Group Seeks Recall Of Oakland School Board Members
OAKLAND (KCBS) – A group of angry parents has served recall notices to several board members of the Oakland Unified School District.
The group Members of the Concerned Parents and Community Coalition is upset over a plan to close five elementary schools.
The five members being targeted are Jody London, David Kakishiba, Jumoke Hinton Hodge, Gary Yee and Chris Dobbins. They all voted to close the schools in late October.
KCBS' Chris Filippi Reports:
Rob Rooke, president of the Maxwell Park PTA, said the decision to close Lakeview, Lazear, Marshall, Maxwell Park and Santa Fe was the wrong one to make.
"The strategic plan of the school district in Oakland has already shown itself to be a disaster," said Rooke.
Several other parents said they feel their children are being unfairly punished.
But Oakland Unified School District spokesman Troy Flint said board members struggled with the decision to close the campuses, a move that will save the district about $2 million.
"It wasn't made lightly. No one wants to close schools," Flint said. "But after careful evaluation, the board decided that this was in the best long-term interest of the school district."
The group has to gather a thousand valid signatures in each district where a board member is being targeted to qualify the recalls for the November 2012 ballot.
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