Oakland Unified needs to cut about $100 million from next year’s budget.
Last week, the school board approved a $415,000 contract with an outside consulting firm, Hazard, Young, Attea & Associates, to help identify where those cuts could come from. This “fiscal advisory team” will also advise on how to stabilize the district’s finances more broadly.
The team reports to the superintendent and will present a financial action plan at tonight’s special meeting.
It’s been a turbulent month for OUSD. In December, after the board approved what Oaklandside called a “vague” budget-cutting plan, the district’s chief business officer resigned.
Board Director Mike Hutchinson has criticized some of his fellow directors for their tentative approach to stabilizing district finances. He wrote on Facebook that the presentation scheduled for tonight includes “no numbers, no attachments, no links — and not even an update with the current budget figures.”
