The Oakland Board of Education has approved the 75-year lease of two school properties to a developer without first going through a process for public input and posting the item on the public agenda only three days before the vote.
Though agenda items in general must come before the board two times before final approval, this resolution only came up once and was approved last week in a 5-2 vote. Board President Shanthi Gonzales and Boardmember Mike Hutchinson opposed the deal.
“The first time it was made public was when it was posted on the agenda 72 hours before the board meeting, and it was during a pandemic over Zoom. There has been no public engagement around these leases at all,” said Boardmember Hutchinson in an interview with the Oakland Post.
As we kept our distance from one another, our public spaces revealed their new uses
FacebookTwitterEmail
1of7
Vendors sell goods at Akoma Outdoor Market in a converted empty space rebranded as Liberation Lot across the street from Eastmont Mall in Oakland.Alison Yin / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
2of7
Nina Woodruff-Walker and her children, Brooklyn, 9 (left), and Brooke, 7, visit Akoma Outdoor Market in East Oakland.Alison Yin / Special to The ChronicleShow MoreShow Less
3of7
Open spaces such as the Devil’s Acre bar parklet along Columbus Avenue provided an alternative place to gather.Josie Norris / Special to The Chronicle 2020Show MoreShow Less