3 decades of financial woes
1989 — Gov. George Deukmejian approves $10 million loan to bail out the fiscally insolvent Oakland Unified
School District, although district rejects it and borrows money from private investors instead to balance the budget using property as collateral.
1989 — State Superintendent of Schools Bill Honig assigns fiscal trustee to Oakland to serve in advisory capacity.
1990 — California’s auditor general, Kurt Sjoberg, issues report stating Oakland Unified’s management and fiscal problems are the worst of any district in the state.
February-March 1996 — Teachers strike for five weeks over pay before receiving 26 percent pay increase over three years.
February 2000 — Dennis Chaconas hired as superintendent. An audit finds the district needs “dramatic management assistance,” raising red flags about the financial repercussions of inflated
student attendance rates and another increase in teacher pay. June 2000 — District agrees to a 24 percent teacher raise over three years and also opens 10 small schools. August 2002 — Chaconas discovers budget deficit, although extent unknown.
April 2003 — Legislature approves $100 million bailout loan and takes over the district. July 2006 — District operating with a $5 million deficit.
July 2008 — State gives control back to school board. Interim superintendent hired. July 2009 — Board hires Tony Smith as superintendent. An audit finds the district has $15 million less than it thought it had. April 2010 — Smith says district has a $37 million shortfall and must make cuts. Teachers hold oneday strike over pay. April 2013 — Smith resigns. April 2014 — Antwan Wilson hired as superintendent. January 2017 — Wilson acknowledges two-year, $30 million budget shortfall, before he leaves for job in Washington, D.C. — just as Alameda County Superintendent Karen Monroe declares district is in danger of fiscal insolvency over the next two years. May 2017 — Kyla Johnson-Trammell hired as superintendent. November 2017 — School board acknowledges need for $15 million in midyear cuts, and another $11 million next year. Layoffs and classroom cuts imminent.