BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON EDUCATION
Gloria Romero, Chair
2009-2010 Regular Session
BILL NO: AB 791
AUTHOR: Swanson
AMENDED: May 6, 2009
FISCAL COMM: Yes HEARING DATE: June 25, 2009
URGENCY: No CONSULTANT:Kathleen Chavira
SUBJECT : Oakland Unified School District
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Superintendent of Public
Instruction, by July 1 of each year, to return authority to
the governing board of the Oakland Unified School District
for each operational area recommended by the County Office
Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT) in its
annual progress reports.
BACKGROUND
In 2003, SB 39 (Chapter 14, Perata) appropriated $100
million from the General Fund to the Superintendent of
Public Instruction (SPI) for an emergency loan to the
Oakland Unified School District and required the SPI to
assume all the rights, duties, and powers of the district
governing board. SB 39 also required the SPI, to appoint
an administrator to act on behalf of the SPI with authority
to enter into agreements on behalf of the school district
and to change any existing district rules, policies, or
practices. SB 39 provided that the district governing
board is not to receive compensation during the period of
the SPI authority over the district. The loan is scheduled
to be repaid with interest over a period of 20 years.
SB 39 required the Fiscal Crisis and Management Assistance
Team (FCMAT) to prepare an improvement and recovery plan
for the school district and report on the implementation of
the plan. FCMAT issued the Fourth Progress Report on the
plan in September 2006, reporting that the district had met
all standards in the operational area of "Community
Relations and Governance." Based on this finding, FCMAT
concluded that the operational area was appropriate to
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return to the control of the Oakland Unified School
District governing board. The SPI returned these two areas
through a memorandum of understanding on July 9, 2007. In
the Fifth Progress Report issued in November 2007, FCMAT
recommended the return of the operational areas of
Personnel Management and Facilities Management to local
governance, which was subsequently granted in April 2008.
SB 39 provided for the SPI to retain authority over the
district until all of the following conditions are met:
1) Two years have elapsed following the appointment of
the administrator.
2) FCMAT completes the improvement plan.
3) FCMAT, consulting with the administrator, determines
that for at least the immediately previous six months
the school district made substantial and sustained
progress in implementation of the plans in the major
functional area.
4) The administrator certifies that all necessary
collective bargaining agreements have been negotiated
and ratified, consistent with the improvement plan.
5) The district completes all reports required by the SPI
and administrator.
6) The SPI concurs with the assessment of the
administrator and FCMAT that future compliance by the
Oakland Unified School District with the improvement
plan and the multiyear financial recovery plan.
ANALYSIS
This bill :
1) Declares legislative intent that the state
administrator appointed by the SPI to the Oakland
Unified School District (OUSD) and the governing board
of the OUSD begin the process of a structured and
orderly return of authority over the operational areas
of pupil achievement and financial management to the
OUSD board, pursuant to FCMAT progress reports and
recommendations.
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2) Defines "operational areas" as, community relations
and governance, pupil achievement, personnel
management, facilities management and financial
management.
3) Notwithstanding the provisions of law established by
SB 39 (Perata, Chapter 14, Statutes of 2003):
a) Requires the SPI, by July 1 of
each year, to return authority to the governing
board of the OUSD for each operational area
recommended by the County Office Fiscal Crisis
and Management Assistance Team (FCMAT).
b) Authorizes the SPI to require
that, if FCMAT recommends that the state
administrator retain authority over any one or
more operational areas, such authority be
returned to or retained by the state
administrator, and requires return by July 1 of
the year following the year in which the report
is submitted.
c) Entitles the members of the
governing board to receive full compensation for
services, once authority over one or more
operational areas is returned, that they would
have received prior to the SPI assuming authority
for those areas.
4) Requires County Office Fiscal Crisis and Management
Assistance Team (FCMAT) to use the same standards,
scoring methodology and evaluative thresholds as that
used in its Sixth Progress Report in preparing any
report evaluating the Oakland Unified School District
(OUSD) progress towards repayment of the emergency
loan it received.
STAFF COMMENTS
1) Most recent FCMAT report . In December 2008, FCMAT
issued the Sixth Progress Report on the OUSD
improvement and recovery plan. In its report, FCMAT
recommended the last two operational areas of Pupil
Achievement and Financial Management be considered for
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return to local governance and suggested that the
state could reasonably reduce its oversight by
appointing a State Trustee instead of a State
Administrator. The report also noted that, consistent
with the provisions of SB 39, the SPI has the sole
authority to decide when the full return of legal
rights, duties, and powers to the governing board
occurs.
2) Current status ? To date, the SPI has returned three
"operational areas" to the district; community
relations/governance, personnel management, and
facilities management. According to the CDE, the SPI
and the OUSD are engaging in discussion to ensure that
all elements necessary to return power to the district
are in place. According to the Assembly
Appropriations analysis, of the $100 million emergency
loan appropriated to the OUSD, approximately $87.3
million remains outstanding. The district's annual
payment is $6 million and is expected to be paid in
full by June 5, 2026.
3) Prior legislation . AB 45 (Swanson) 2007 would have
established a process for the return of areas of
operational control of the Oakland Unified School
District from the Superintendent of Public Instruction
to the district's governing board, triggered by the
finding of the Fiscal Crisis Management Assistance
Team (FCMAT). AB 45 was vetoed by the Governor whose
veto message read:
I support returning local governance to the Oakland
Unified School District when it is appropriate to do
so. To date, the emergency loan to Oakland Unified
has been the largest to a school district in the state
and has been under the control of the Superintendent
of Public Instruction (SPI). While the reports
produced by the Fiscal Crisis Management and
Assistance Team are valuable tools, they provide only
a snapshot of the district at a particular point in
time. Furthermore, I am concerned that the Office of
Administrative Hearings will not be in a position to
make decisions related to the day to day management of
the school district, as these matters are generally
not a matter of law, but a matter of overall
educational benefit.
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As such, I am concerned with the process for
determining return of local control, as proposed in
this bill. The pace at which it seeks to restore the
authority of the school board may surpass the pace at
which the state administrator can imbed sustainable
reforms. Current law contemplates the return of the
district to local control once the SPI has a level of
confidence that the improvements in the district are
sustainable. In the interest of the educational
wellbeing of the students, it is well worth investing
the time to allow the SPI to finish the work that has
already begun.
SUPPORT
Alameda Labor Council, AFL-CIO
California Teachers Association
City of Oakland
75+ Individual Letters
OPPOSITION
None received.