OAKLAND, Calif. (KRON) — The Oakland School Board will go forward with its original plan to close several schools. On Wednesday, the board voted against a resolution to reverse the initial decision which is when some outraged parents began yelling at the board members.
The meeting had to be called to recess because of all the commotion. Before the vote, people commented for hours in support of keeping the schools open.
“These schools predominantly serve Black and brown students, public schools are essential to public health and your decision is absolutely harming students, parents, community members, teacher, staff and employees,” said one speaker.
The vote on the reversal of school closings was initially slated for the back end of the meeting. Multiple people asked to move it up, so they can get home to their kids. Board member Mike Hutchinson pushed to move it.
“Move T7 up in the agenda, so we don’t ask people to wait here until 12:30 to address the resolution that they’re making a presentation on,” said Hutchinson.
The board agreed to move it up after public comment. A group of parents from Parker Elementary School presented and pleaded with the board to keep its school open.
“We even put together a presentation to try and explain to you how much we want to keep our schools, how much it means to us, how much it’s needed in the community,” said another speaker.
Throughout the meeting, there was more public comment all in support of keeping the schools open. Some board members spoke about the rationale behind the closing and individuals yelled over them.