School Closures, Layoffs Proposed

Oakland’s schools chief has recommended that three schools be shut and hundreds of employees laid off in the face of a projected $10-million to $12-million budget deficit next year.

Supt. Pete Mesa recommended the cuts to the Board of Education on Wednesday. The new shortfall is attributable to Gov. Pete Wilson’s proposed state budget, which allots only a $400,000 increase for the district next year, Mesa said.

“These are very, very difficult cuts because they affect the classroom,” Mesa said. In addition to closing schools and laying off campus supervisors, counselors and librarians, the recommendations include a hiring freeze and cutbacks on supplies.

The superintendent said Oakland schools need to rely less on state funding and generate other sources of revenue.

Board members will not make a final decision on Mesa’s proposed cuts until May. Last year, officials from the 51,000-student district cut $16 million from the budget to balance the district’s $280-million budget.