The citizen commission that oversees two Oakland Unified parcel taxes is demanding that the school board put back about $3.5 million the district used to help close its budget gap. The commission approved a letter at its Oct. 6 meeting calling the transfer unlawful, according to the meeting agenda, and The Oaklandside reported the dispute is now headed for a showdown with the board.
What the money is for
Measure N, passed in 2014, and its 2022 renewal, Measure H, fund college and career pathways at Oakland's district and charter high schools. The $120-per-parcel tax raises about $12 million a year for things like career and technical classes, internships and college counseling. The measures require 90% of the money to go to school sites, and each school must get its spending plan approved by the commission before the board votes on it.
The dispute
The $3.5 million came from a reserve fund that dates to Measure N's first year. District staff proposed using it to cover pathway-related staff salaries and benefits that the general fund had been paying. At a June 16 meeting, all four commissioners present voted no. Fifteen high school principals also signed a letter opposing the plan, calling it "supplanting," meaning covering existing costs with tax money instead of adding new programs, which both measures prohibit. The district went ahead anyway as part of efforts to close a nearly $100 million deficit in its 2025-26 budget, The Oaklandside reported.
Commission chair David Kakishiba said the panel's job is to protect what voters approved. A public comment on the agenda item said Skyline High alone lost more than $600,000.
The district's side
OUSD says the move was legal and dates back to budget-balancing options the board adopted in December 2024. At the commission's request, the Alameda County Office of Education did a preliminary review and brought in accounting firm Eide Bailly, which found none of the indicators of fraud or misappropriation it was testing for. The firm noted the measures do not spell out a process for spending reserve money.
County Superintendent Alysse Castro told The Oaklandside the move could be described as a loophole: technically legal but not aligned with the measures' intent, and ultimately a question for voters. The district said it takes seriously the commission's view that it should have had a formal vote and wants a clearer approval process going forward.
Supporters of the tax warn the fight could hurt future renewals, pointing to Oakland voters' rejection of the city's Measure E parcel tax in June.