking to see the proposal to cut funding for aftercare, but emails show that the board was warned by its fiscal adviser more than a month ago that the resolution could endanger the programs.

“Merely adding the Expanded Learning Opportunity Program and After School Education and Safety grants to the list of unavoidable expenses, the cap is exceeded,” the letter from fiscal adviser Luz Cázares on April 8 said.

Cázares sent the letter warning that the programs would be at risk after she lifted a stay on a board resolution capping spending on the district’s outside contracts, among other expenses, earlier this year.

Last week, local organizations that facilitate campuses’ after-school care and enrichment programs said they were informed that 50%-80% funding cuts could now leave at least 3,000 students without somewhere to go after class.

“These cuts would displace more than half of all students currently served by OUSD after-school programs, eliminating a critical support system for families, violating core requirements of state and federal education grants, and the legal mandate to provide after-school services,” the groups said in a joint letter addressed to board members asking them to rescind the resolution.

In March, amid approvals for layoffs and bickering between board members, a slim majority voted to approve a set of “alternative budget solutions” brought forward by Board President Jennifer Brouhard and Vice President Valarie Bachelor.

The five-item list capped spending on outside contracts, books and supplies and some employee salaries, along with cutting travel spending. It served as a supplement to a larger package of budget-balancing solutions the board approved in December to patch a $95 million deficit. That deficit has since shrunk to $70 million.

In a statement, Brouhard said that she stands by the spirit of the proposal, which aimed to “reduce consultant and contract spending and ensure every dollar directly supports students.”

She blamed the district’s staff for the way it interpreted the resolution.

“I was angry to see after-school programs and field trips cut — programs essential to student learning, safety and well-being,” she said. “These cuts deeply harmed students. This was never our intent, and district leadership knew that.”

However, chief business officer Lisa Grant-Dawson said in an email to Brouhard that she was told prior to voting on the resolution, and again in April, about the “massive changes” it would mean, including to after-school program funding.

The cuts were intended to reallocate some funding back to campuses that were facing budget cuts, Brouhard said at the time. But the district’s plan to slash after-school spending won’t free up any money that’s usable elsewhere, according to the nonprofits.

“All OUSD funding for after-school comes from the state and federal government and can only be used during out-of-school hours,” the nonprofits’ letter to the board said. “The funding reductions will result in OUSD returning funds it otherwise could have spent on students and staff, and it will lose tens of millions of dollars now and into the future.”

Lukas Brekke-Miesner, the executive director of Oakland Kids First, which runs Castlemont High School’s after-school enrichment, said these programs are a lifeline for families.

“I work full time, my partner works full time, and my kids have a safe place to be and someone who they really love looking after them,” he said. “A lot of families — working class, low income, et cetera — just don’t have the necessary support systems to function any other way.”

He said these programs often provide food, homework help and, for younger kids, fun activities like crafts or arts performances.

At the high school level, Oakland Kids First has “leadership development and enrichment programs, we have on-campus and off-campus internships, we run a one-acre farm on campus that young folks also work on” at Castlemont, Brekke-Miesner said.

These programs keep them safe and engaged in their communities — a tall order for many teenagers.

“Oftentimes, there’s a certain distance that young people feel, a certain frustration, …and having caring adult allies that are able to connect with them and do programs that are in alignment with their interests — those are things that are pretty unique to after-school,” he said.

Drastically reducing after-school services could also threaten the district’s compliance with state law and decrease student attendance, the nonprofit partners’ letter said.

Board members Mike Hutchinson and Clifford Thompson, both of whom opposed the alternative budget solutions proposal, plan to introduce legislation on Wednesday that would rescind it.

Hutchinson said on social media that the policy sent “shockwaves” through the district last week, when schools found out about the total of $29 million of frozen funds.

In the district he represents, schools have between $100,000 and $200,000 cut from their budgets. Separately, the district is considering centralizing some services and reducing school site funding allocations to reduce spending next year.

Danielle Davis, the principal of McClymonds High School, wrote on Facebook that her campus was losing funding for college advisers and mentorship and summer internship stipends.

While Brekke-Miesner believes the school board members’ proposal was well-intentioned, he said they should be deliberate about what its impact will be.

“Electeds need to be really wary of running afoul of families in this district and voters in this district,” he said. “Ultimately, we have to make decisions in this district that are oriented towards our students and our families.”