Oakland teachers union opposes school mergers, says district budget not as dire as projected

OAKLAND, Calif. (KGO) -- The Oakland school board met on Wednesday to discuss how to cut costs and close a $78 million projected deficit.

One of the plans being considered is the possibility of merging schools that already share campuses.

But some parents warn that the mergers are a short-term fix to growing budget problems.

As parent Rochele Lopez-Sandoval picks up her son from Manzanita Community School, she is bracing for big changes that could impact the school.

RELATED: Oakland Unified facing projected $95 million deficit in 2025

"We don't want it. We are happy how things are. We appreciate the resources Manzanita has," says Lopez-Sandoval, who is part of the school's Parent Leadership Committee.

What they don't want is to merge with Manzanita Seed School, which is the school next door.

The Oakland Unified School District is facing a $78 million projected budget deficit, which will balloon to almost double in the next four years. It needs to cut costs.

The district says part of the problem is declining enrollment and that it is operating too many schools, especially compared to districts of similar size. In 2003, it had 50,261 students. In 2023, it dropped to 34,149 students. It would cost the district $3.7 billion to repair all Oakland schools.

RELATED: OUSD is back to school facing big challenges with budget uncertainty and possible closures

The district is discussing consolidating 10 schools into five at Wednesday's school board meeting. That would save the district upwards of $3 million dollars.

"They just have different goals. It's not that either one is better than the other. They are just different playing levels," said Lopez-Sandoval.

To those on the outside, it may make sense to simply merge two elementary schools, which already share the same location. But Lopez-Sandoval says that can be deceiving. To begin with, Manzanita Seed school is a duel language immersion school with English and Spanish. And the two schools may have different goals and objectives based on their community needs.

RELATED: Facing $23 million budget deficit, OUSD tries figuring out how to balance books for next school year

"We don't know what that school will bring to the table. What would be taken from the schools. How are you going to mix two different schools and say that they are going to keep both curriculums separate? I don't see how it's realistic," said Lopez-Sandoval.

Kampala Taiz-Rancifer is president of the Oakland Education Association, which is the teachers' union. She says a deeper analysis of the budget suggest the deficit may not actually be as big as the district claims, and that it's soon to rush to merge schools.

"The $340 million cash reserve that they have currently will actually cover any of those modest deficits. So, we are actually concerned about the analysis they have," said Taiz-Rancifer.

School district officials were not available for comment. A final vote will come in December.