April 23, 2019

Restorative justice among programs partially saved by Oakland City Council

Oakland Unified to receive $1.2 million from city to help reinstate cuts to Restorative Justice and Foster Youth programs, supplement library funding.

Theresa Harrington

April 15, 2019

California's school pension funding plan is working

Current defined-benefit pension plan is the best option for California teachers, author says.

Grant Boyken

April 12, 2019

California plan for school construction bonds sparks debate for reform

Advocates for more equitable state funding of school facilities see proposals for multi-billion dollar state construction bonds in 2020 and 2022 as a chance to make a case for changing the state formula for distributing money.

John Fensterwald

April 9, 2019

Higher corporate taxes linked to CEO pay would raise funds for California education

The bill authored by Sen. Nancy Skinner, D- Berkeley, would base the size of the tax increase on the gap between CEO compensation and that of the median wage paid to workers in .2 percent of the state’s corporations.

Louis Freedberg

April 9, 2019

California students learn to code to prepare for tomorrow's jobs

Thousands of students at 260 schools in low-income California communities are learning computer coding after school in the Kids Code program. A school’s eligibility for the grant was based on the number of students receiving free and reduced-priced lunch, used as an indicator of community poverty.

Diana Lambert

April 4, 2019

Oakland Unified gets unprecedented help with fiscal practices

Alameda County Office of Education team steps in to train district staff and help implement fiscal stability procedures as chief business officer position is eliminated.

Theresa Harrington

April 1, 2019

With business groups allied against it, L.A. parcel tax faces big hurdle

The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce, the Valley Industry and Commerce Association and the L.A. County Business Federation criticize the district in their ballot statement and plan a $4 million campaign to defeat Measure EE on June 4 ballot.

John Fensterwald

March 21, 2019

New data detail soaring costs of California school pensions

Districts’ average payments to pension funds CalSTRS and CalPERS doubled to about $1,000 per student in 2017-18. But contributions varied among districts and will continue to rise for at least two more years.

John Fensterwald

March 21, 2019

California school district pension payments: How EdSource did this story

EdSource analyzed state data to determine how per-student payments to employee pension funds increased for most districts from 2013-14 to 2017-18.

Rose Ciotta

March 17, 2019

Push underway to lower the barrier for school districts to pass a parcel tax

If the Legislature agrees, voters in November 2020 will consider lowering the threshold for approval from two-thirds to 55 percent.

John Fensterwald

March 14, 2019

Gov. Newsom's early childhood advisor describes 'whole-child, whole-family, whole-community' strategy

Giannina Pérez previously worked for Early Edge California and Children Now, both well-known children’s advocacy organizations. As an advocate, she worked to expand training for early childhood educators to better support children who speak languages other than English at home.

Zaidee Stavely

March 4, 2019

Oakland school board cuts $20.2 million from budget, including 100 jobs

Board member Jody London said the district could not give teachers the raises it agreed to in settling the recent strike without making the cuts.

Theresa Harrington

March 4, 2019

California Supreme Court stops short of allowing school districts to modify existing pensions

Supreme Court reaffirms pension reform law's elimination of one benefit but larger challenge to modify pensions of teachers and other public employees will await a future decision.

John Fensterwald

February 28, 2019

Charter schools are not to blame for Oakland Unified's financial woes

Scapegoating charters not the solution to district's labor dispute, author says.

Eric Premack

February 26, 2019

Teachers' strike is costing Oakland school district about $1 million a day

With a high percentage of students and teachers honoring picket line, Oakland Unified is losing state funds, partially offset by savings in not having to pay striking teachers’ salaries.

Louis Freedberg And Theresa Harrington