OAKLAND Calif. (KCBS RADIO) – Families occupying Parker Elementary in Oakland have ended a nearly four month long protest after the School Board agreed to use the K-8 school as a community resource space.
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At the end of the school year in June, a group of parents and activists pitched tents outside Parker Elementary in East Oakland, protesting the closure of the school. They occupied the space for months, operating a day school program, which led to multiple clashes with authorities.
Last week, the Oakland School Board opted to keep Parker Elementary open as a long-term adult and student resource space. However, the victory may only be momentary as the Board is planning on closing more schools than just Parker.
"We're going to be seeing it again in Oakland and we're possibly going to see it in other cities around California as we continue to grapple with what is becoming a reality," KCBS Radio Insider Phil Matier told news anchor Melissa Culross. "There is a shrinkage in the number of kids going to schools — they're going to charter schools or they're moving out of the community or right now we have a very high absentee rate."
Matier said he doesn't believe anyone is a "winner" in this outcome, rather it’s more of a truce between the Board and the families. "What we have there is a school that’s going to be shut down and instead they're going to make it available as an adult and student center because the parents wanted a space for their kids to go after hours," he explained. "That's a far cry from a school."
Oakland is facing the closure of 11 schools in the next two years as they grapple with financial strain and declining student enrollment. "That's going to create another fight next year and probably the year after that," Matier said.
The protestors said that the closures are disproportionately impacting Black and Latino students in West and East Oakland. "This is an attack on Black and brown children's community," parent Debra Ruiz stated during a press conference in August.
Matier warned that it's a bad situation that could get worse. "It's a spiral," he said. "Fewer students, fewer schools, less money from the state, less money, fewer schools, fewer students. It goes around and around. Right now Oakland is facing a $90 million budget shortfall and the state borrowed $30 million from the last bailout, so you can forget about another bailout."
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