The Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT), a state agency, has rated Oakland Unified School District at "high" risk of fiscal insolvency in a Fiscal Health Risk Analysis released Monday.
OUSD said FCMAT began the review after the Alameda County Superintendent of Schools issued a Notice of Going Concern in April. The rating is based on the district's 2025-26 Second Interim Report, which reflects financial data as of Jan. 31, 2026.
What the report found
KALW reported that the analysis, dated Oct. 29, gave OUSD a risk score of 47.7%. Any score above 40% counts as high risk. According to KALW, the report raised concerns about leadership turnover and missed deadlines. It also flagged swings in the district's projections for books and supplies, which ranged from about $82,000 for 2026-27 to $47.5 million for 2027-28 and $12.3 million for 2028-29.
Oakland is not the only district on the list. OUSD said FCMAT rated 11 other districts as high risk this year, including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Antioch, Petaluma, Pleasanton, Santa Rosa, Pacifica and Rincon Valley Union. The district said FCMAT found the same pressures across those districts: pay rising faster than revenue, growing special education costs, declining enrollment, and budgets that count on cuts that haven't been identified yet.
The district's response
OUSD said it is in a stronger position than it was in January. It noted that in June the school board adopted a single financial recovery plan and approved a 2026-27 budget. It also pointed to the Alameda County Office of Education's Sept. 15 letter conditionally approving that budget, which called it "a materially stronger submission than the District has filed in recent years."
"We are working to balance our budget and fund the programs that show results for our children. FCMAT's findings are part of that work, and we will address the findings in the report," Superintendent Denise Saddler said in the district's statement.
KALW noted that OUSD spent about two decades under state receivership and regained local control in 2025.
What's next
FCMAT will present the report to the Board of Education on Nov. 12. The district will give an update on its stabilization plan, along with its First Interim Report, at the Dec. 9 meeting. OUSD said the full report will be posted at fcmat.org by Nov. 13.