Oakland voters in three school board districts pick Oakland Unified directors on Tuesday, Nov. 3, 2026: Jennifer Brouhard faces Arielle Fleisher in District 2, Mike Hutchinson faces Kathryn Camp and Sylvia Pfeiffer Williams in District 4, and Valarie Bachelor faces LeAna Powell and Alexandra Williams in District 6. All three incumbents are running.

Why it matters: The board must keep cutting a budget to avoid sliding back into state receivership, hire a permanent superintendent and decide what to do with vacant school sites, The Oaklandside reported. Residents 16 and older who live in Districts 2, 4 or 6 can vote in these races this year.

District 2: Chinatown to east of Lake Merritt

  • Jennifer Brouhard (retired educator), the board president, was elected in 2022 on an anti-closure slate. She says the district has stabilized its budget and works better with Superintendent Denise Saddler, and that closing schools “doesn’t save money.”
  • Arielle Fleisher (parent/policy director), an OUSD parent who works in policy at Waymo and previously at SPUR and SFMTA, says the district is in a crisis of leadership, academics and finances and that everything, including closures, should be on the table.

District 4: Montclair, Dimond, Laurel, Glenview

  • Mike Hutchinson (incumbent), seeking a third term, opposes the current board majority and says he wants to restore the progress toward solvency that helped OUSD leave receivership in 2025. He faces up to $95,000 in Public Ethics Commission fines over 2016 campaign filings, which he says he has tried to resolve.
  • Kathryn Camp (public policy professional), Glenview Elementary PTA president, wants the board focused on academic outcomes and stricter on contracts, citing $865,000 in consulting work approved to cover the chief business officer’s duties.
  • Sylvia Pfeiffer Williams (adult educator), a former OUSD adult education teacher and teachers union rep, wants budgeting tied to priorities and early literacy and math interventions.

District 6: East Oakland hills and flatlands

  • Valarie Bachelor (school board director), the board vice president and director of ACCE Oakland, wants vacant district properties studied for staff or family housing and calls school closures a failed policy.
  • LeAna Powell (family advocate/parent), a fifth-generation Oaklander with two children at Burckhalter Elementary, puts reading by third grade first and wants blighted sites like the Edward Shands building redeveloped.
  • Alexandra Williams (teacher/program director), a math teacher at AIMS College Prep High School, a charter, says the board should set a vision built on literacy and math and address school safety.

The issues in common

The board approved a 2026-27 budget in June that included about $30 million in cuts still to be identified, after hundreds of layoffs last spring. Saddler’s interim contract was extended for a second year. The candidates split on whether school closures belong in the budget conversation.

Ballot designations above are from the Alameda County candidate list. Find your district on the OUSD website. For more on the district’s finances, see our story on the parcel tax commission’s $3.5 million demand, and compare other races on our Bay Area Election 2026 hub, including the Oakland mayor race.