Oakland Unified school board to vote on reversing its decision to cut afterschool programs

The Oakland Unified School District board is set to vote Wednesday on reversing a controversial decision to cut funding to afterschool programs by up to 80%. 

The item is the only one on the agenda, and was authored by school board members Mike Hutchinson and Clifford Thompson. 

The vote is technically to "repeal the alternative budget adjustments," which the board voted 4-3 in March at the request of school board President Jennifer Brouhard and Vice President Valarie Bachelor. 

The idea behind that vote was to implement a new series of budget cuts by capping certain categories of spending.

But as Hutchinson and Thompson noted in their agenda item, they did so "without engaging the community and against the advice of staff."

And what ended up happening is that the "budget adjustment" vote ended up taking away money from the groups that provide afterschool, early morning care and summer programs for children who attend OUSD schools. 

Though no one from the school district or board members have explained exactly what happened, afterschool providers suspect their programs were inadvertently swept up in the larger vote. Afterschool programs run on grants that cannot be used for anything else. 

OUSD afterschool program providers held a rally on May 14, 2025. 

School board member VanCedric Williams apologized to the community in an email to KTVU, explaining that the original decision was to reduce the OUSD budget by $106 million.

The state fiscal team directed the school board to cut up to another $60 million next year, and the alternative budget vote was intended to address the "district's deficit spending and yo-yo staffing." 

But he noted that after talking with "many community stakeholders," it appears a mistake was made. 

He also acknowledged that the school site cuts were "proposed before a fiscal impact report was provided to the board." 

Last week, there was a big public outcry from parents and afterschool providers -- Safe Passages, East Bay Asian Youth Center, Oakland Leaf, Girls Inc., Bay Area Community Resources, East Bay Agency for Children, Youth Together and Oakland Kids First – all of whom would have been affected. 

Jonas Mok, CEO of Bay Area Community Resources, said at a rally last week that the afterschool programs in Oakland are a lifeline for working families.

"We know for a fact that some of the kids that we serve, the snack or the supper that we serve, is their only meal of the day," he said. 

He added, "These are folks that can't afford any other option. They don't have any other options. We're talking about childcare. We're talking about folks that are working multiple jobs. They can't suddenly find a different spot for these folks."

The special OUSD board meeting is scheduled for Wednesday at 6 p.m. at Met West High School, 314 E. 10th Street or online here.

OaklandEducation