Project: California’s New School Finance Law: Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF)
Date: June 24, 2015
Contact: Saa’un Bell, 562.472.7687, saaun@caljustice.org; Isabel Alegria, 415.431.7434, ialegria@publicadvocates.org
Oakland — Low-income students and parents in Oakland Unified School District (OUSD) have leveraged California’s new school funding formula to drive $4 million to Oakland schools, breathing life into Governor Brown’s vision for local control.
“As a mother of a 3rd grade daughter who is an English language learner in a school in East Oakland, our children continue to be impacted by the economic and social conditions in our schools. By sending money directly to our school, we will be able to have more caring adults in our schools to support our children – not only to improve their reading and writing skills, but also their emotional and physical health.” – Luz Alcaraz, Community United Elementary School
Today, at the La Escuelita Elementary School, the district will vote to adopt its Local Control and Accountability Plan and budget. The plan includes:
- Sending $4 million dollars directly to schools to support Oakland’s children
- 2 new coordinator positions to support foster children
- Increased investments in English Language Learners that will support newcomer students
- 4 new staff positions to support training & capacity building for families at the district and schools
While students, parents/caregivers, community and advocacy organizations are enthusiastic about the district’s commitment and progress to deeply engage key stakeholders in its Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP), parents and students are looking forward to:
- Developing a plan for shared accountability that demonstrates how funds and decisions benefit students at the district and school level as outlined in the Superintendent’s 2015-16 work plan.
- Continuing to improve planning and budgeting processes to enable parents and students to participate in a meaningful way.
What: 50 parents, students, and community organizations holding banners that say “strength in numbers”
Who: Oakland Community Organizations, OUSD parents & students, Public Advocates, Californians for Justice (Spanish speakers will be available for interviews)
When: Wednesday, June 24th 5:30pm – 7:30pm
Where: La Escuelita Elementary School, Oakland Unified School District Board Meeting
Why: Demonstrate community wins and ensure that local control funds allocated to schools improves academic outcomes and the social-emotional well-being of children in Oakland.
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