The Oakland Unified School District is threatening to sue teachers if they go forward with a planned one-day strike this week over school closures.
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Teachers are planning to walk out of class this Friday over the district's plan to permanently close or merge a half dozen schools, due to declining enrollment. The school board approved the closures earlier this year, much to the dismay of the educators and members of the community.
For some teachers, the decision hits even closer to home as their own children are worried about losing their schools.
"She's really concerned about staying here with her friends, this is all she’s known, she’s been here since she was a baby," said Faustena Linarez, a teacher at Carl Munck elementary, one of the schools on the chopping block, who also has a daughter attending the school.
"She's grown up here at this school, so it's really sad to hear that they're thinking about closing the school, it’s a wonderful community," she said.
But Oakland Unified maintains there is no legal basis for the strike, and is threatening to take legal action against the teachers union if they go forward with the walkout, alleging that the move would violate its current collective bargaining agreement.
However, the president of the Oakland Education Association says the one-day strike is legal, adding that "it is the district doing illegal movies by closing schools in black and brown neighborhoods without engaging stakeholders."
The group and its supporters plan to picket outside OUSD schools starting at 6:30 a.m. on Friday.
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