The last couple of weeks were a lot.

I'd like to first acknowledge the mixed emotions many of us share around Principal Sudduth's retirement announcement. While there's rightfully a lot of concern about the leadership gap we're facing for next year, I did want to take a minute to appreciate Dana as a brilliant lifelong educator who deserves all that she can get from the next chapter in her life. Thank you so much for your service, Dana.

And the beat goes on:

• Last night, the board agreed (5-1) to certify the second interim budget report as qualified. Read on — you'll be shocked to hear that's a good/bad thing.
• The board passed unanimously a resolution urging the full release of the Prop 98 settle-up, demonstrating that there is at least one thing they can all agree on: Public Education is underfunded. Duh.
• The PSAC is forming a "Table of Stakeholders" across many groups to plan proper community engagement around the way OUSD should look and function in the coming years, and I'll be at that table.
• I have a constituent meeting scheduled with Senator Jesse Arreguín next Thursday to discuss Prop 98. I anticipate some if not all of our board members will join me for that discussion.

What Is Second Interim?

The yearly budget cycle for school districts in California is essentially impossible to explain in human language, but I'll try:

• Because the budget is a large, constantly moving target, there are interim reports that must be given to the board by the district — an accurate snapshot of finances on a given date.
• When presented with that report, the board can certify it as "positive," "qualified," or "negative." Those designate that, at the given snapshot, the district either will, may, or will not be able to meet its financial obligations for the school year, respectively.
• The first interim (December) was certified as negative, then upgraded to qualified by the County Superintendent after significant cuts were outlined. Last night, the board approved (5-1) a qualified certification of the second interim report, which covers the year ending January 31st.
• The County Superintendent is now asked to approve or reject this certification.

The second interim included numbers markedly improved from the first interim. The explanation: because of immediate austerity measures and cuts made by the district, our financial picture by end of year is cash-flow positive by around $4 million. That's the good thing.

Not surprisingly, folks are still stressed — because the cutoff date for second interim doesn't include the recent agreement with OEA, of which (I think) $11M will come due this year. This was very clearly stated by the district and their consultants. Nobody's trying to hide it; the second interim has a cutoff date. It also likely doesn't include the savings from cuts to staff and services just approved, because that impact isn't known yet.

There were direct questions asked about the costs of the OEA agreement, and conjecture that we can't afford it. Dr. Saddler only answered in the context of the second interim — she didn't say "Yes" or "No" to "can we afford this." I'll say again what I've said before: I get that she isn't going to say "I don't know yet" out loud (I wish she would, because it's understandable!), but I think that's the answer. Not promising the board and public that we can afford it was, I think, a responsible decision not to lie to people.

A Win for the Prop 98 Resolution

About a month ago, I drafted a board resolution about the Prop 98 settle-up because I thought it would be powerful to get the board to approve it and take it to the legislature. Director Latta introduced it with a recommendation from Budget and Finance, and it passed unanimously last night. Huzzah for democracy!

I have a meeting with State Senator Jesse Arreguín on Thursday of next week at 3pm to present the resolution with the board and superintendent. I'm currently gauging how many people I can invite and will reach out to those who have expressed interest once I have more information. Thanks once again for your engagement and encouragement!

What Now for the District

If you feel as though our community has been left out of discussions about budget cuts, current strategies, and future plans — you are correct. Fault whomever you like, but without a concerted effort, that lack of engagement will continue. The district now shifts to "Budget Development," which is basically a race to answer the "Can we afford this?" question about everything by the end of the school year. That is their focus, and I don't think they are going to pause to take questions.

The district has a new web page devoted to the budget process, with a loose timeline for financial stabilization. We are currently in Stage 3 (Repair), but it is Stage 4 (Rebuild) on which I believe our community needs to focus right now.

This is likely our only opportunity to create a truly unified, sustainable community-led vision for our district. If we simply disengage at this point, that vision will be created by — at best — overwhelmed administrators, or at worst, trustees who don't have a true stake in our future. For that reason, the PSAC and other advisory committees will very soon announce a plan for community engagement that does the work of envisioning 2027–28 and beyond. We are assembling a table of stakeholders to inform that plan and roll it out to the entire district community as soon as possible, with a goal of presenting the school board a set of specific policies and actions by the end of this school year.

Keep a look out for details as they emerge.