Oakland Schools, Teachers Union Reach Deal, Avert Strike

Oakland’s public school district and teachers union reached an early morning deal Friday, averting a strike.

The new two-year deal includes significant raises for teachers that the union says will attract educators and address high turnover rates in Oakland schools.

“By forcing OUSD to invest in creating stability in our classrooms and schools we are making a historic investment in the future of Oakland” said union President, Kampala Taiz-Rancifer. “This contract reflects a newfound commitment by the [Oakland Unified School District] Superintendent and School Board to prioritize resources toward classrooms.”

The deal, reached after an 18 hour bargaining session extended into the early morning Friday,  marks the first time in three contract cycles that the parties have agreed to a contract without a strike.

It comes after nearly a year of contract negotiations and months in mediation without a new contract. Last week, the Oakland Education Association, which represents about 3,000 teachers, nurses, social workers and other credentialed staff, voted overwhelmingly to authorize a strike, following neighboring districts like San Francisco and West Contra Costa, where teachers took to the picket lines in February and December before securing new contracts.

“By averting a strike and reaching this agreement, OUSD and the Oakland Education Association have forged a new path forward — one built on cooperation and a shared commitment to our children,” Mayor Barbara Lee said in a statement.

“While there is still work ahead, I am proud of what was achieved today. Our students deserve teachers who are supported, valued, and have everything they need to teach — and this agreement moves us closer to that promise,” she continued.

The union was demanding higher wages, saying its educators are among the lowest paid in the Bay Area, leading to high turnover rates and understaffing in schools.

But the school district has maintained it is unable to meet those demands as it grapples with a more than $100 million budget deficit.

Initially, the union proposed 14% raises over two years, while the district offered no pay bump. As the threat of a strike escalated, the district raised its offer to an 8% salary increase by 2027 earlier this month.

The new contract includes 11% to 13% raises for teachers by 2027, with additional salary enhancements for special education and early education teachers, as well as social workers.

It also includes changes to improve working conditions for special education employees and nurses, and smaller student-to-counselor ratios for counselors, among other things.

Wages have also been the major sticking point in recent OUSD contract disputes, as teachers say their pay fails to keep up with neighboring districts. In 2023, OEA held a weeklong strike that ended after teachers won a 15.5% raise over two and a half years.

According to the union’s analysis, OUSD teachers are the lowest paid among 10 Bay Area districts, and OEA president Kampala Taiz-Rancifer told KQED that about 60% of district teachers can’t afford to live in Oakland. That analysis was affirmed by a neutral mediator earlier this month.

“Retaining teachers has been a major goal of the board for a number of years,” school board President Jennifer Brouhard told KQED.

“The board has given that direction to do that, and we’re beginning to see that work happen. I think from the district standpoint, they also realized that we have to retain our educators. It’s very expensive, both in terms of student outcome and in terms of cost, to have the turnover that we have had.”

Implementing the new deal will also be expensive. OUSD has estimated that 11% raises will cost more than $55 million alone.

Brouhard said it will be up to district leaders to do so in a way that doesn’t harm students or jeopardize the district’s fiscal status. Last summer, it just regained local control after 20 years in state receivership. Without factoring in the price of the new deal, OUSD is eyeing $102 million in cuts by June.

Interim Superintendent Denise Saddler told the school board this week that without those reductions, “we won’t be able to pay all the people on our payroll in the fall. We don’t have the money in the budget for next year.”

On Wednesday, OUSD approved cutting nearly 400 staff positions, including 180 filled by OEA members, through early retirement buyouts, elimination of vacant positions, and layoffs. Altogether, that is estimated to save about $11 million annually.

Saddler said that the district’s finance team has identified about $65 million in cuts so far in total.

It’s not yet clear if all of those proposals, which include increasing enrollment to recoup some funds and major changes to special education services, are feasible, though. And the union is also expected to fight this week’s preliminarily layoff notices.

“We know our collective power brought us here, and we know our collective power will continue to move OUSD to ensure all our schools are fully staffed by rescinding preliminary layoffs as well,” Taiz-Rancifer said in a statement.

The deal still needs to be ratified by OEA’s membership, and approved by the school board, before it is finalized.