The citizens' commission that oversees two Oakland school parcel taxes wants Oakland Unified to put back about $3.5 million that the district used to help close its budget gap, The Oaklandside reported Friday.
The money came from the reserve fund for Measures N and H, the voter-approved taxes that pay for college and career pathway programs in Oakland high schools. The commission says OUSD used it during the 2025-26 school year to cover staff salaries and benefits that had been paid out of the general fund. On Tuesday, Oct. 6, the commission adopted a letter to the school board formally demanding the money be restored, according to the meeting agenda.
The commission's case
Both measures bar supplanting, meaning parcel tax dollars are supposed to add new programs rather than take over costs the district already carried. Schools normally get their share through improvement plans that the commission reviews before the board votes. When district staff proposed the shift in June, the four commissioners present all voted no, and 15 high school principals signed a letter opposing it. The district went ahead anyway.
Commission chair David Kakishiba told The Oaklandside the reserve money could have added $600,000 to $900,000 each at the district's largest high schools. A parent commenting on the commission's agenda said Skyline High lost more than $600,000.
The district's case
OUSD says the move was legal and part of a budget-balancing plan the board adopted in December 2024, when it faced a deficit of nearly $100 million. The ballot measures spell out how regular allocations work but not how reserve money is spent. A review by the accounting firm Eide Bailly, requested by the Alameda County Office of Education, found no signs of fraud or misappropriation and said the costs moved were largely the same kinds the measures paid for in 2024-25.
County schools superintendent Alysse Castro called the gap a "loophole." She told The Oaklandside the transfer was legal but out of step with what the measures intended, and that the final call belongs to the school board, since the commission only advises.
In a statement, OUSD said it takes seriously the commission's view that it should have voted on the transfers and wants a clearer approval process going forward.
Why it matters
Measure N passed in 2014 and was renewed as Measure H in 2022. The district credits its pathway programs with helping lift its graduation rate from about 61% in 2014 to 76% this year. Supporters warn that the dispute could make voters wary of future school taxes.