Organizational meeting. Can we have a roll call to establish quorum, please? On the roll call to establish quorum, are student director Simmons, student director, Vasquez. Is no. I'm sorry. What's her name? Smith. Smith. Alright. Okay. Sorry. Okay. We got it. Director Latta. Present. Okay. Director Williams? Present. Director Hutchinson? Director Hutchinson? Alright. Director Berry? Present. Director Thompson? Present. Vice President Bachelor? Here. Director Hutchinson? Vice President. Vice President Brothard. Okay. Thank you, Director Hutchinson. President Prohar.
Here. Quorum President. Thank you. And can we have an interpretation check, please? Yes. Moving to interpretation announcement. For today's meeting, we have three languages for live interpretation. They are Arabic, Spanish, and Cantonese. For in person, we have laptops. Please come see us if if any interpretations are needed. There's also closed caption feature available on Zoom that you can use by clicking the closed caption icon in your Zoom taskbar. We'll start with Arabic. I will lower all attendees' hands.
Please raise your hand hand if you need Arabic interpretation. Efnan, if you can come off mute and make the interpretation announcement for Arabic, please. Yes. Go ahead. I did translate it. I asked if someone needs Arabic interpretation to raise their hands. I don't see anyone. Okay. Great. Thank you so much. Thank you. Seeing no hands, we'll, we will not start Arabic interpretation. Next, we'll go to Cantonese. Again, please only raise your hand if you need Cantonese interpretation. Ms. Sun, if you can come off mute and make the interpretation announcement for Cantonese,
please. Ms. Betty Sun? Yes, I'm here. I'm here. Great. Thank you, Ms. Sun. Jenny attendees, see if any hands raised for Cantonese interpretation. Seeing no hands raised, we will now start with Cantonese interpretation. Next, we'll go to Spanish. Again, please only raise your hand if you need Spanish interpretation. Mr. Perez, if you can come off mute and make the interpretation announcement for Spanish, please. Or in person? Seeing none, we'll not start with any, interpretation, and we'll check-in later in the meeting. I turn it back, to you, mister Richraw. Madam president,
the availability of translation, has been announcement has been completed. Thank you. We will now have public comment on all of today's agenda items. Any non agenda items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Governing Board, we have fifteen minutes for this. And seeing that we have only one speaker, do we have any speakers online? There are no speakers online. We do have one speaker in the room. This is Sara Olobalo. And we will give, two minutes. I cannot support any recommendation from this board in a leadership capacity. The reason why is based on past performance by this board.
Areas that I just jotted down, not inclusive of other areas, include the fact that you are not allowing background checks for volunteers in this school district that is required by California state law. The fact that you have not moved efficiently with the bunch situation, creating a school that was required for maintenance and became blighted property under facilities leadership. You have included in your modernization plan additional classrooms at Fremont and Coliseum College Prep
when we have over 200 I'm sorry. We have 20 schools that have less than 200 students. You have, Paul Robeson across the street where you have mandated a demolition and a feasibility study that is not a priority. That's because you wanna change things to have your housing accommodation, facilitated. At Skyline, you have unsafe exposure. There's no way you can close off that campus. You cannot evaluate the students evacuate the students. You have returned bus 39 and made arrangements for bathroom, accommodations for bus,
drivers with no explanation to the public. You have Bay Tech involved in leaving this, the campus because of violence at Ruggsdale. And they informed me last year they had 15 incidents of violence at Ruggsdale. You do nothing about that. At McClimans, you have a notice of exemption and the lack of the modernization. You have supplemental vuses, Fremont anti blackness, lack of black repres reparation, and lastly, documents not in place in other languages. You have you have the ability to have interpretation,
but the people cannot read documents. They don't exist in other languages. That's, that's just me sitting down right now. Thank you. Are there any other speakers online? There are no further speakers for this item, Madam President. At this time, we'll move on to item D, which is nominations for President of the Governing Board 2026 term. Are there any nominations? Yes. Thank you. Hi. I'd like to nominate, Jennifer Brohard for President, and I would like to nominate Valerie Batchelor for vice president. Thank you. Jennifer Brohard for president. Thank you. And is there a second? No no sec.
No sec. No seconds. No seconds are required. Self nominations are welcome. I'd like to nominate Director Hutchinson for President. Are there any other nominations? Okay. Nominations are closed. And at this point, each nominee has, two minutes to speak. Director Hutchinson, do you wanna go first? Sure. Thank you. Sorry I couldn't be there in person today. My partner is 38, and, I could be going to the hospital at any time. You know, besides that, I think everyone understands what's going on.
So, I don't really have much else to say today. Thank you. Sorry about that. I'm honored to accept the nomination for President of the Oakland School Board. It's been an honor to have served this past year as Board President and I look forward to continuing to work with our Superintendent, Nee Sedler. The past year has brought significant change and I'm committed to continuing that work as we navigate difficult budget adjustments, conduct a superintendent search, support our immigrant families and students, and meet the social, emotional and educational needs of our students at a time when public education faces drastic federal cuts.
I will continue to work collaboratively with my fellow Board directors, district leadership, labor partners, community organizations, families and most importantly, our students as we meet these challenges together. Thank you. And at this time, we take the roll call vote. At this particular time, there are two candidates for President of the Board for the 2026 term. Four votes are required for election. Please state the name of the party for whom you are voting when I call the roll, and your statement of that name will be interpreted as an I vote for that
particular person. Alright. On the roll call, please state the name of the candidate for whom you are voting for president. Director Latta. Director Brohard. Director Williams? Director Brohard. Director Hutchinson? Hutchinson. Director Berry? Director Hutchinson. Director Thompson? Director Hutchinson. Vice president Bachelor? Director Brohard? President Brohard. Director Brohard. President Brohard has been reelected to the 2026 term. We will now open nominations for the, election of the Vice President. I would like to nominate Vice President Bachelor. Are there any other nominations?
There are no other nominations. Thank you, President Berhard. Board colleagues, I want to begin by expressing my sincerest gratitude for the opportunity to serve as Vice President last year. It has been an honor to work alongside each of you in this role, and I am deeply appreciative of the trust that you've placed in me. If, it will be the will of the Board, I will welcome the opportunity to continue to serve as Vice President and carry out the work that we started. As we consider, who will be leading us in 2026, I want to share two values that guide my approach to leadership and how they connect with the work that we have ahead.
I believe deeply in shared governance and solution oriented mindset. That means taking the time to understand the root cause of challenges we face and work collaboratively towards practical, sustainable solutions that serve students and our community for the long term. This coming year will require strong, thoughtful decision decisive leadership. We will be responsible for passing a budget that funds the best possible education for our students while ensuring dignified, well paid jobs for our staff who work with our students every single day. We are also in the midst of a superintendent search and I want to make
sure that we have meaningfully included our community reflect the needs of, our community. We will face challenges ahead and there will be moments of disagreement. Our strengths as a board lie in our diversity of thought, lived experience, and perspective. When we approach one another with respect, curiosity, and shared commitment to students, I know that our differences can lead to better decisions and stronger outcomes. At the moment, our students and families are facing real uncertainty. Federal attacks on public education and the dismantling of social safety nets threaten the stability
and opportunity of our students that our students deserve. As a Board, we must face these challenges clear eyed and courageous, in defending our students, especially those most vulnerable, and standing up for the promise of public education as a public good for all. At the center of our decision making, we must keep the well-being of our students. A student centered decision making means viewing everything from policies to budget to long term planning through the lens of improving students' experiences and expanding opportunities for every student to thrive.
I am committed to open communication, collaboration, and leadership grounded in care for our students and our community. It would be my honor to continue to serve as Vice President and respectfully ask you for your vote today. Thank you. Can we now have the roll call vote, please? Okay. The question is, shall Vice President Bachelet be elected to the twenty sixth 2026 term of Vice President of the Board? The answer is yes or no, on the roll call. Director Latta? Yes. Director Williams? Yes, sir. Director Hutchinson? No. Director
Berry? Yes. Director Thompson? No. Vice President Bachelor? Yes. President Pearlhart? Yes. Vice President Bachelor has been elected to, vice president of the board for the 2026 term. Congratulations. We now have the President's address and then following that, the Vice President's address. Good morning, Board Directors, Student Board Directors, superintendents, staff, families, and community members. I am really honored to accept the position of President of the Oakland Unified School District Board of Education. Thank you to my fellow Board Directors for placing your trust in me during this pivotal moment in our District.
We carry an immense responsibility. The decisions we make now will shape OUSD for many years to come. At the center of every decision must be our students and our shared commitment to ensuring that every child in Oakland receives a high quality education. This commitment means prioritizing student achievement, fostering working conditions that allow our staff to thrive, and ensuring safe and welcoming schools as the foundation for learning. It means providing schools with the resources they need and centering equity, quality and opportunity in all of our work.
It also means focusing intentionally on students with the greatest needs: disabled students, newcomers and English learners, unhoused and foster youth, and African American and immigrant students. This past year has been one of deep and necessary change. Deep change is hard and it's often messy. Mistakes were made, lessons learned and we have begun to make changes that we have needed to make for a long time. I stand firmly behind Superintendent Sadler and her leadership team. While there may be differences along the way,
what is defined this work is open and a direct communication, along with a shared willingness between the Superintendent, the Board and District leadership to listen, learn and consider new and creative solutions. We cannot be afraid of change and we cannot be afraid of making mistakes. What matters is that we acknowledge them, learn from them and communicate openly and honestly with our staff, families, students and community. The years ahead will be both challenging and exciting as we continue to restructure and strengthen OUSD. Last year, we achieved something that took more than twenty years to achieve.
We exited state receivership and regained local control of our budget. For many staff, students and families, receivership was all they ever knew. To those of us who lived through it and to those of us who are new to OUSD, I am committed to working with the Board, Superintendent, labor partners, students and community to ensure that no one ever again knows what education in Oakland looks like under state receivership. In the coming months, we will face difficult budget decisions to ensure long time financial stability while protecting the staff who work most closely with our students and families.
At parent engagements across the District, I consistently heard how critical site staff are, from nutrition service workers and custodians to office staff, librarians, teachers, counselors and school leaders. We also know how essential our buildings and grounds teams are to maintaining safe and functional schools. And I want to recognize the buildings and grounds staff who worked overnight to repair the bathroom following a tragic shooting at Skyline. We also face labor challenges ahead in the year. While we reached a historic agreement with our teachers, we know that historic moments are temporary.
As surrounding districts increase wages, OUSD must continue working within our financial constraints to remain competitive. We also have sunshine reopeners with UAOS and Building Trades. These conversations will not be easy, but through collaboration and open communication, we can work toward agreements that support our staff and, ultimately, our students. Our students deserve the best educators and school staff possible. The current Board, including our student Board directors, brings deep experience and strong relationships with school sites, labor partners and the community.
That collective leadership will be essential as we take on major decisions ahead, including asset management and facilities planning. Through the Facilities Committee, we will explore opportunities for career training, housing for transitional age youth, workforce housing, and responsible revenue generating uses of district property. Early this year, the Board will vote on an ambitious facilities management plan and this summer we will finally begin demolition of the long vacant ten twenty five second Avenue building, removing a long standing safety hazard and clearing the way for future development.
Through the teaching and learning committee, the Board will continue working with educators and district leaders to ensure all students are reading at grade level by third grade. We can also focus on middle and high school outcomes so that students graduate reading proficiently, prepared for college careers and full participation in their communities. This work cannot be done in isolation. We must move forward collectively as a Board and in close collaboration with District leadership, labor partners, site staff, students and families. Transparency will be essential as we make budget decisions and engage in the redesign and re envisioning of our District.
We must collaborate with families and community partners. I am humbled to accept the Presidency and energized by the opportunities ahead. With unity, honesty, and an unwavering commitment to our students and staff, we will meet these challenges head on and build a strong and stable future for Oakland schools and community. Thank you. Vice President Batchelor. Colleagues and community, I'm deeply honored that you trust, honored by your trust in me and grateful for the opportunity to serve as vice president of the Oakland Unified School Board. I believe that we are all here because we deeply care about public education,
our students, our staff, and our community. That shared commitment matters, especially in moments where it feels like we're moments where we may make the difficult decisions or we may not agree on the path forward. As Vice President, I will work to foster collaboration, transparency, and trust both amongst us as board members, with student board members, and also the communities that we serve. I will do my best to create spaces of honest dialogue, thoughtful disagreements, and shared problem solving, always grounded in what's best for our students.
Thank you. Okay. And with that, we will go on to Item J, new business. 2020 Item 20 six-four, the twenty sixth Annual Organizational Meeting Governing Board compliance with legal requirements and other items of business necessity, including governing Board member compensation. Are there any Board comments on this item? So moved. I second. Public commenters, there is one. Asada Olufala. K. Two minutes. This document requires that you are gonna vote to submit to and accommodate your legal requirements.
So I had a discussion earlier before the meeting started about your legal requirements, and I'm not gonna go into it. But we are not we're not going through a process where we are following all legal requirements. And you you tend to and you feel very comfortable with ignoring some of those requirements. And the biggest one is that you are required to have background checks. And instead of doing that with for volunteers, you will say if there's a class if there's a teacher,
they can make sure that that person is gonna be safe in the environment they're in. That's absolutely ridiculous. You have but I know why you're doing it. And you're doing it to protect the people here illegally so that they don't have to go through a background check. And you can't do that. You can't do that. So there's some other things that you do that, require you to be in in compliance with CIPRA. That's the law. That you have to make sure that we are not exposed to, hazardous waste materials including the air,
soil, and so forth. And we have lead contamination that you have to eliminate. But instead of doing that, you are des demolishing a building that is secured right now, and you are doing a feasibility study that you shouldn't do. And this just goes on and on and on. And I'll be back. I'm 80 years old, but I'll be back at every meeting bringing up these things that you will ignore. And legally, you can ignore me. But, God is not ignoring what you're doing. Madam president, before you recognize anyone else,
I wanna make a notation of a couple of changes, in the packet, as expressed to me by you this morning, regarding the president's appointments for the 2026 term. You are asking the board to confirm, Director Hutchinson as chair of the charter committee, and you are asking, that the board confirm, Director Williams as chair of the Teaching and Learning Committee. Those are the only two changes, to the published document that is being made. We will also insert in Attachment A,
and now that the elections for president has been held, the name of the president of the board as a signatory on all of the bank accounts, with the, banks and, Alameda County Office of Education. So those are the noted changes for the record. General Counsel Lindsay, I'm gonna ask you to, comment on the, section where it talks about the, dollars 3,000. Absolutely, and Happy New Year everyone. So, there has been a change to, the Ed Code 35,120, which adjusts, the compensation for board members and across the state that is applicable.
And so, school districts across the state are moving forward with this change. And there was a few questions that have come up in terms of, being able to donate that back as an option and that is already an option under the Ed Code. And I will be available to provide any additional support with that and the next steps to ensure legal compliance with that component. And so I just wanted to note that you'll see that there as a shift, and will also ensure any compliance with the Political Reform Act,
in terms of contributions or anything. So It's brief. What is the Ed Code, general counsel? Three five one two zero. And, Assembly Bill thirteen ninety is what shifted the code. Three five Thank you. Four two zero. Vice President Batchelor. And I just also wanted to ask a point of clarification as well. Do we have to make that decision as a full board or is that an individual board member decision? And then how will those how will that be communicated to the public that we're making those decisions? Great question. So, the decision to move forward with the bylaw change is,
as with all decisions of the board, a majority of the board vote. And the decision for any charitable donations is an individual decision. It does require also the board accepting that, just as you do with other grants and things that are brought before the board. I have another clarifying question. Because you mentioned a bylaw, so is this a bylaw change or or is this are we looking at this as individual donation? So we're not at the point of donation. That can happen subsequently, and I can work with individual board members who who opt to do that.
But what's on the agenda today is the board by law, that that designates the Council. Are there any other Board comments? Director Baron? Just two comments. One, I know that it probably is inconsistent with tradition, and there's probably very good reasons why not to do it. But because there isn't a formal published schedule of ad hoc committee meeting, I would request that some thinking happen, particularly for the superintendent search committee and any other emerging work that that,
you know, we come up with a schedule or some set of expectations that the public and the rest of the board can look forward to regarding that planning. And then the other is just thinking about, shared leadership, and president Grohard and you in particular. This is just me inviting you to and I'm you're probably gonna do this anyway. But because you're gonna chair two committees, because you're on the superintendent search committee, because you're leading the budget development and adjustment,
that's a lot of work. And so the extent to which the scheduling in advance happens and you delegate to the rest of the board, I think it's going to be really critical in order for us to do all board, I think it's gonna be really critical in order for us to do all of that work due diligence. I just wanna clarify. I'm not chairing any committees, so for that reason. Director Williams is gonna be chairing. Can you you can. Yeah. Yeah. Thanks. But I agree. And with regard to ad hoc, I I heard the request, and we'll we'll we'll publish that as soon as it comes up. But with regard to the resolution that's before the board now, it's a mandatory it's mandatory that the committees,
commissions, and any legislative bodies of the district, publish their annual schedule of meetings. And we will do that as soon as the Committee and Commission holds its first meeting of the year. And, the Board meeting schedule is in this packet. They they haven't all been scheduled and the the city council actually schedules those. So we'll publish those as soon as we can. Are there any other comments on the resolution? Are you ready for a vote? We're ready for a vote. Okay. On the roll call to adopt the resolution, as stated, student directors are absent.
Director Latta? Yes. Director Williams? Yes, sir. Just wanted to look at you in your eyes, Rakeshah. Thank you, director. Wait. Director Hutchinson? Yes. Okay. Director Berry? Yes. Okay. Director Thompson? Yes. Vice president, Bachelor? Yes. President, Bharat? Yes. Motion is adopted. And with that, With that, the meeting is adjourned.